Recipe – Page 2 – Effective Self Care info

February 18, 2018

Pomegranate extract – Master Chef Challenge update

For anyone following along with the pomegranate peel experiments (previous post)- update, I had a lot of pomegranate extract thawed at the same time and for a dietitian that means reheat to steaming to assure food safety. So it was an opportunity to experiment some more with trying to adjust the acidity again. When baking soda is added to a hot acidic liquid there is an obvious bubbling reaction and change in color of the liquid. I have pH strips to check acidity and did manage to adjust the acidity of the extract. The taste is still not great but chronic illness and mood issues are not great either. After three cups of experimental attempts my mood is awesome *(see additional note) and I have some recipe details:

6 cups of pomegranate extract (previous post)

2 Tablespoons Cardamom powdered spice

1 teaspoon Gumbo File powdered spice (Sassafras Leaves, powdered and used in Gumbo’s in Creole style cooking)

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Add the Cardamom and Gumbo File to the Pomegranate Extract and stir well to break apart any dry lumps of the powdered spices. The Gumbo File acts as an emulsifier and is a digestive aid and the Cardamom adds flavor, phytonutrients and would help alkalize the mixture in addition to the alkalizing power of the Baking Soda.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the Baking Soda and stir. Remove the mixture from the heat and keep stirring. It will froth up and stirring helps keep it from frothing over the top of the pan. The color changes from pinkish to brown from the Cardamom spice.
To drink as a beverage dilute with equal parts water to Pomegranate Extract.

This would be an acquired taste – aka “not good” until you get used to it, or not good at all but the mood and health benefits are worth for me at least. It is also a diuretic which means it is like beer or coffee in the way it increases kidney activity and urine production so it is best to have it earlier in the day followed by plenty of glasses of water early in the day so that you aren’t waking up in the middle of the night as much. Overly acidic, dehydrated body fluids can increase work for the kidneys and result in a frequent feeling of needing to go urgently but then not producing much quantity – drink plenty of water early in the day and produce plenty of dilute quantity early in the day and a diuretic can help cleanse toxins from the body instead of being a middle of the night problem.

Since pomegranate growing season is limited the powdered spice made from Sumac might be a health substitute. It has been shown to have a range of health benefits, and is also a diuretic. Its phytonutrients are similarly colored suggesting there might be some similar antioxidant content as well. The gallotannin group of phytonutrients are in common and would likely promote Nrf2. (More about Sumac in this post) (a series of posts on Nrf2)

To put a financial perspective on this – for my health needs the pomegranate extract or pomegranate seeds and cardamom powder and a few other good sources of phospholipids are adequate replacements for my medical marijuana which cost me around $1000-1200 per month. The medical effects are slightly different and not quite as good for pain killing properties but the negative psychological effects that can occur with withdrawal for some people are also not present.

To review – cannabinoids are a group of chemicals that are made within the cells of most species and are similar to the group of cannabinoids found in the cannabis plants commonly known as marijuana or hemp. Medical marijuana has a euphoria producing one known by the chemical initials THC while hemp has only non-euphoria producing cannabinoids. Both types can have medical or other basic health benefits. Cannabinoids are found throughout membranes and add to cell wall flexibility and help with messenger chemical type activities that can help reduce inflammation and fight infection. Some people such as myself can have genetic differences that make it impossible to make the chemicals internally as in average health. I have had minor health problems since infancy and having external dietary sources of phospholipids or cannabinoids helps my body and mood and immune system. More information about the topic is available in the post/article Is it Addiction or Starvation?

People with problems with binge eating disorders, alcohol abuse tendencies, meth or heroin/opioid abuse tendencies, or seem to have an excess use of marijuana, and nicotine to a lesser extent all may actually have underlying genetic differences that leave them in need of increased dietary sources of phospholipids/cannabinoids. The article Is It Addiction or Starvation? has some legal food sources in addition to pomegranate seeds and cardamom spice. It doesn’t mention the Middle Eastern spice Sumac but it might help also.

