J is for Junk Food

ABCs for healthy living are quick takes on simple strategies for creating a healthier life.

Two in One Oatmeal Cookies

When I created strategies for healthy living,I wanted them to be practical and easy to integrate into my daily routine. I have an incredible sweet tooth. So, completely eliminating sweets didn't seem very practical.I found a way to include sweet treats in my diet without blowing the healthy eating part of my plan. Eating a lot of refined sugar can trigger increased inflammation in your body that leads to all kinds of diseases.I don't eat an excessive amount of sugar, but I haven't eliminated it all together either. For more info on the dangers of increased inflammation, check out this post  I is for Inflammation

I have four guidelines for adding sweet treats to my healthy eating plan:

1. I eat real whole food for at least 90% of my diet every day.The other 10% is flexible.It includes occasional processed food with 5 ingredients or less, eating out when I'm not sure of the ingredients used in the food, and sweet treats.
2. I can eat whatever sweet treat I want as long as I make it myself from real food ingredients.This accomplishes two things:I know exactly what is in the food and I don't eat it nearly as often as I would if I grabbed a package or box of something from the grocery store.(Boxes of cake mix, bowls of whipped topping, packages of cookies aren't real food ingredients.I was amazed how many of my "from scratch" baking recipes involved dumping various processed foods together.)
3. I substitute healthier ingredients for less healthy ones.
4. I add healthy ingredients to everything I bake to increase the nutritional value.

Easy recipe substitutions:

• coconut oil or olive oil instead of vegetable oils and shortening
• raw organic sugar, organic honey, real molasses, or real maple syrup instead of highly refined white sugar
• whole wheat flour instead of refined white flour

Healthy ingredients that are easily added to sweet treats:

• coconut oil
• dried fruit
• fresh fruit
• ground milled flaxseed and chia seeds
• nuts
• nut butters
• oatmeal
• seeds like pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds

Love cookies? Two In One Oatmeal Cookies are delicious and full of healthy ingredients. They are a time saver because you can make two different kinds of cookies out of the same batch of batter: Raisin Nut Oatmeal Cookies and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

You can make a gluten free version of these cookies by using 2 c of gluten free flour such as coconut flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, and/or almond flour in place of the unbleached flour and the whole wheat flour.

You can make them dairy free by using almond milk and a dairy free butter substitute in place of the milk and butter.

You can substitute peanut butter for the almond butter. If you do, buy a brand of natural peanut butter that only contains peanuts and a little salt. Many commercial brands of peanut butter contain added ingredients including high fructose corn syrup, soy, sugar, and hydrogenated oils full of harmful trans fats. I prefer almond butter because it has more nutritional value than peanut butter.Almond butter contains omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, niacin, folate, calcium, iron, riboflavin, manganese, and other healthy minerals. Look for an organic brand that contains fewer than five ingredients. 

I use the flaxseed/chia seed combo travel packets for the ground milled seeds.I add one or two packets of this to almost everything I bake.The travel packets stay fresh longer than a whole bag of ground milled flaxseed. Measure the first time you use this to see how much of the ground milled seeds the packet contains.This can vary according to which brand you buy.

Two in One Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat the oven to 325.

Cream together in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer:

1/3 c of organic coconut oil
1/3 c of butter, or butter substitute if you want them to be dairy free
1/3 c of almond butter

1/4 c raw honey

1/2 c raw organic sugar
3/4 c raw organic brown sugar 

Beat in:

2 eggs, use organic free range eggs when possible

2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract
1/3 c milk, use almond milk if you want them to be dairy free

In a separate bowl mix together:

1 c unbleached flour

1 c of whole wheat flour.
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 T of milled flaxseed or ground flaxseed and chia seed combo 

4 c of rolled oats, regular not quick cooking

Blend the flour mixture thoroughly into the creamed mixture.

Scoop out half the batter into another mixing bowl.(approximately 2 1/2 cups)
Add 1 c of chocolate chips to this bowl.I like to use Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips.They are dairy free, gluten free, soy free, and peanut free.

Stir with a large spoon until the chocolate chips are completely blended into the batter.
Set this bowl aside.

To the batter in the other bowl add::

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1/2 c chopped almonds

1/2 c raisins
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Mix with an electric mixer until all of the ingredients are completely blended.

For each cookie, scoop out 1 heaping T of dough. Put the ball of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Leave 1" of space between each cookie. Flatten the cookie balls slightly with your hand, the back of a spoon, or a spatula. Grease whatever you use (including your hand) with a little butter or oil so the dough won't stick when you flatten the cookies.

Bake at 325 for 11 to 14 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and just starting to turn a golden brown on the top.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for two minutes on the cookie sheet. Use a spatula to remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.This recipe makes about 80 cookies, 40 of each kind. Store them in an airtight container if you are planning to serve them within a couple of days.Store in a freezer safe container or bag if you want to bake them ahead of time to serve later.I like to freeze them and take out a couple at a time when I'm in the mood for a little sweet treat. Microwave two cookies for about 20 seconds for a warm treat or take as many as you need out of the freezer and leave at room temperature to defrost if you want to serve a plateful at a family gathering or party.

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