Friday, March 18, 2011

Clean Eating #76: Featured Friday: The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie Recipe

Featured Friday!!
Thanks to my newfound blog friend Marvi Marti, I have a new feature!  Featured Fridays are for guest bloggers to post thier favorite clean recipe.  This saves me a little bit of work, give you some much needed variety and helps us all meet new people!  I'm busy researching me soon to be new adventure... so here you have it:

The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie Recipe

by Robyn Lucas of "Crashing the Boys Club" blog
**My favorite post thus far?  Her post on Turning 40... because I'm doing that this year, too, and like Robyn, I feel better than ever.  No way am I 'old'!!

A Cookie That’s Good For You? I’ll Believe It When I Taste It!

Wait, Come Back!
          Stop!  Don’t run away. Just because I said that this cookie is healthy, you shouldn’t assume that it is going to taste awful or like sawdust with a few cranberries thrown in.  It really is good.  Trust me.  Have I steered you wrong, yet?  Again, don’t bring up the lavender ice cream fiasco.  That was my fault, not the recipe.  It would have tasted great, if I had made it right.  Gees! 
I decided to try this recipe for a few reasons.  First, my typical breakfasts were becoming boring.  I usually bounce between oatmeal and an egg white scramble with veggies.   While both of these are great choices for getting my morning started, both take time and some mornings, I just do not have the time.  I wanted something that I could make ahead and keep ready to eat as I’m running out the door.  And, finally, it’s a healthy cookie!  Who doesn’t want to be able to enjoy a good cookie and not have to feel guilty?  Swimsuit season is right around the corner.
          The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie recipe was taken from The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno.  I could try and explain the whole clean eating philosophy, but that would take up a lot of time and I want you all to stay awake with me.  In a nutshell, it’s eating foods that are fresh, unprocessed, and naturally full of nutrients.  So back to my story about cookies, that’s why you’re here, right?!    I really like these cookies and my boys have all given them the two thumbs up award.  My boys like these as after-school snacks and light snacks before practices and games. 


The Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookie Recipe
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup light oil
  • 3 egg whites
  • ¼ cup finely chopped dried figs
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup Bran flakes or oat bran
  • 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp allspice
  • ¼ cup slivered almonds
  • 1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  • 2. Combine sugar, oil and egg whites in large mixing bowl; add in dried fruits and vanilla.
  • 3. Combine all dry ingredients minus almonds and add to egg mixture. Mix until just blended. Stir in almonds.
  • 4. Drop by tablespoon full onto parchment paper covered baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until almost set. Remove and cool in pans before transfering to wire rack to cool completely.
  • Nutrition information: (per cookie. Calories: 15g, Calories from Fat : 156, Protein : 2g, Carbs: 22g, Dietary Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 12g, Fat: 6g, Sodium: 26g