*Additional note – three cups was likely to large of a serving, an awesome mood for someone with unstable mood issues was too much of a good thing – Newton’s Law of Gravity may apply metaphorically, “What goes up must come down.” I had a worse mood problem later in the evening. Today (the next morning) I’ve enjoyed a few spoonfuls of the spicy, creamy slightly thickened mixture in my coffee and it is good to my “acquired taste.” The thing about having acquired an acquired taste for something is that you then want to acquire more – pun intended. The pomegranate season in Australia turns out to also be November to March so that isn’t much help. Processing pomegranate peel during the growing season would be necessary if I hope to continue to be able to acquire pomegranate extract all year long. It has medicinal benefits according to the research that is available, (see links in earlier posts on this site).

New Zealand isn’t ideal for pomegranate either as the summer length may be too short some years, however their harvest season is February-April: “Pomegranates grow best in areas with cold Winters and long hot, dry Summers.” (Pomegranate Wonderful)

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

January 8, 2018

Revisiting superstition from the perspective of economics

What do imaginary goods, virtual cats and superstition have to do with each other? – Economics. ‘Imaginary goods’ is a term used by an Austrian economic theorist from the 1800’s, Carl Menger, to describe goods that might be sold but which did not meet all the criteria of a ‘goods‘ – a thing of value which could be sold or purchased. Imaginary goods could also be sold but they did not meet all of his criteria for ‘goods‘ because their value was more transient – in the imagination of the buyer and/or seller rather than clearly apparent to any normal consumer of goods. (Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger, a translation in English)

As I’ve been working on devising ways to make pomegranate peel edible I’ve been thinking about the idea of a market or demand for a good versus the actual value of the good. You can’t sell something of value if no one considers it valuable even if it fits the criteria of being ‘goods‘ – fulfilling human needs; while it recently was brought to my attention, a refresher course having grown up in era of ‘Pet Rocks,” that some people will pay for anything if it is popular – if other people are bidding on the item too. I was astonished as a child that anyone would pay real money for a rock in a box just because it was called a ‘Pet Rock‘ – just go outside, find a rock, stick it in a box – there you go, your very own ‘pet rock’ captured from its wilderness and tamed for your own enjoyment. The current trend that was brought to my attention is less solid but requires an imagination – virtual cats, bred to have unique characteristics, the bidding is based on the uniqueness of the characteristics (investopedia.com) – my thought, too much time or too much money, and too little space for a real pet cat.

People need love and affection as it promotes oxytocin and dopamine which are hormones that promote positive feelings.

For those with limited room in their lives for an expensive virtual cat, consider going outside and looking for a wild rock to tame instead.

Bringing this back around to the New Year’s Day topic of good luck black-eyed peas and the following day’s topic of superstition – Carl Menger includes in his examples of imaginary goods items that might be considered good luck charms and also medications that aren’t effective.

Pomegranate peel might be effective but until there is proof that it is effective there might not be a market of consumers willing to pay for it let alone even try it. So Master Chef Challenge – Pomegranate Peel -> make it appetizing and if people also feel good after eating it then they will return for seconds -> thus creating a market that hadn’t previously been known.

Carl Menger’s four criteria for what makes something a consumer ‘good’:

“If a thing is to become a good, or in other words, if it is to
acquire goods-character, all four of the following prerequisites
must be simultaneously present:

A human need.
Such properties as render the thing capable of being brought
into a causal connection with the satisfaction of this need.
Human knowledge of this causal connection.
Command of the thing sufficient to direct it to the satisfaction
of the need.” page 52 (Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger, a translation in English)

According to his theory something can lose its value as a consumer good if it stops fulfilling any one of those four criteria, to paraphrase – if we 1: stop needing it because the problem it solved no longer exists, 2: the thing no longer works to solve the original problem 3: we forget that the thing is useful for fulfilling the need, 4: the thing is no longer something humans have access to (the WiFi goes out and the virtual cat breeding stops functioning) :

