Thursday, January 2, 2014

Healthy Chocolate Brownie Cookies



Below this rant, there is a recipe for scrumptious chewy chocolate brownie cookies. First, I am going to talk about almost everyone's new years resolution... get healthy and lose weight. 
In my opinion so many people get it wrong when it comes to trying to lose weight, exercise, and get healthy. I think that for these two main reasons:

1. They set sky high goals that is almost an immediate 180 turn from what their life was just the day before.

2. They go to the store and buy all "diet foods" that are really not food at all.

In regards to number one. I am all for exercise. However, if you have been dormant, please do not join a boot camp style class until you get your feet wet. The fact is 50% of people that start an exercise program, drop out within 2 months. This of course adds to their feelings of guilt and horrible self esteem, so they drop by the doughnut shop to feed their sorrow.

If you are just getting started, go for a 30 minute slow walk. Stop and smell the flowers, take some pictures, learn to enjoy it. The reality is that all of us should be exercising every single day come hell or high water. That does not mean that we need to be in a high intensity class, it simply means we need to move. You need to change your way of thinking about exercise. Make it a necessity, like brushing your teeth, it must be done. 

In my life, it is very easy to add exercise. I have pretty much eliminated the use of a vehicle in my life. I found that everything where I live, is just a walk away. So I started walking everywhere, instead of hopping in the car. Even though I do not come home sweating like a pig, I know I added steps. I bought a meter that measured my steps and I find I am burning around 300 calories more each and every day simply by walking to my normal errands.

The next thing I did was find an exercise that really works for me. I am not a spring chicken anymore. Back in the day I did high intensity aerobics, basketball, and jogging. Now that I am older, I find jogging does more damage than good on my body. Now all of you runners out there, please don't hate. I think jogging is fabulous for those people that have the joints to support it. But if jogging is going to give you such bad shin splints and sore knees that you can't exercise for another week until you heal, then it really isn't for you, or at least not yet.

Yoga works wonders for me. I get sweaty and sore, but it is not debilitating. I have yoga class 4 times a week, but each class is different and at all different levels. This is to ensure that I get every muscle group toned. My class is conveniently 1/2 a mile away. So I go on a brisk walk to and from class and by the time I get back, I have had a mile walk and an hour and fifteen minutes of yoga. The perfect blend for my body.

Yoga may not be for you. Maybe you love bike riding, paddle boarding, hiking, rock climbing, surfing, skating, dancing... etc. Whatever your pleasure, do it. Schedule it. Get out there and make it a part of your life. You do not need a gym or fancy equipment. Seriously if you just give 5 hours a week to your body, you will be a different person. Stop making it a mountain. Make it as much a part of your life as eating.

Now on to number 2. This is a huge subject for me and instead of getting on a 10 page rant about it, I will just sum up the facts. Diet food is bad for you. If you see any label that says: lowfat, fat free, diet, sugar-free, etc... it is most likely horrible for you. Full of fillers, and chemicals that your body does not know what to do with. So it turns them into fat. Just google it, or here, read this article from CBS. There are hundreds more of these articles. The bottom line is, if they take stuff out, they have to put fillers back in. Listen people, our bodies need fat! We need WHOLE FOODS, and WHOLE FATS. Somewhere along the line people in America got afraid of fat. Fat does not make us fat! Eating too many calories and too many chemicals makes us fat! I strongly urge you to go to real food. STOP WATCHING TV FOR YOUR NUTRITIONAL ADVICE. Money is the driving force behind all this and commercial after commercial will make you think if you eat this, you will lose weight. There is no shortcut. Just eat real food and keep your calories in check. Your body does not care if the calories came from fat. So stop eating margarine that is full of metal shavings and for the love of God, please stop buying lean cuisine. That stuff is full of crap and is so over processed. Your body is a processing plant. It works harder to digest whole foods and thus burns more calories. Stop letting the food companies digest your food for you. That is what processed food is.

People, chemicals in our food and our environment are actually obesity promoters. Known as “endocrine disrupters”, these chemicals “mimic” what hormones in our body do. These chemicals hijack hormonal pathways, sending messages to cells to store fat and generally disrupting the regulatory system that helps control appetite and weight. Chemicals do the following:
1. Increase your number of fat cells.
2. Lower the number of calories you burn.
3. Play havoc with the mechanisms that regulate our appetite.

Okay. I will stop there because if any more comes out I will be having you watch documentaries. If you are wondering how to avoid these foods; buy fresh local produce, shop at organic and farmers markets, and read labels. Anything with the word "enriched" in it, is bad. That means "hey we didn't think your body wanted to work, so we digested this for you, open up!".

So today I am going to show you how to make amazing scrumptious cookies that are RAW. They have no refined sugar. Just sugar from the dates. Best of all, they taste amazing. AMAZING! They make you think you are totally being naughty. However, they are suitable to eat for breakfast. Packed with protein and made up of fruit and nuts, but you can't tell at all.


I make up a big batch of these ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for quick grab and go snacks. They go great with your morning coffee or tea and provide enough energy to keep you going until lunch. With only 150 calories, you can afford to eat two if you are in a chocolate craving. Cocoa is healthy for you, so eat up! 



Healthy Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Makes 8 large cookies

1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups medjool dates, pitted



Add your walnuts and almonds to a food processor,
and pulse until the nuts resemble bread crumbs. 
Next add your cocoa powder and pulse a few times until well blended. 
Next add your pitted dates. Process until the dates have been broken down and you are left with a gooey batter. 
Press your batter into a round mold or biscuit cutter. 
I used a 3" mold and the recipe made 8 cookies. 
Place them on parchment paper and put in the fridge for 20 minutes to set. 
Store in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer. I pack these in my husbands lunch and they are soft and gooey again for him by lunchtime. 

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