Back in Style

I'm back after a few weeks of not blogging - but back in style!
It has been busy and hectic, but one of the things that has kept me going are freezer meals, adding salad and quickly sauteed vegetables to relatively plain meals (like brown rice and chicken), and good quality snacks.
I wanted to share another power snack item with you. I call them Quinoa Power Drops (if you wanted to entice someone who is more timid you can call them cookies - but these are no conventional cookies). The original recipe was something I found on the Bauman forum, but modified slightly.
These are great for a substantial snack because they pack good protein, carbohydrates, fat (anti microbial from the coconut oil and flakes) and just enough sweetness from the fruit to be tasty.

Quinoa Power Drops

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1/2 banana. mashed
8 Medjool dates, chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 heaping tablespoon organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1 heaping tablespoon organic roasted almond butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Makes approximately 16 cookies
Directions:
1. Rise 1 dry cup of quinoa in water. Add 2 cups of water to quinoa in a medium pot. Bring quinoa to a boil, and then simmer for about 12 minutes.
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
3. Transfer the quinoa to a large mixing bowl.
4. Add coconut oil and mix it into the quinoa.
5. Mix in banana, almond butter, and dates.
6. Add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and shredded coconut, and mix thoroughly.
7. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg into the dough and mix everything together.
8. Grease a baking sheet with coconut oil or use a silpat pad.
9. Use a large spoon to pick up a heaping tablespoon of the dough and form it into a ball with your hands. Place the ball onto the greased cookie sheet and press the middle of the ball down gently to form a circle a bit more than 1/2 an inch thick. Repeat until all of the dough has been made into circles on the baking sheet.
10. Bake for 50 minutes.
11. Turn off the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Then transfer the cookies into a sealed airtight container.