“Hence a thing loses its goods-character: (1) if, owing to a
change in human needs, the particular needs disappear that the thing is capable of satisfying, (2) whenever the capacity of the
thing to be placed in a causal connection with the satisfaction of
human needs is lost as the result of a change in its own properties,
(3) if knowledge of the causal connection between the thing and
the satisfaction of human needs disappears, or (4) if men lose
command of it so completely that they can no longer apply it
directly to the satisfaction of their needs and have no means of
reestablishing their power to do so.” -pages 52-53 (Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger, a translation in English)

So for those who may have forgotten (reason #3), – caring for living people or pets can help one’s own health through increased oxytocin, dopamine and reduced oxidative stress. If owning a real pet is not possible due to housing issues visiting a local Humane Society type agency and volunteering to help care for the shelter animals is generally possible and appreciated. If money isn’t a problem hiring a human for a service that involves touch such as a manicure is helping others by providing money for jobs and providing oxidative stress reducing touch from the hands-on service. If owning a real pet or hiring human hands-on service isn’t possible than oxytocin, dopamine and possibly even reduction in oxidative stress may be provided by a caring relationship with a houseplant that cleans the air of toxins (ferns and other types), or by enjoying looking at art objects that have to do with nature or possible the touch of a smooth natural object such as a rock or crystal or wooden object.

While my search of oxidative stress and art didn’t turn up the link I was looking for it did find a review of research on male infertility, oxidative stress, antioxidants (vitamin E, C and CoQ10) and ART, assisted reproductive techniques, while it doesn’t mention iodine it’s worth saving for reference and smoking is mentioned as risk: http://ccf.org/reproductiveresearchcenter/docs/agradoc261.pdf

Smoking increases intake of formaldehyde as well as other toxins. There are also other common sources of formaldehyde in modern living environments. Tips for reducing risk of formaldehyde exposure and links for the houseplants that help detoxify indoor air from formaldehyde and other common volatile chemicals are included in an older post, Formaldehyde (volatile – chemicals that might be easily released from plastics or carpets into the air – ie “new car smell”).

The topic on nature and art and oxidative stress is discussed with links in the section Art – Food for the Eyes on another website, effectivecare.info, 10. food Helps Too.

Returning to the Master Chef Challenge – Pomegranate Peel, – it is helping my mood and health more consistently than the 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds did but it is quite acidic. I’ve taken to using a couple spoonfuls in my bean soup instead of the lime juice or apple cider vinegar that I had been adding as a digestive aid. I’ve also tried it on salads in place of lime juice.

As a beverage I occasionally have the original blend of approximately 3 ounces of the pomegranate extract/soup stock with about 3 ounces of water and 1 ounce of cherry juice with four pinches of Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) to make it less acidic. Sugar is inflammatory in itself so I’v stopped using much of it. After the review of the blueberry/rhubarb jam recipe I bought some blueberries and will try a combination of the pomegranate extract with the less acidic fruit. Cherry juice is also acidic. Blueberry juice concentrate is available in specialty stores but I wasn’t at one. The Baking Soda may be too much sodium or something in the pomegranate extract or the level of acidity it adds to the diet may have a diuretic effect like coffee – so like many things in life – it’s not perfect. But being sick isn’t either.

When you start thinking about food as fuel and as your body’s natural medicine cabinet then taste is something that can be acquired and adapted to suit the needs of health – but first the mind has to overpower the habit of “I always eat what my family ate, or what I got used to at college, or whatever my friends are eating.” Social settings and food are very strongly linked and it can be viewed as rude to refuse an offer of food that is being offered – sometimes life isn’t perfect either.

Good luck and best wishes all you Master Chefs out in virtual reader land – I know you can take on whatever culinary challenges you choose.

If at the beginning of 2017 someone predicted that I would successfully be using pomegranate peel, baker’s cocoa, cardamom, and leafy green herbs and vegetables instead of medical marijuana for my autoimmune health condition I might have thought they were imagining things – but Carl Menger was right we have to know the causal connection between a good and a problem it might solve before we go to the effort to purchase, prepare, and use the good for solving that problem/need (health care improvement in my case). pages 51-58, (Principles of Economics, by Carl Menger, a translation in English).

