As I write this, my daughter is sitting on me eating one of these AMAZING cookies. Yes, I can type with her plopped on me and thank goodness for PVR and the Wiggles! We can discuss the TV watching issues later. I often take recipes from Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook Deceptively Delicious and change the recipe to reflect the nutritionist in me! I didn’t think that Jessica’s recipe was all that healthy with ¾ cups of butter, 1 cup sugar and 2 cups chocolate chips. I did LOVE the idea of using chickpeas and believe it or not you can NOT taste them at all.

My husband, who is my normal person taste tester said “WOW, Lor, it actually tastes like a real chocolate chip cookie – Good job!” I took that as a huge complement, because the last time I made chocolate chip cookies (with protein powder instead of flour) that definitely was NOT his response. It went more like this if you can picture it “Uch, (spit cookie into garbage) turns to me and says what the F@!@ was that?!?!”

I tried these cookies a couple weeks ago because I just felt like a chocolate chip cookie. Everyone needs a chocolate chip cookie every now and again. I am not opposed to cookies if you make them yourself, use nutritious ingredients and have 1 or 2 at a time – not the whole recipe!

Without further ado…

Here is my version of Jessica Seinfeld’s Chocolate Chip Chickpeas Cookies

Makes 24-36 cookies depending on size

Ingredients:

¾ cup Sucanut

¼ cup butter + ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

14oz can of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and pureed in a mixer

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips (large ones so you need less)

2 cups white spelt flour

½ cup old fashioned oats (I had to add more oats because the mixture was too loose)

½ cup whole flaxseeds

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. In a food processor puree chickpeas until smooth and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sucanut and butter applesauce mixture with a wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips. Add the flour, oats, flaxseeds, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until a thick dough forms.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for 11-13 minutes, do not overbake. Leave on cookie sheet to cool and then transfer onto wire rack until completely cool. Do try one in the process of cooling as the gooey chocolate is wonderful in the cookie. Store in airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze.

The recipe didn’t call for a lot of vegetables so I rough chopped whatever I had in the fridge. I turned the crock pot on before bed. I woke up to lunch and dinner for the next 3 days! YIPPY! I only used 2 dishes (1 pan to brown the meat and the crock pot). Super easy and super tasty!

SIDE NOTE: I also had 1lb of extra lean ground beef I had to cook. I compared the food labels of both meats and felt the need to share with you what I found. The ground chicken serving size was ¾ cup and 10g of fat per serving. The beef serving size was ½ cup and 0g fat per serving!! That’s right, the extra lean beef had MUCH less fat then the extra lean ground chicken!! Check your labels and don’t be fooled!

Here is the recipe

Serves 4 if using 1lb, 8 if using 2lbs.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil

1 lb (I used 2lbs) ground chicken

1 796mL can organic chopped tomatoes in it’s own juice

1 container of garden fresh medium salsa

1 can black beans rinsed

1 whole yellow pepper, rough chopped

1 zucchini, rough chopped

2 handfuls spinach

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in frying pan. When hot, add ground chicken and brown until cooked through. Add whatever spices you like to flavor the chicken (I used garlic powder, paprika, chili flakes, salt, pepper). Once browned, drain excess liquid. Pour browned chicken into the crock pot. Open the can of tomatoes and salsa and add to the chicken. Open the beans, drain and rinse until they stop foaming and then add to the mixture. Lastly, add the vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn the crock pot on low and cook for 6-8 hours. Serve over ½ cup of quinoa or brown rice or 1 cup spaghetti squash. ENJOY!

As you read it, ask yourself if you are 1 of the families/people the article describes.

