Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Hello, hello. Let's talk about being healthy for a bit, okay? As I was scrolling through my past posts, I realized I wasn't really fulfilling my slogan of "an attempt at healthy living". It was time to live it up. As summer began, my diet became a little cray cray and I completely disregarded exercise. I'm beginning to develop a summer routine though. This post will be a bit of a lecture, so if you're rolling your eyes, please just skip down to the recipe! :) 

Flourless cookies? Damn straight, homies. I swear this isn't some sort of BS. Now, the lecturing is about to begin. I'll go through why flour and gluten were cut out of my diet; benefits of honey (yes these are sugar free); and a little bit of my recent exercise routine, HIIT. 

A few months ago, I began cutting all wheat/gluten products out of my diet because I had stumbled across an article about gluten sensitivity, which I boldly self-diagnosed as a problem in my life. Since I stopped my gluten intake, my overall energy levels have increase and my stomach no longer hurts from the wretched bloating. Now, there are mixed professional beliefs out there; some believe taking gluten out of a diet is more detrimental than keeping it in the diet, while others believe that cutting gluten out can improve overall energy levels and health. I'm no professional, but from my experiences I do believe that cutting as much gluten as possible out of your life will help with fatigue, headaches, and bloating. With that being said, you can freely enjoy these cookies, that is, unless you've got peanut allergies.

Now we're onto the benefits of honey. While there are many uses of honey, I'll be focusing on my favorite benefit.

I am one of those people who is allergic to everything outside, basically most of nature-- anything from grasses to hamsters. Lucky me, right? What I'm trying to say is that honey can potentially ease your agonizing allergies (it would be great if honey could fully get rid of allergies though!). How this works is through suppression immunotherapy, which is a method of alleviating allergies through gradually introducing allergens to your body system. Normally, when your body is exposed to allergens, an allergic reaction occurs. 

Let's say a little speck of pollen, or antigen, enters your body through your nostril. This antigen triggers your white blood cells to produce antibodies that help defend your body from the antigen, or the "invader". What then happens is an allergic reaction; the antibody destroys the antigen through promoting the production of chemicals that kill off the antigen. As this is happening, you are experiencing an allergic reaction. For many of us, the luckier ones (let's attempt to be positive, shall we?), we only have irritating reactions that include but are not limited to: watery eyes, itchy throat, runny noses. Others who have it worse can often experience life-threatening consequences. 

Okay, so now that I've given a little bit of an explanation of what an allergic reaction is, I'll very briefly go over how honey reduces allergic reactions through suppression immunotherapy. By introducing local pollens to your body through local honey, allergic reactions eventually become less severe and more tolerable. This method is most commonly known through shot treatments from allergologists, but eating small increments of honey each day can also result with the same effect.

Despite the many benefits of honey, there can be complications as well. For more information on this sweetener, click here.

If you're a true peanut butter lover, I know you'll love these. They're so incredibly soft in the middle, with a little crispy outer edge. Mmm, enjoy!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe: makes 16, adapted from myrecipes
1 cup all natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir together the peanut butter, honey, baking soda, and salt. Add the egg and incorporate until smooth. Drop by the Tablespoons, two inches apart on the lined baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookie edges brown. 
4. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for about 15 minutes. Cookies best eaten within 2 days.

Notes:
- I used 1/2 cup creamy and 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter for more of a crunch ;)
- If using all natural peanut butter/homemade , make sure the peanuts were roasted/toasted
- Feel free to add in 2/3 cup chocolate chips!

With Love,
Grace 

Works Cited:

"Allergic Reaction Causes and Triggers: Foods, Medicine, and More." WebMD.com. Ed. Laura J.  

       Martin. WebMD, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 17 June 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide

       /allergic-reaction-causes>.
Gardner, Karen. "What Are the Benefits of Honey Made Where You Live?" Livestrong.com. 

       Livestrong, 27 June 2011. Web. 17 June 2013. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/479702-

      what-are-the-benefits-of-honey-made-where-you-live/>.

News Medical Staff. "Suppression Immunotherapies." News-medical.net. News Medical, n.d. Web. 

       17 June 2013. <http://www.news-medical.net/health/Suppression-Immunotherapies.aspx>.

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The Fluff of Rocky Roads

Look at this goodness. This fluffy, yet chocolatey goodness.

I got up and remembered that it was the last day of classes before exams. I pulled my curtains open and this is what I saw. Soo much smog!

Anyways...last night, I had made rocky road candies and ohhh my goodness...the smell...it was like inhaling winter coziness.

I left these babies in the fridge last night

 ...and this is what I got when I woke up.

You should actually make these though. No regrets! They're basically a better version of peanut butter cups, and I love those things. if these photos aren't convincing enough, then I'm not sure what is.

 Look at this perfection. If you like peanut butter cups, then you will love these. An accent of fluffy goodness in each bite. Go, go go!

Here is the recipe. It's really simple. Add or take away any amounts based on your taste.

• 1 & 3/4 cups of chocolate chips
• 3 & 3/4 cups of mini marshmallows
• 1 cup of peanut butter (chunky if you'd like)

     So how's here we do it: Makes an 8x8 pan, takes about 25 minutes, plus 2 hours in the fridge.

1. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. Another option would be microwaving the chips.
2. Stir in the peanut butter.
3. You now have two options (or however many your creative mind makes up)
1. You can pour half the chocolate into a greased 8x8 pan and spread the marshmallows out evenly; then pour the rest of the mixture over the marshmallows. This is what I did.
2.  Or, you can stir the marshmallows into the chocolate peanut butter mixture and then pour it into the greased pan. Either way, both will taste amazing.
4. Now, let these sit in the fridge for 2 hours. Take them out and then try not to indulge all that much...pass them around and share the joy! (Update: my friends ask me to make these whenever I tell them I'm making food. They were that good.)

Really though, everyone who got a piece at school loved them. Personally, they're a bit sweet for my taste, so feel free to alter these in any way! They're honestly such a fail-free recipe. I've seen some variations of Rocky Roads with a graham cracker dust crust, while others add bits of cereal for a crunch. 

To make these super pretty, you could double the amount of chocolate and not mix in the peanut butter for this: 

• Layer 1: chocolate
• Layer 2: graham cracker crust
• Layer 3: melted peanut butter
• Layer 4: marshmallows
• Layer 5: chocolate
• Layer 6: chopped peanuts 

Get your booty to the kitchen now! I need to go study for my exams now. Happy holidays!

Cheers!

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