A tastes better than it looks salad – Blueberry Pomegranate Avocado Quinoa Salad.

Bring two and a half cups of water to a boil and add one cup quinoa (or amaranth or cracked wheat for a more traditional tabouli like salad). Cook for twenty minutes at a simmer. Stir occasionally to keep it from sticking to the saucepan. Once the water is fully absorbed remove the pan from the heat and add about (all of the following ingredients are estimates except for the avocado- this is a first try) one tablespoon coconut oil and stir into the hot cooked cereal. Add about one cup of frozen or fresh blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen or fresh pomegranate seeds, 1/4 cup pomegranate peel extract, one chopped ripe avocado, one tablespoon dried tarragon and one tablespoon dried basil (or more if fresh is available), and 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Stir the mixture thoroughly. The cereal will turn purplish color from the blueberries. Serve a cup or so of the mixture over a plate of chopped salad greens and top with a pretty 1/8th cup of fresh or frozen pomegranate seeds.

I always add salt to taste at the table. We taste only the salt on the surface of food, not what has been cooked into a food or stirred into a mixture as much.

The flavors and textures work well together, sweet and tanginess from the fruit, creaminess from the avocado, quinoa and coconut oil. Tarragon adds flavor, the basil is milder and wasn’t noticeable in the amount I added here. Tarragon has a slightly minty flavor. The walnut is a stronger flavor and the crunch and flavor balance with the flavor of the blueberries and crunch of the pomegranate seeds. This was a success flavor and texture-wise no matter what it looks like and it would be nutritionally balanced with protein, essential fats and carbohydrates and plenty of fiber and trace nutrients and antioxidants. Walnuts and blueberries have both been found effective for cardiovascular health and male health issues.

Blueberry Pomegranate Avocado Quinoa Salad

January 1, 2018

New Year, new recipes

Black eyed peas are a traditional good luck food for New Year’s Day that dates back to the Civil War. Soldiers would take all the food that was available but leave the black eyed peas because they were considered a food that was fed to farm animals. The slaves that were still on plantations were glad to have the high protein food and the flavorful peas became associated with good luck – lucky to have food. They were traditionally served with collard greens or some other greens, corn bread and pork. The pan drippings added flavor for the greens and the corn bread helped soak up any extra liquid. The gold color of the corn bread was associated with gold and good fortune – money due in the new year. Read more: tripsavvy.com.

To make plain black eyed peas or other larger beans such as pinto or kidney beans:

Sort the beans for any that look discolored or shriveled and occasionally small rocks may have been missed by the sorting machines.
Rinse the beans or peas in water and drain.
In a large stock pot add water to cover the beans with about four inches extra at the top.
Leave the beans or black eyed peas to soak over night, about eight hours; or for the quick method, put on the lid and place the stock pot on medium high heat. Bring it to a boil for one minute and then remove it from the heat and let it sit covered with the lid for one hour. Split peas and lentils and very small beans such as adzuki don’t need the overnight or hour long presoak.
Drain the soak water as it helps remove some of the gassy effect (by removing some less digestible starches or something like that) and replace with fresh water to cover plus a couple extra inches if the goal is to have beans without much extra soup stock liquid. For two pounds of beans add eight cups of water for a pot of beans intended to be served without much soup broth or add about 12 cups of water if more broth is desired.
Place the stock pot back on medium high heat with the lid on and bring back to a slight boil, for a large pot it might take a few minutes. Reduce the heat to a medium low so the stock continues to bubble gently – a simmer. Cook for one and half hours total.
For soup with vegetables I let the beans cook for the first half hour without additional spices or vegetables as those cook in less time. I added about 2-6 cloves of garlic depending on whether small or large, minced, 2-4 tablespoons of cumin/coriander mix, 1 tablespoon of rosemary, 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped in a half inch dice, about 3 cups, 6 large celery stalks chopped in half length wise and then sliced, about 1/4 inch dice, about 3 cups in all, 4 small carrots cut in half and sliced made about 1 cup chopped, add to the soup stock pot.
In a separate pan saute 2 small or 1 large onion chopped in a 1/4 inch dice until wilted, but not necessarily caramelized – browned. Add the sauteed onion to the soup stock pot. Sauteed onion can be easier for some people to digest then boiled onion.
After all that work another half hour is likely to have elapsed, add more herbs if desired. I added 1 teaspoon of thyme, and 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning.