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/familyhealth/article/762275–three-household-routines-cut-risk-of-childhood-obesity

Top 10 Reasons to Drink Water

1. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue
2. Research indicated that drinking 10-12 glasses of water per day can significant reduce up to 80% of joint and muscle pain
3. Drinking your daily amount of water can significantly decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer, bladder cancer and breast cancer
4. Water helps to maintain a healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite
5. Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation
6. Water can prevent and alleviate headaches
7. Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance
8. Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation
9. Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease
10. 10. A 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short term memory, trouble with math and difficultly focusing on the computer screen

Tips to add more water in your daily routine:

Recipes

First, lets discuss the importance of snacks. SNACKS ARE A MUST! It is vitally important that you consume balanced meals or snacks every 3-4 hours. That means whether you are at the office, in the car or always on the go, you MUST always have food with you, ready to eat at a moments notice. NEVER LEAVE YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT FOOD! Yes, that means you have to prepare food ahead of time. I hear a loud groan right about know. Think about it this way… the time you spending prepping means the less time being unfit and unhealthy! YAY

Snacks help to keep your blood sugar levels stable and your metabolism pumped up. When you go longer then 4 or so hours without eating, your blood sugar levels drop and your brain sends you a signal in the form of a carbohydrate craving to raise your blood sugar levels. So, at around 3-5pm you experience low energy and are craving carbs because you did not have your balanced snack. Instead, you are now eating or drinking empty calories to get rid of the craving. This eating pattern will not lead to successfully in reaching your goal!

Like I mentioned before NEVER LEAVE YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT FOOD. Here are a list of my favorite top 10 snacks. Notice that granola bars and snack bars didn’t make the list!

Top 10 Snacks in no particular order: Click on the snack idea for the recipe

1. Green apple with 1 tbsp Raw Almond Butter

2. Raw red pepper cut in slices with 2 tbsp hummus and 1 tbsp Garden Fresh salsa mixed together

3. 1/2 cup shelled Edamame mixed with 1/2 cup chopped together tomatoes, cuccumber, spanish onion, celery and garnished with parsley. Add 1/2 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp balsamic for dressing.

4. Chicken and cheese lettuce wraps

5. 1/2 cup plain yoghurt + 1 tbsp protein powder + 1/4 tsp cinnamon + 2 tbsp Fibre 1 cereal sprinkled on top

6. 1/2 cup oven roasted chickpeas

7. Red pepper egg salad

8. 1 cup mixed berries + 10 walnuts

9. Kefir berry shake

10. Egg muffins

What is your favorite snack? Let me know. Enjoy!

These egg muffins are the easiest things to make and keep nicely in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you like. I don’t eat dairy, but adding a sharp low fat cheddar cheese would give these egg muffins a nice strong flavor. You can eat the egg muffins cold or warm in the microwave.

Makes 12 regular size muffins (3 muffins = 1 serving)

4 whole eggs

8 whites

1 whole zucchini, finely chopped

1 whole red pepper, finely chopped

1 box of organic spinach, finely chopped

Olive oil spray

Salt and pepper to taste

Tabasco to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix whole eggs with whites and whip until combined. Add salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste and set aside.  Using a food processor, finely chop vegetables one at a time. Using a metal strainer, strain all chopped vegetables to get rid of excess water. Spray muffin tin using olive oil spray. Using a tablespoon, spoon the vegetable mixture into each muffin cup. Pour egg mixture on top of vegetables. Only fill cup ¾ of the way full to allow muffins to rise. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are firm. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze for later use.

If I can get all of my clients to STOP DIETING and START EATING FOR HEALTH I will have succeeded in helping them reach their goals. Dieting doesn’t work. It is a short term solution to a lifelong problem. Stop eating foods that aren’t health promoting. What if I said that every time you ate a cookie that was store bought instead of homemade with quality ingredients you would die a day sooner? I know this is dramatic but what if it’s true. What if every time you overate full fat cheese you would die 2 days sooner? It always boggles my mind that people disregard how unhealthy most of the food choices they make are and then get gain weight or become diseased and don’t understand how it happened. I had a client say to me once that taking care of herself was so time consuming. My response to that was that she either spends 1 hour a week preparing food and 3-4 hours per week exercising or the same amount of time waiting in different Doctors offices in 5 to 10 years from now. The choice was hers! I’m pretty sure she had an ah ha moment then.

