no-bake zucchini bread cookies

I'm going to tell you a secret. I gave up eating wheat over a month ago. There, I said it. Don't judge yet. Back in the day, I worked in a wonderful Patisserie, and lived off of cake scraps and broken cookies. It was a beautiful life. I would sometimes eat day old croissants, warmed in the oven, and slathered in lemon curd or chocolate ganache for lunch. Everyday. That went on for many years. I have since moved on from Margo's wonderful Patisserie, but my diet pretty much stayed the same. Yeah, i would eat a salad with my double chocolate zucchini muffin to try to offset the sugar rush. That only led to the eating of left over cake frosting later in the day. I have been on a wheat and sugar rush for the last ten years. Top that off with my naturally high energy and my excessive coffee drinking, and boy was I a mess. I was fast paced, and getting a lot done, but it wasn't pretty.

So I decided enough was enough. Since our bodies process wheat into sugar, I was eating sugar slathered in sugar. Awesome. My body was angry. My body was even more angry when I took all of the wheat away. I cried a lot. I ate chips of every variety instead of wheat. Potato chips. Tortilla chips. Chocolate chips. I still managed to loose about 8 pounds in the first few weeks. I think it was because I didn't know what to eat. No more bread? No more cookies? No  more cake? What the heck is there to eat?! I have since gotten a grip. I feel better. I have energy, and not because I guzzled a double latte and shoveled in some broken chocolate chip cookies. No, it's like real energy. Fueled by goodness. It's weird. I still drink double lattes ( I feel like this is true confessions......I also eat a lot of ice cream, I don't floss everyday, and I think my husband is cute). I eat a lot of other grains like barley, quinoa, and oats. I also eat a lot of veggies and meat. And let's not forget cheese! I am starting to appreciate the challenges of cooking without wheat, and realize that there are a lot of creative ways to make good food happen without it. All in all. it's been a learning experience and I will probably  reintroduce wheat into my diet again. But I know now that coconut and oat flours are the bomb!

It is the zucchini time of year. There should be a recognized holiday. Oh wait, there is. It's 'Sneak some zucchini onto your neighbor's porch' day. It's a real thing. It happened Aug 8th. In northern Minnesota, it needs to happen a little later, as our growing season is a bit behind. Anyway, zucchinis start showing up, and the decent thing to do is make zucchini bread. Everyone's grams did it. I used to do it. But not this year. I'm going to make everything but zucchini bread. However, these no-bake zucchini bread cookies are a great replacement. They taste of zucchini bread. They're dense, sweet, and moist like zucchini bread. I like them, and my wheat eating family thinks they're pretty tasty too!


No-Bake Zucchini Bread Cookies

1 1/2 cups oats
1/3 cup pistachios, chopped (walnuts, pecans, or almonds would work well too)
3/4 cup almond butter, I prefer the toasted no-salt variety
1/2 cup-1 cup chocolate chips
2 Tbl honey
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 packed cup grated zucchini
pinch of salt

In a large bowl mix the oats and nuts. Stir in the honey, almond butter, and cinnamon. Grate the zucchini, place grated zucchini on a paper towel, roll paper towel up like a burrito, and squeeze any excess liquid out. Mix the zucchini in with the other ingredients. Form batter into teaspoon sized dollops and lightly roll between your palms to make ball shapes. Place the zucchini balls on a parchment lined baking sheet, place in the fridge, and allow to set for about an hour. Tuck into children's lunchboxes. Eat. Enjoy. Belly up!!