Since I am no longer lucky enough to be able to eat corn bread due to autoimmune symptoms I prepared two cups of rice in a separate pan and combined it with the soup when the vegetables and beans were done.

A large batch of soup ideally should be chilled in small glass or heat resistant containers or stir the soup in a large container or a couple larger containers in the refrigerator occasionally until the soup is chilled before adding to a plastic container.

I add salt at the table as we only taste salt that is on the surface of the food and unlike in baked goods there is no chemical reaction that requires stabilization by salt. If you forget the salt in a baked good it will likely have a crumblier texture. Baked goods are chemically recombining the ingredients into a new molecular form. Soup is more of a watery base with stuff floating in it.

Speaking of baked goods – a cookie modification to the eggless, gluten free recipe on my newer website (Chocolate Chip Cookie). These cookies are dairy free as I use baking cocoa and no chocolate chips. They are slightly less sweet and would have an increased amount of protein due to the substitution of almond meal for the buckwheat flour in the other recipe:

Chocolate Cookies

Makes 48 cookies, bake at 350’F for approximately 20-25 minutes.

3 Tablespoons Golden Flax meal, ground
10 Tablespoons of Boiling Hot Water,

Step 1: — Combine the flax meal and boiling water and stir together for a few minutes until the mixture is thickened and looks a little like a watery porridge. Then add the melted coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla and apple cider vinegar, stir and set aside until later.

3/4 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar (This is needed in the corn free version of the recipe in order to make the Baking Soda work properly as a leavening agent. Baking Powder has cornstarch and it also has an acidic ingredient that Baking Soda doesn’t have.)
1/2 cup of water (The baking cocoa makes this a dry mixture and the flax meal works best with a moist dough, the amount of water needed to make a soft dough that doesn’t crumble may be slightly less or more depending on how packed or overflowing the cups of flour and spoonfuls of cocoa powder are. I added a couple tablespoons at a time and found I needed 8 in all which equals a 1/2 cup, and it would be easier to combine with the wet ingredients. This is a new recipe, first trial run with the baking cocoa, second try with the almond meal substitution, it made a nice chewy texture. I tried this recipe again and ended up adding a little extra flour. Depending on how rounded or how packed the measuring cups are the moisture/flour ratio may need to be adjusted at the end. The dough should be soft and sticky but be able to be rolled in balls if your hands are wet or sprayed with a little of the pan-spray oil.)

Step 2: — (actually step 1 combined several actions): — add the dry ingredients to a different larger bowl and mix together thoroughly:

1/2 cup Almond Meal
1 cup Brown Rice Flour
3/4 cup Coconut Flour
6 Tablespoons Baking Cocoa
1/2 and 1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda (*Baking Powder has cornstarch)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cardamom Powder – this spice works well with the flavor of buckwheat flour. It tastes a little like cinnamon but is not quite the same.

Step 3: — mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.

If desired these cookies could be made as double chocolate cookies by adding the chocolate chips at this stage as was included in the original recipe. I didn’t have any on hand.

1/2 to 3/4 of a ten or twelve ounce package of Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. This batter is greasy seeming and the chips constantly pop out of the dough so I don’t even try to add a full package. It is easiest to work with the dough when the mix is more wet than dry, more like muffin batter than a typical “cookie dough“.

Step 5: — Preheat oven to 350’F., and form cookies with a scoop or with a pair of metal spoons as the batter is sticky and might even work in a cookie press if there weren’t chocolate chips. Form approximately one inch size balls of dough. Place about 24 on a pre-oiled or nonstick cookie sheet.

Step 6: — Bake in the center of the oven and/or rotate the top and bottom pans after 15 minutes of baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden brown.

