It’s that time of year! Time for sprinkles, gingerbread men, colorful frosting, and lots of sweet tasting treats. Along with these wonderful things brings feelings of warm fuzzy nostalgia, but sometimes can also bring on a bad stomach ache. What I love most about using (mostly) whole food ingredients, is the fact that products still have all of the flavor, but none of the heavy sad tummy feelings!
With being back in school again, I’ve taking a tiny break from creating my own recipes as it takes so much time of trial and error. These cookies are from one of my FAVORITE whole foods recipe gurus, Angela Liddon. All of these cookie recipes can be found on her app, Oh She Glows. Angela’s recipe creations always inspire me, as she is always trying to pack as much nutritional punch as possible. I love that!
So here’s the line up:
Heavenly Peanut Butter Balls
I love how SIMPLE these are. Peanut butter balls have been a serious addiction for me at holiday parties. I would eat at least 5 at the party, and then try to sneak out another 3-4. These peanut butter balls use rice crisp cereal to give it that crunch (such a great idea!). It would also be interesting to try chia seeds or toasted quinoa. Don’t skip the flake salt!
Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Cookies
There is always a cookie that disappears really fast. These are those cookies. They literally taste like cinnamon rolls!
Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies
I am a total gingerbread fan and these cookies didn’t disappoint. This recipe calls for ‘spelt flour,’ which I wanted to briefly touch on. Spelt flour is not gluten free, so why would someone substitute it for regular white flour in a recipe? Spelt flour (which is made from farro) is an ancient grain that hasn’t evolved at all over the years. Wheat has changed so much overtime that is is unrecognizable from its early ancestors. The gluten in what we currently know as ‘wheat,’ has shown to have more detrimental side effects on the human biology. If you are sensitive to gluten (and don’t suffer from celiac), it’s worthwhile to give spelt a try. The gluten in spelt flour has a completely different molecular structure than gluten from wheat, and has been shown to have less unpleasant side effects.
Peppermint Crunch Cookies
These cookies are not only adorable, but have two of my favorite things. Chocolate and peppermint. I love that she included rolled oats in this recipe which kicks the fiber content way up. The more fiber per cookie, the more level your blood sugar! It’s all about synergy and balance of course.
Best wishes to all on having the happiest holiday season! 2021 is just around the corner and I know it’s going to be a really wonderful year!
