Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

It's a big, scary day over here, so I'm just popping in to give you guys a quick recipe I made over the weekend. As I mentioned last week, I'm trying my best to save desserts and booze for special occasions and the weekends. Well, reason to indulge came sooner than I thought with Valentine's Day, so I tried making a treat that was both rich and, at least somewhat, nutritive.

Check 'em out:

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH BITES
vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, too!

What you'll need . . . 

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup oat flour*
• 1/2 cup almond meal/flour*
• Handful dark chocolate chips

* For this recipe, I used homemade pulsed rolled oats (GF from Bob's Red Mill) for flour, but store-bought almond meal/flour. You could also pulse raw almonds for your own almond meal at home. Consistency will vary depending on store-bought/homemade, so add a little at a time for best results.



Method . . . 

1. Cream together the Earth Balance, water, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy.
2. Then mix in the flours and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Scoop by heaping tablespoonful onto a plate or wax paper and then refrigerate.
4. Note: You can add more/less of the flour to achieve your desired consistency. Oat flour tends to soak up more moisture as time goes on, so keep that in mind.

// INDULGE?

I entered this recipe into MyFitnessPal and divided it into 12 servings (12 heaping tablespoons) and came out to around 110 calories per cookie dough ball. 10 grams of carbs, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, 49 mg of salt, and 5 grams of sugar. Now, compared to the cookie dough I used to make, it's not that different calorically.

However, it's lower in carbs, higher in nutrition and healthy fats, and has much less of a glycemic spike than it would with refined sugar and white flour. I could definitely do myself a huge favor and just stop eating sugar altogether, but I know the all or nothing approach doesn't work well for me. So, I'll focus on the gradual instead -- on portion sizes and adding in good stuff, like almond meal -- which is a fat-fighting food, where I can.

So, there's this question of indulging.
Not specifically in these treats, because I've already eaten many, but in general.

Though I don't appreciate Anthony Bourdain's disdain toward vegetarians and vegans, I do enjoy his writing, and recently came across this quote: "Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” -- As much as I try to eat healthfully and cut out "bad" stuff, I continually strive to strike a balance between enjoyment of my favorite foods and better health from the rest. Sometimes the two overlap, sometimes not.

What are your thoughts?

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Indulgence Chunks

We can't get enough of these "indulgence" energy chunks. Packed full of protein and good carbs -- they'll keep you full for a long time. And perhaps if I'd taken the time to make them this week, I wouldn't have found myself biting into a Snickers yesterday afternoon.

Yes. I broke down. It happens to all of us from time to time. But I'll redeem myself with a power-packed green smoothie this morning.

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (chunky is preferred)
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

Method . . .

1. Put all ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in a food processor and blend.
2. In a large bowl, mix in the chocolate chips and add more peanut butter if batter is too stiff.
3. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Keep in your fridge.

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