Right now many of us have more leisure time at home. How are you spending your spare time? Have you caught up on sleep, taken up napping as a sport? What I have learnt from many clients (and myself!) that there is more time in the kitchen for cooking and playing. One of life’s greatest joys is having the time and space to cook a meal, made better with a loved one, music and maybe a glass of wine if it’s after 5:00 p.m.! Here is my take – bluntly put, the ingredients we use can build us up or break us down. If we are baking up a storm of brownies, breads and cupcakes – with no friends to push them on then it is you and them and whatever willpower you have. What if we chose ingredients that had a bit more focus to them so that we don’t get a blood sugar spike and crash? Ingredients which supported our immune system and anti-inflammatory pathways? And with all the extra sugar and carbohydrates, and nowhere to run them off, it’s likely it will go to storage. It’s not as simple as carbs in carbs out, but I like to recommend we match our carbs to our movement as a way for clients to navigate portions and timing.
These cookies have some sugar (yes!) but they also use sunflower seeds and coconut oil to slow the release of sugars into the blood stream and provide good plant protein and minerals. Serve them with berries and a cup of tea for an afternoon treat.
Ingredients:
½ cup + 2 tbsp. brown rice flour
½ cup ground cashews or sunflower seeds (I pulsed mine in a blender for 20 seconds!)
3 tbsp. coconut oil
4 tbsp. nut milk
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup unrefined sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate (I use Enjoy Life dairy free chocolate chips, but any brand will do!)
Directions:
In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Let them cool. They will seem undercooked and soft, but they will harden up and become chewy. Should make 16 – 18 small cookies.
Sarah Wight is a qualified Nutritional Therapist. Follow her on instagram at swnutrition.bm
