Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (Vegan) + Family Routines
If banana bread and oatmeal were to have a baby, you’d end up with these banana oatmeal breakfast cookies. They have a banana bread-like center and are speckled with chocolate chips. They’re also egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Hello my dears,
This has been the first week of school for my kids, and we’re settling into new routines. My artsy oldest daughter is now in high school doing her first ever team sport (tennis!), and my youngest is in fifth grade doing a million activities (soccer, piano, and kayaking, per her request!). I’m realizing that the routines that I had shared in this week’s podcast conversation with (which we recorded a couple weeks ago) are going to look quite different than they did in past years.
It’s amazing to me, how as humans we can adapt to almost anything. Now that I’m in my forties, adaptation (by which I’m really referring to change) no longer scares me in the way it once did. I used to grip onto routine with an iron fist—I craved the comfort zone of repetition and consistency. Part of this was simply a survival strategy when my kids were little, when we all thrived on set schedules and rituals (nap time, snack time, bath time, bed time…). Now that my kids are older and more independent, having iron-fisted schedules is no longer needed or even possible. But that being said, we all still love our family routines and traditions.
Routines and traditions add comfort and value to our lives. While I used to think of them as static, however, I’ve come to see that they’re fluid and evolving.
For us, family dinner is one of our favorite routines. This is not the case for everybody, nor should it be—it just happens to be what works for my family. As Sarah described in the podcast, for her, breakfast with her kids is one of her favorite routines, along with “watchy Wednesdays” where they order take-out and watch a show. I have a friend who loves afternoon snack time with her daughter, and another that does Tuesday pizza nights. As Dr. Michael Norton explains in this podcast episode, anything can become a ritual or routine, as long as it’s done with intention and a certain amount of consistency. In other words, there’s no right or wrong way to build family routines, just a way that works for your schedules, interests and values.
This fall our family dinner routine is going to change, with later nights and simpler menus (also, take-out Tuesdays anyone?). While dinnertime is still our favorite time of day, and we’re still committed to the routine of eating together when we can, it’s not the action that matters (i.e. what dinnertime looks like), but rather the connection. It’s about carving out a time to be together in a way that feels right, in this particular season of our lives (knowing that all seasons will change).
Routines and traditions help us create a life of meaning and connection, but they’re not meant to stifle us. They’re meant to evolve, just like we’re meant to evolve. Perhaps this season, as many of us settle into new schedules, we can loosen our grip on the comforts of the past, finding excitement and ease in the changes to come, trusting that we’ll adapt as we go.
Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Since our dinner hour is going to be later this year, having hearty afternoon snacks on hand is more key than ever. These breakfast cookies are my new favorite (the kids have been loving them for breakfast). I hope you’ll love them too.
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