You might think but Lori , you run weight loss programs. Aren’t those diets? Yes, I run weight loss programs but what I teach clients, is to eat health promoting foods in the proper quantities. I am the first one to say that it is unrealistic for my clients to never have cake, cookies, alcohol, pasta etc but when you are about to eat those foods do it consciously. Eat with awareness! Think about whether or not your choice will promote health or take away from health. If the choice will take away from health and you have decided you still want to eat it have a small amount and ENJOY it!

The next time you are about to eat something ask yourself “What will this do to my health” “Am I making the best possible choice”

Ok, that’s my words of wisdom for today. Now back to the foods that will balance blood sugar. One step that you can take to stop dieting and start eating for health is to balance your blood sugar. Once you have done this your food cravings will go away which will make it SO much easier to avoid the unhealthy foods because your body isn’t screaming at you to eat a muffin or cookie or a 2nd or 3rd coffee.

Here are a couple foods that you can easily integrate into your daily diet that will help balance out blood sugar and reduce cravings.

1. Cinnamon 1 tsp per day.

• Cinnamon is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. It has also been researched to lower bad “LDL” cholesterol and lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Get organic cinnamon because the other types have additives and preservatives that are not health promoting

2. Legumes and Lentils 1/2 cup at lunch

• Beans and lentils contain something called Resistant Starch (RS) which is a fibre like carbohydrate that increase the rate of burning body fat
• Including legumes at lunch raise blood sugar levels very slowly helping to keep you feeling alert, energetic and full for the afternoon

3. Good fats like Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Raw Nuts and Seeds

• Fats help to slow digestion which helps to slow the secretion of insulin which will help to keep blood sugar levels stable
• Including good fats in small quantities throughout the day also help to ward off sugar cravings

Start with those 3 foods. Add some cinnamon to your breakfast, sprinkle it over your fruit, add it into your yoghurt. As for the beans, make a bean salad (there is a great recipe in the recipe section), turn them into a soup, add them to salad or have roasted as a snack. The fats should be easy. Have some raw walnuts or pumpkin seeds as a mid morning snack or with some veggies or fruit for an afternoon snack. Add 1 tsp of oil mixed with balsamic to your bean salad as a dressing.

Remember that small changes add up to QUALITY HEALTH!

http://www.canada.com/health/Manoeuvring+Menus+Concerning+calories+menus+could+cause+order+changes/2416912/story.html

Study says restaurant food often has more calories than advertised

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/100107/x010708A.html

There is a formula that is commonly used when setting goals and it is the SMART goal system. Research shows that those people who set realistic goals are more likely to achieve their goals then those people who do not set goals or set unrealistic ones.

Follow the SMART system for goal setting below. Start with a small goal, achieve it, and then make bigger goals.

S – Specific: State the goal so that the exact result is understood

M – Measurable: state the goal in a way where success can be measured

A – Action-Oriented: state a goal that promotes you taking an action to accomplish it or extinguishing a negative action to accomplish it

R – Realistic: choose a goal that can really be attained

T – Timed: set an appropriate deadline for meeting that goal

Pick 1 short-term goal that you plan to accomplish over the next week and then pick 1 long-term goal you plan to accomplish over the next 6 weeks. Complete the S.M.A.R.T. goal process for each of the goals. Keep in mind the specific actions that need to be taken or given up in order to achieve your goal. Remember, that sometimes in order to achieve your goal behaviors need to be given up. For example, if your goal is to drink 8 cups of water per day but you are currently drinking 2 diet cokes, 2 coffees, 1 glass of wine and 1 water bottle you will have to stop drinking some of the coke, coffee or wine in order to add more water.

Follow the system. Create the goal. Tell people about the goal. Achieve the goal. Set more goals.

Feel free to share your goals with me.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

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