I recently did a little cleansing kick-start in the New Year after a couple weeks of too much wine, chocolate, cheese and indulgent meals. I gave my digestive system a break by going off all dairy, gluten and meat for a few days and focused on lots of steamed and roasted veggies, fruit (which I normally only have in very small amounts in my diet), and limited amounts of beans, lentils and raw nuts. Lots of lemon water was included and some juicing targeting the liver (beets, carrots, spinach, lemon and apple). I normally eat more of a paleo style diet that includes meats, eggs and some greek yogurt, so limiting myself to so little protein was challenging, however my digestive tract really needed it!
I'm happy to be going back to some chicken tonight, but I'll be introducing the rest slowly (I have a strong feeling the dairy slows down my entire digestive process, so I may leave that out even longer). Next week I'll be starting another session of my Body & Lifestyle Transformation so it'll keep me moving forward and energized so that I can reach all the goals I've set for myself this year!
Long story short, I wanted to end the week with a little treat, so I snooped around online for the ideal cookie. Like I normally do, I ended up putting a few different ideas into one recipe, and this one deserved writing down because I couldn't keep my husband away from them (not all my 'healthy' cookies are a hit) and I really loved them as well. They reminded me of the sort of cookie I would buy at our local health food store - large, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. This is a real gem. They do include nuts so not school safe, but keep these on hand as a healthy after-school snack!
Almond & Sesame Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour (I ground my own almonds in my Vitamix, starting with about 1 1/4 cup whole almonds)1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)
3/4 cup almond butter (I used SuperSeed Butter because I wanted to get rid of it)
2 TBSP coconut oil (or olive oil
)1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together your maple syrup, oil, vanilla, almond extract, and nut butter (beat until well incorporated). Add in your dry ingredients EXCEPT the sesame seeds. Form the dough into 1 inch balls (about 1 tablespoon each) OR if your mixture is a little moist just use a spoon to drop the ball into a bowl with your sesame seeds - roll in the sesame seeds so the entire ball is covered. Transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet, keeping the cookies 1 inch apart at least because they spread like crazy. Flatten with your fingers. Bake for 10 min. They will harden as they cool. Enjoy!
They look delicious Anna!
ReplyDeleteThey look delicious Anna!
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