I write this on one of the strangest days of my entire lifetime. It is Mothering Sunday. The sun is shining,  the sky is blue and the first signs of spring are poking their way up in our garden. However the family pub lunch we had planned with my parents has been cancelled. The children’s schools shut down on Friday – with no guarantee of when in the coming weeks and months they will reopen. We have spent the morning putting together some semblence of a homeschooling timetable to start tomorrow and discussing the risks and dangers associated with either of us going out to work. This is our new reality in a world seen through the lens of Coronavirus.

I’ve found myself riding a wave of anxiety over the last few weeks. There are moments of positivity – an influx of entertaining Coronavirus related Youtube videos sent from friends, Facebook updates promising home workouts, magic shows and education ideas for the children – and the millions of stories of people coming together to help one another in an unprecedented time of crisis. But there are also moments when I feel bleak and hopeless. A self-confessed control freak, the sense of complete unknown is tough and bewildering.

Baking calms me. And the simpler the recipe the better. This one will hopefully provide a quick and easy cooking task for those with long days of relentless childcare ahead of them. They are healthy enough to be a good snack option, and use only 5 ingredients, easily found at home.

My thoughts are with you all, and I’m hoping this post finds you healthy in both body and mind.

Makes 10-12 Cookies

Ingredients

Two very ripe bananas

200g rolled oats

4 tbsp honey or maple syrup

50g melted coconut oil or butter

100g chocolate  – chopped into small chunks.

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 and grease a large baking tray.  Mash the banana in a bowl, then add the oats, honey or maple syrup and oil or butter, plus a pinch of salt and stir well. Allow the mix to sit for ten minutes, then stir in the chocolate chunks.

Scoop a large spoonful of the mix and use your hands to shape into a ball. Place it on the baking tray and flatten down a little. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

Put the cookies in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until beginning to turn golden brown.

Transfer to a rack to cool, then enjoy.