Almond Oats Chocolate Chip Cookie(Eggless & Gluten free)

Know what you Eat - Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.

Our doctor is a firm believer of the Atkin formula, he advises us to stay away from Rice and Wheat(even whole wheat) as they are fattening. He sketched out a diet plan for us which consist of Finger Millet(Reinventing the wheel), black chick pea, green mung bean and Quinoa. Our staple brown rice and whole wheat(even though i love them i use it occassionally now) has been taken over by other grain & beans in the past few years. Being the staples replaced, now i am slowly working on replacing wheat with other grains in my baking too. This is one such cookie and it gave me lot of satisfaction as it contains the goodness of Oats and protein rich Almonds. Almonds are concentrated in protein. A quarter-cup contains 7.62 grams-more protein than is provided by the typical egg, which contains 5.54 grams. I tried using Almond flour(my ultimate target) alone and the taste was unmatched, but they were lot crumbly.

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 10-15 mins
Makes - 18 to 20 Cookies

Ingredients

Oats Flour - 2 Cups
Almond Powder - 1 Cup
Semi sweet Chocolate chips - 4 oz (1/2 cup)
Butter - 4 oz(room temperature)
Agave Nectar - 2 oz
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

Method

1) Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenhiet.
2) Sift Oats, Almond flour, Baking soda, salt and chocolate chips and set them aside.
3) Combine Butter and Agave nectar and then add the vanilla extract.
4) Now add the Oats-Almond mixture slowly to the butter and combine without any lumps.
4) Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
5) Take small out of dough, make a ball and flatten them using your hand and place it in the parchment paper.
6) Leave enough space as the cookies will expand while baking and bake for around 10-15 minutes till they are slightly brown and completely baked.
7) Cool them completely(this is must as they will be very crumbly even to touch) and transfer them to an airtight container. Great for kids as a guilt free snack along with some fresh fruits.

Note - I have tried these cookies couple of times, it comes out very well. The consistency of the dough depends on the room temperature. Once i baked them on a very hot day and had to spoon the dough instead of flattening them, still it comes out well. I have tried the vegan version also with 1/2 cup of Canola oil and replacing agave nectar with 1/2 cup Maple syrup. With Maple syrup they are little bit on the crispy side.

Event Participation

1)This dish goes to Just not any other dish hosted by Dew drop in the Kitchen.

2)This dish a sure kid pleaser goes to Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli.

3)This dish goes to Eggless Baking Event Using Oats hosted by Madhu.

4)This also goes to CFK-Chocolate hosted by Hema started by Sharmi.

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Black Bean Burger & seeking your suggestions on Soy Products

As a health freak, i was so obsessed with favorite health food(Soy). I was extensively using soy milk, extra firm tofu replacing paneer(cottage cheese), silken tofu to fortify roti dough, soy chunks, soy crisps, soy burgers, soy bars and what not for couple of years. As you all know in this country you have the whole sale clubs so that everything can be bought in bulk and your basement can be filled with them. Well i was one too, i used to buy cartons of soy milk and store in my basement as buying in bulk worked out cheap if you are living on it. All this continued for years until year and half before. My younger one was having lot of feeding issues and we were struggling hard so that she comes atleast in the graph(0-5 percentile of the growth chart) and through a common friend met with a doctor. He suggested certain supplements and asked us to give protein rich food to her. I proudly talked about our protein rich diet habit with soy milk and all the products i listed above. He immediately said don't give her soy milk and tofu and you also better stay away from it. He said commercially manufactured soy products/protein is not good and may even cause cancer. We were shell shocked and googling more found the following

Soybeans in fact contain a large number of dangerous substances. The act of fermenting soybeans nullify the anti-nutrients & toxins , cooking and precipitation do not. Although hese enzyme inhibitors are found in reduced levels within precipitated soy products like tofu, they are not completely eliminated. For this reason, if you are going to consume soy, USE fermented products only, like tempeh or miso. Only after a long period of fermentation (as occurs in the creation of miso or tempeh) are the antinutrient and phytate levels of soybeans reduced, making their nourishment available to the human digestive system. There is lot of information available on this when you google and my head was swirling, so as a layman what i decided was to throw away the 2 packs with a dozen each of soy milk from my basement in the trash and not to go for tofu or soy burger any more. If you gals have more information to share on what all soy products are safe to use and a safe quantity to consume, please enlighten. So that was the reason i started making my own burger in batches and freezing them. Now coming to the recipe.

Know what you Eat - Black beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other legumes. In addition to lowering cholesterol, black beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel. Chia seeds are very good source of omega - 3, dietary fiber, antioxidants. They also contain calcium and protein.

Cooking Time : 20 - 30 min
Preparation Time : 10-20 min
Serves : Makes 6 patties

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups(12 oz) - Cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup finely chopped red,yellow,green bell pepper
1 small onion finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tsp Onion powder
1/2 tablespoon Oregano powder
1 tsp or taste cayenne pepper
1/2 Cup of Powdered Chia(Powder Chia in a food processor into fine powder)
1/2 cup of Oats powder (Use quick cooking and make a fine powder in your food processor)
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

Method

1) Rinse and drain black bean thoroughly and let it drain compeletly without any water.
2) In a food processor run the celery through you will get a coarse paste
3) Heat Oil add chopped onions and saute till translucent, now add the chopped peppers, celery paste, 1/4 tsp of salt and saute till the peppers are well cooked.
4) Now add the drained black beans, onion powder, oregano, salt and cayenne pepper saute for 5 minutes and then switch off the stove
5) Using a thick spoon mash the black bean, once well mashed add the powdered chia, oats powder and combine thoroughly.
6) Preheat oven to 375 degress.
7)Divide the mixture in to balls and flatten them with your hand and place them in parchment paper in a baking pan and bake for 10 minutes on each side and then broil for 5 minutes till the pattie is well baked.
8) Serve in a burger bun with vegetables and ketchup of your choice.

Event Participation

This dish goes to Low fat eggless baking event hosted by Madhu.
This dish goes to My legume love affair twelfth helping event hosted by Annarasa created by Susan.
Original Recipes - Monthly Round up hosted by Lorie.

This dish is our contribution to AFAM-Bell Pepper event, hosted by Priya orignially started by Maheswari.

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