157/365 Christmas Cookies

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

I heard the following short story on This American Life on NPR. It is called "Christmas Cookies" by comedian and writer Edith Zimmerman.

“Good morning,” I said to my students, “does anyone like,” and here I reached under my desk to produce a heaping tray of homemade treats, “Christmas cookies?”
     “Yes,” they screamed.
“How much?” I asked.
     “A lot,” they screamed.
“Do you love them?” I asked.
     “Yes,” they screamed, “we love them.”
“So, why don't you marry them?” I asked.
     “No,” they screamed.
“Why not?” I asked.
     “You can't marry cookies,” they screamed.
I looked down at my engagement ring and sort of slid my hand behind my back so the children couldn't see.
“Is that like for sure a fact or is it something you just assume?” I asked.

Christmas cookies are darn delicious, I know. There are so many kinds and usually a plateful asking you to eat them. I am a cookie monster so by all means, eat a cookie. But which one? How many? My advice to you is to break off half of the cookie, take a bite, and see if the whole thing is worth eating. These cookies were probably a gift from someone else, right? Well, the giver isn't there and won't know that you didn't finish their mediocre cookie. If the cookie is worth finishing, enjoy it while keeping in mind that each one is worth about 100 calories depending on size. How are you going to balance that out?

When it comes to junk food, you cannot feel bad about "wasting it" or throwing it away. It's junk food and junk is meant to be disposed of.

In health,

Lauren

36/365 No Eggs? No Problem! Cookies

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Sometimes you just don't eat your bananas fast enough. If you don't have a baby, how do you use up those overripe bananas? I like to bake cookies  :)

I found this recipe called Craving Cookies. Instead of eggs or butter, you use bananas and peanut butter. The bananas give you potassium and the peanut butter gives you protein. Yes, peanut butter is fatty but, unlike butter, it has no cholesterol. I didn't have chocolate chips on hand, so I decided to add cinnamon in the batter. I also sprinkled cinnamon-sugar on top to give a Snickerdoodle effect to make up for my lack of chocolate.

In health,

Lauren

24/365 Choc-oat-late A-Sauce Cookie Bar

Friends and Fitness Enthusiasts,

Yesterday while I recovered from my wisdom teeth extraction, I was feeling out of it. Due to the narcotic, I couldn't concentrate on any of my assignments that I needed to write or anything. I decided to bake to clear my head and just do something with my hands. I find that when get caught up in an uncreative groove, I need to break from the system and do something creative. Hence, I decided to bake  :)

I wanted something that used applesauce as a substitute for oil/butter/eggs and that had chocolate. I found my savior in Applesauce Oatie Cookies. However, I used:

1. Old-fashioned oats (that's what we had in the house)
2. Whole wheat flour
3. A little less than 1 cup of brown sugar
4. 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup turbinado (raw sugar)
5. No raisins!

Also, I was lazy and didn't bake them as individual cookies. Rather I poured the batter into a 9 x 13. I had a little extra and put it in a smaller baking tin (picture above). I tell you friends, it's delicious! It's gloomy over here. I find that baking yumminess can lift your spiriits.

In health,

Lauren