We all know that not all cookie ingredients are created equal. Some cookie recipes are touted as “good for you” but then the end product taste like sawdust. Other cookies are of course amazingly delicious but offer little to no nutritional benefit.
If you feel like baking up some cookies for your family, what choice do you have for healthying them up without completely killing the taste? Some ideas:
Use organic butter and local farm eggs.
I realize that these items can be a bit more pricey. If money is not an issue for you, then consider that butter which has been made from milk produced by cows who graze on clean grass is much better for your health, as are eggs that come from chickens that eat grass, bugs and corn. So, when you can, opt for organic and local. It’s a virtually undetectable way to healthy up your treats.
Bake with aluminum-free baking powder.
Aluminum is toxic, and may be linked to altzeimer’s disease. The less we consume, the better off we are. A great, aluminum-free baking soda to try is Rumford. If you can’t find it in the grocery store, check Amazon.
Sub out some or all of the flour for oatmeal.
Oatmeal cookies don’t have to be, well, oatmeal cookies. If you add chocolate chips, they’re still oatmeal cookies, but now they are also chocolate chip cookies! As far as traditional cookie choices go, oatmeal are probably the best kind, as oatmeal is a fiber-rich whole grain. If you don’t care for the lumps, run your oats through a blender to make oat flour. Now they’re even more like regular old chocolate chip cookies!
Add nuts.
Not everyone on this planet is allergic to nuts. If you’re baking at home for family with no chance of a nut-allergic outsider eating them, you may as well include a little extra protein and omega fats to your cookies with the addition of some nuts. This could turn the cookie into a snackable take-along item (think granola bar, but shaped like a cookie!) that you won’t nearly feel as guilty about eating or serving to your kids.
Add raisins.
So the recipe didn’t call for raisins? Add some anyway! Dried fruits are loaded with vitamins and they’re also good for digestion. Don’t have raisins in the house? Try craisins, currants, dates or chopped dried apples.
So to sum up: we have taken an idea for making chocolate chip cookies, and turned it into chocolate chip oatmeal raisin nut granola bars. Not bad!