Step 7: — Allow to cool slightly before eating and store in an airtight container once they are cool enough to no longer be emitting steam. The cookies keep for about a week or until they are all eaten, whichever happens first. They can also stored in the freezer once they are baked or as a cookie dough to be formed into cookies and baked at a later time for a treat fresh out of the oven with less work.

March 31, 2013September 8, 2017

Gluten free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fortunately, Gluten free doesn’t have to mean cookie free, but gluten free cookies can be crumblier than traditional wheat flour cookies. The coconut flour and extra egg in the second recipe help to retain moisture and reduce the crumbliness somewhat.

— and as my autoimmune health issues keep getting worse my baking skills keep stepping up to the cookie plate – see the third recipe for an egg free, butter free version that is still gluten free.

Glutamine is an amino acid that may be part of the sensitivity problem for people sensitive to wheat products but who don’t have the autoimmune condition Celiac disease/Celiac sprue. Glutamine is an amino acid that can cause actions to occur in the body, acting as a messenger chemical. Combined with excess glucose – sugar, glutamine and glucose in excess may be part of the underlying condition that promotes cancer cell growth. (Want cancer? Eat plenty of refined sugar say researchers [and glutamine too]) Eggs and egg white and wheat are considered good sources of the amino acid glutamine. (L-glutamine food sources) Egg: 0.559 grams glutamine and 1.014 grams glutamate. (glutamine content of foods derived by gene sequencing) But so is flaxmeal: 0.52 grams glutamic acid in 2 Tablespoons: (flaxmeal) The forms of amino acids are interchangeable but also may have different activities – it is complex and moderation is a good idea on National Cookie Day and any other day.

Plan ahead for National Cookie Day on December 4th and bake enough to have now and later. Cookies can be made ahead for the holidays and stored in the freezer after they are baked or as ready-to-bake cookie dough. Gluten free recipes can usually be adapted by substituting an equivalent amount of regular flour. Substituting white or whole wheat flour will work in either of the following recipes, 2 1/2 cups total flour for the first recipe and 3 to 3/14 cups for the second recipe – the corn flour is finely ground and dense compared to regular wheat flour.

The nutrient content of gluten free recipes can vary depending on the amount of flour or starch that is used. Gluten free cooking is important for people with some types of health conditions but it is not necessarily more nutritious for people of normal health and some of the products made with more starches may be less nutritious than wheat flour products. For the people with autoimmune sensitivities however it can be very important to avoid even trace amounts of gluten. the body makes autoimmune antibodies against gluten in response to encountering gluten.

It can take six months carefully following a gluten free diet before the autoimmune antibody levels decrease to normal but levels can normalize within a month on a gluten free diet for some. The person’s negative symptoms may not start feeling better immediately after they start a gluten free diet because of the circulating levels of autoimmune antibodies. The symptoms get better as the antibody levels decrease. Eating small portions or even trace amounts may cause an increase in the antibody levels again and a flair up in symptoms again. The autoimmune reaction by the body over time can cause chronic degenerative damage to the body so avoiding gluten may be helping a person have fewer symptoms on a daily basis and avoid long term damage to their body.

/Disclosure: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./

Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies – version without corn flour, 11/3/2015

Makes 48-60 cookies, bake at 350’F for approximately 20 minutes.

2 sticks Butter, room temperature
2 cups Brown Sugar
— mix the softened butter and sugar together and then mix in the eggs and vanilla
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
— add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly
1 1/2 cup Buckwheat Flour
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cardamom Powder – this spice works well with the flavor of buckwheat flour
—- add the chocolate chips after the batter is mixed well
1 ten or twelve ounce package of Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips -the cookies also can be made without the chocolate chips

Form one inch balls of dough and roll them in white sugar if desired. Place about 24 per cookie sheet. Bake in the center of the oven and/or rotate the top and bottom pans after 15 minutes of baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes unitl slightly golden brown. These are not low calorie cookies but they do contain more fiber than regular white flour cookies.

Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies – with corn flour

Makes 48-60 cookies, bake at 350’F for approximately 20 minutes.

