The good this week actually came from Josh.

For Mother’s Day, Josh stopped by my house and brought me cookies.  I think he did this for all of the “Mother” agents, but it felt special nevertheless.

Now, these weren’t just any cookies. They were whole food, vegan, all organic cookies AND LET ME TELL YOU…they were AWESOME!

So, what I’d like to share this week are some of my new favorite cookie recipes. It IS possible to still enjoy my favorite sweet treats on occasion.

Prep Time: 10 minutes, Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

·         2 3/4 cup gluten-free pastry flour

·         1 tsp sea salt (I am loving the pink sea salt from Trader Joe’s!)

·         1 tsp baking soda

·         4 tbls vegan butter, melted 

·         3/4 cup organic unrefined brown sugar

·         3/4 cup turbanado raw cane sugar

·         1 tsp vanilla

·         2 USPS milled organic flax seed

·         1 tbls water

·         12 oz vegan chocolate chips (or carob chips is you’re THAT picky :)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.

In a separate large bowl, mix the flax seed and the water together, then mix the butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to this and stir until combined well.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop one inch spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

Some variations? Josh’s cookies had bananas and cinnamon in them and were amazing. Nuts are also a great way to add extra protein.  You could always substitute organic apple sauce or bananas for the vegan butter. The texture will be different, but the fat content will decrease.

These still have lots of sugar in them, albeit the natural kind, so eat in moderation, but enjoy!

Also, don’t forget the most important part of this post. This was a very special gift because Josh made it himself. Do you have a friend who’s having a birthday soon?  Make them some cookies! How about a child with a birthday? Imagine if the two of you made a HEALTHY birthday cake for his/her party together? If you decide to make a cake, I used the recipe listed here last night, but I modified all of the ingredients to fit a “whole food, gluten free vegan” diet (real sugar, gluten-free pastry flour, you get the idea): http://www.instructables.com/id/The-BEST-chococlate-cake-ever...that-happens-to-be/

Helping a parent in the kitchen means a lot to a child. Why buy a cake at Costco when you can make a healthier version and your child can take pride in helping?

Happy eating,

Erin 003