Friday, December 5, 2014

Paleo Gingerbread Cookies

The holiday season is upon and the lovely aroma of gingerbread cookies is filling the streets and shopping centers. Rather than reaching for a typical gingerbread cookie, made with flour, sugar, and vegetable oil, you should try our Paleo version instead. This wholesome Paleo snack is sure favorite whether you’re hosting or going to a holiday party.

We’re using whole dates to achieve a mild sweetness. Dates, of course contain a large amount of natural sugar by weight, but also add polyphenols, fiber, and modest amounts of potassium. Most importantly, we’re limiting the sugar quantity by using only fifteen dates for the entire recipe, meaning each serving contains only one or two dates.

Instead of flour, we’re using a mixture of almonds and dried, unsweetened coconut, also known as desiccated coconut. It’s important to soak the almonds beforehand for at least 8 hours. Soaking initiates the process of germination, which reduces antinutrient levels within the almonds. Antinutrients include phytic acid, oxalates, and enzyme inhibitors, which, collectively, can interfere with digestion and impede the absorption of minerals.

Soaking doesn’t eliminate antinutrients entirely, but does yield significant results, with longer soaking times promoting greater reductions.[1] You can soak almonds and other nuts/seeds for up 24 hours, and after you’ve discarded the water, they’ll keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup almonds, soaked at least 8 hours

½ cup desiccated coconut

1 tbsp ginger powder

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

15 dates, pitted

½ cup coconut milk

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 eggs

DIRECTIONS

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Christopher James Clark, B.B.A.

@nutrigrail

Nutritional Grail

http://ift.tt/16sjq1A

Christopher James Clark, B.B.A. is an award-winning writer, consultant, and chef with specialized knowledge in nutritional science and healing cuisine. He has a Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan and formerly worked as a revenue management analyst for a Fortune 100 company. For the past decade-plus, he has been designing menus, recipes, and food concepts for restaurants and spas, coaching private clients, teaching cooking workshops worldwide, and managing the kitchen for a renowned Greek yoga resort. Clark is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning book, Nutritional Grail .

REFERENCES

[1] Abd El-Hady, EA and Habiba, RA. (May 2003). Effect of soaking and extrusion conditions on antinutrients and protein digestibility of legume seeds. LWT – Food Science and Technology, 36(3). Retrieved from http://ift.tt/1ArypsC

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