2 sticks Butter, room temperature
2 cups Brown Sugar
— mix the softened butter and sugar together and then mix in the eggs and vanilla
3 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
— add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix thoroughly
1 cup Buckwheat Flour
1 1/2 cups Corn Flour, (such as the Maseca brand)
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cardamom Powder – this spice works well with the flavor of buckwheat flour
—- add the chocolate chips after the batter is mixed well
1 ten or twelve ounce package of Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips -the cookies also can be made without the chocolate chips

Form one inch balls of dough and roll them in white sugar if desired. Place about 24 per cookie sheet. Bake in the center of the oven and/or rotate the top and bottom pans after 15 minutes of baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden brown. These are not low calorie cookies but they do contain more fiber than regular white flour cookies.

The Egg free, Butter free – don’t need a refrigerator for the ingredients Version:

Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies – without egg, butter, corn or wheat flour, or other gluten containing flours (which may include oatmeal).

Makes 48 cookies, bake at 350’F for approximately 20-25 minutes.

3 Tablespoons Golden Flaxmeal, ground
10 Tablespoons of Boiling Hot Water, – Step 1. Combine the flaxmeal and boiling water and stir together for a few minutes until the mixture is thickened and looks a little like a watery porridge. Then add the melted coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla and apple cider vinegar, stir and set aside until later.
1 cup Coconut Oil, melted
2 cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar (This is needed in the corn free version of the recipe in order to make the Baking Soda work properly as a leavening agent. Baking Powder has corn starch and it also has an acidic ingredient that Baking Soda doesn’t have.)
Step 2 (actually step 1 combined several actions): — add the dry ingredients to a different larger bowl and mix it together thoroughly:
3/4 cup Buckwheat Flour
1 cup Brown Rice Flour
3/4 cup Coconut Flour
1/2 and 1/8 teaspoon Baking Soda (*Baking Powder has corn starch)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cardamom Powder – this spice works well with the flavor of buckwheat flour. It tastes a little like cinnamon but is not quite the same.
Step 3: — mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.
Step 4: — add the chocolate chips after the batter is mixed well.
1/2 to 3/4 of a ten or twelve ounce package of Dark Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. This batter is greasy seeming and the chips constantly pop out of the dough so I don’t even try to add a full package. It is easiest to work with the dough when the mix is more wet than dry, more like muffin batter than a typical “cookie dough“.
Step 5: — Preheat oven to 350’F., and form cookies with a scoop or with a pair of metal spoons as the batter is sticky and might even work in a cookie press if there weren’t chocolate chips. Form approximately one inch size balls of dough. Place about 24 on a pre-oiled or nonstick cookie sheet.
Step 6: — Bake in the center of the oven and/or rotate the top and bottom pans after 15 minutes of baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden brown.
Step 7: — Allow to cool slightly before eating and store in an airtight container once they are cool enough to no longer be emitting steam. The cookies keep for about a week or until they are all eaten, whichever happens first. They can also stored in the freezer once they are baked or as a cookie dough to be formed into cookies and baked at a later time for a treat fresh out of the oven with less work.
For freezer preparation — To form cookie dough into ready to cut and bake tubes of dough for the freezer, roll out a sheet of waxed paper on a clean countertop. Spritz it with a cooking spray oil and sprinkle the waxed paper with some ground flaxmeal. With oily hands put the dough on the waxed paper and form it into a long tube like log of dough about two inches thick, and then roll it up into the waxpaper. Store the paper wrapped tube in a larger plastic freezer bag or container. A batch of cookie dough would make about two and half “tubes” of dough – the length of a square of waxpaper. Each would make approximately one cookie sheet of cookies.

-The cookies also can be made without the chocolate chips or with other additions such as chopped nuts or dried currents or raisins.

These are not low calorie cookies but they do contain more fiber and antioxidant rich ingredients than regular white flour cookies, or gluten free cookies that are based on fiber free refined starches instead of whole grain flours.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has a service for locating a nutrition counselor near you at the website eatright.org: (eatright.org/find-an-expert)