“May 1st” has been a big thing at my house lately.  Something uttered daily, in fact.  You see, my sister is getting married in Hawaii in September.  I am maid-of-honor and there will be hundreds of photos taken of me, and I refuse to be fat. That said, I don’t like to torture myself by excessively dieting for longer than I have to.  I’d like to lose about ten pounds before the wedding, and I figure four months is ample time to do that.  Anyway, back to “May 1st,” and the way my husband and I say that to each other constantly now. Husband: “We should order out Chinese food tonight.  I could really use some General Tso Chicken. Me: “Oh, is it after May 1st? No Chinese.” Me:  “I could really go for some fried chicken.” Husband: “May 1st.” You get the picture.  Anyway, it being after May 1st is really inconvenient when you figure in how much time our family spends camping and on weekend trips and things in the summer.  Junk food, constantly.   It’s especially hard for people like me who have a love affair with food.  I plan my entire day around what I am going to eat next.  It’s sick.   So, I’ve been trying to find some healthy ways to “indulge” when everybody else is so it isn’t so rough on my willpower.

I made these cookies a couple weeks ago and they were really good, for a healthy cookie.  This week, I tried these healthy apple oatmeal raisin cookies.  Very good.  I will be making them again for next week’s camping trip.  Try them yourself, if you want to have a cookie without feeling guilty.

Hope you enjoy! Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour (you can use wheat flour if you want to be really healthy.)
2 cups whole oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cups granulated sugar (or 1/2 cup agave)
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 apple, finely diced (any apple is fine- I used Granny Smith, because I like a little tartness)
3/4 cup raisins

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Use a hand mixer to combine egg, canola oil, sugar, apple sauce, and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl, and stir by hand until combined.  Add the raisins and apples and mix until just combined.

Scoop into walnut sized balls onto the cookie sheet.  Flatten just slightly with a fork.  Bake for about 14 minutes until edges are slightly brown.

Enjoy!