Edited to add: I made a mistake in counting the carbs in these cookies: they actually have 2.5 net grams of carb, not one, and five grams of protein. I apologize for the error.
By popular demand, my recipe for low carb almond meal chocolate cookies. (Recipe adapted from this one at The Naked Kitchen.) Each of these cookies has a scant 2.5g net carbohydrate and 5g of protein.
Why almond flour instead of wheat flour? Cardiologist William Davis wrote a whole book called Wheat Belly on wheat's being one of the worst foods you can put into your mouth. (Wheat elimination is part of his program for reversing heart disease.) Wheat is an appetite stimulant; it can send your blood sugar over the moon, leading to insulin resistance and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that, well, age you; it can cause autoimmune disorders. Even in you've had a negative test for celiac, you might be wheat sensitive.
I can attest to the last part. I'm not celiac, but once I eliminated wheat, having a cookie made of wheat quickly brought on sinus congestion, acid reflux and a stomach ache. Just reducing wheat made me start slowly losing weight two years ago. And I've had no seasonal allergies since eliminating wheat.
Why almond meal instead of other flours? Most other flours are mainly carbohydrate--and as Dana Carpender puts it, you know those wonderful complex carbohydrates are just sugar molecules holding hands, right? Since almond flour is mostly fat and protein, itdoesn't shouldn't raise your blood sugar or insulin much or create AGEs. The fat makes it moist and filling.
Why stevia instead of sugar or agave? Using sugar adds an extra 19 calories and 5g of carbohydrate per cookie. Agave nectar (assuming a 2/3:1 conversion for sugar) adds 2.36g of carb per cookie. And it's mostly fructose, which your liver sends straight to fat. Stevia has no digestible carbs (i.e., no fructose or calories).
Enjoy as many of these cookies as you want. Three of these cookies have 15g of protein and a scant 7.5g of carbohydrate. Have three or four for breakfast (I do)--I predict you won't be hungry again until noon.
3 c almond flour or meal
1/2 c olive oil (ETA: preferably extra light olive oil)
Equivalent of 1/2 c sugar (e.g., stevia)
2 eggs
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t vanilla extract
5 squares baking chocolate (2.5 oz)
ETA: If using stevia, check the package to find out what the equivalent of 1/2 c of sugar is. Don't use 1/2 c of stevia!
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate at 50% heat in the microwave, or melt it over a low flame. In another small bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the chocolate and other wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Put spoonful sized drops of the cookie dough on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Makes 20 cookies.
By popular demand, my recipe for low carb almond meal chocolate cookies. (Recipe adapted from this one at The Naked Kitchen.) Each of these cookies has a scant 2.5g net carbohydrate and 5g of protein.
Why almond flour instead of wheat flour? Cardiologist William Davis wrote a whole book called Wheat Belly on wheat's being one of the worst foods you can put into your mouth. (Wheat elimination is part of his program for reversing heart disease.) Wheat is an appetite stimulant; it can send your blood sugar over the moon, leading to insulin resistance and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that, well, age you; it can cause autoimmune disorders. Even in you've had a negative test for celiac, you might be wheat sensitive.
I can attest to the last part. I'm not celiac, but once I eliminated wheat, having a cookie made of wheat quickly brought on sinus congestion, acid reflux and a stomach ache. Just reducing wheat made me start slowly losing weight two years ago. And I've had no seasonal allergies since eliminating wheat.
Why almond meal instead of other flours? Most other flours are mainly carbohydrate--and as Dana Carpender puts it, you know those wonderful complex carbohydrates are just sugar molecules holding hands, right? Since almond flour is mostly fat and protein, it
Why stevia instead of sugar or agave? Using sugar adds an extra 19 calories and 5g of carbohydrate per cookie. Agave nectar (assuming a 2/3:1 conversion for sugar) adds 2.36g of carb per cookie. And it's mostly fructose, which your liver sends straight to fat. Stevia has no digestible carbs (i.e., no fructose or calories).
Enjoy as many of these cookies as you want. Three of these cookies have 15g of protein and a scant 7.5g of carbohydrate. Have three or four for breakfast (I do)--I predict you won't be hungry again until noon.
*****
3 c almond flour or meal
1/2 c olive oil (ETA: preferably extra light olive oil)
Equivalent of 1/2 c sugar (e.g., stevia)
2 eggs
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t vanilla extract
5 squares baking chocolate (2.5 oz)
ETA: If using stevia, check the package to find out what the equivalent of 1/2 c of sugar is. Don't use 1/2 c of stevia!
Preheat oven to 375 F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate at 50% heat in the microwave, or melt it over a low flame. In another small bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Pour the chocolate and other wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Put spoonful sized drops of the cookie dough on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Makes 20 cookies.
Comments
Just found your blog today via Fat Fiction, and I'm also a newbie to the HFLC lifestyle via Wheat Belly. Just wondering about the stevia in this recipe. I have used liquid stevia in the past, but not sure how to use it in a recipe like this where it replaces 1/2 cup sugar. Any help you can give will be appreciated. And I love your blog! Lot's of reading ahead for me, lol.
Thanks,
Kat
According to Wheat Belly, ca. p. 239, 1 cup of sucrose = 2 T liquid stevia extract. I haven't tried this myself--let me know how it turns out.
Extra light olive oil works better with cookies and other baked goods than EVOO. Using EVOO makes for bad cookie dough, but IMO, the strong flavor goes away after cooking.