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It’s never just “once in awhile”…

If it were, I’d be okay with that. But it’s not.

It. Never. Ends.

Junk food, with lots of sugar and artificial colors, is constant. For many of us, it’s gone way beyond birthday parties, class treats, vacations and holidays.  How about a lollipop from the doctor?  Or some jellybeans for going to the bathroom?  Perhaps some candy for getting a haircut?  Great T-ball game, here’s a sno-cone.  Really, a cookie for going to the grocery store?  A popsicle will mend that boo-boo.

When did junk food become a reward for everything our kids do? I love this article from US News because I could totally relate. After I posted it to Facebook, I noticed many read it so I have to assume they feel the same. If you haven’t read it, it’s worth a peek.

Ever wonder why some kids are sick so often (70 percent of our immune system is in our gut) or moody, or can’t concentrate or listen, or don’t want “real food” or are constipated or hyperactive or have autoimmune diseases, or get tummy aches, or well, you get my point.

I’m just saying, why can’t we do better snacks and treats? Why do we have to have cupcakes, bright red and blue popsicles, AND candy ALL at the same party.  Sometimes I talk to different groups, like Girl Scout troups, for example. When I go visit them, I talk about why we want to eat healthy and then I provide many healthy snacks for the girls to sample and then rate the taste from 5 (super yummy) to 1 (gross). MOST of the girls like, no…LOVE, all of the snacks I bring.  By the end, as I walk around, I hear kids yelling, “I’m giving them all 5s!!!”. Yeah, now I’m bragging. But, still, the kids are happy with these foods. I don’t understand why our expectations of our kids are so low that we think they will be disappointed with anything unless it has lots of color, preservatives and sugar. Our kids deserve more credit (and better options) than this.

With predictions like 1 out of 3 kids will get diabetes, can’t we all just try a little harder. I know if you  are reading this blog, chances are good that you are very health conscious (YAY for you, and I mean that!!). But I think if we all stand our ground, insist (or at least suggest) bringing say fruit and water to soccer games (like we use to do way back when) instead of Goldfish and Doritos, it would be a start.  A good start. What do we have to loose? Actually…a lot.

Okay, enough rant for one day.  I just wanted to share on a more positive note a treat that our family enjoyed this weekend  that won’t make us feel, tired, sick, or bad later.   Knowing that is half of the enjoyment! Anyway, they were nut-free for our friends who came over, and I think the cookies were really enjoyed by all!

This is a rendition I got from Paleomg (I love her stuff btw). Anyway, the recipes called for Sunbutter and I really couldn’t tell that much of a difference from the almond butter. You can get this at Publix or Whole Foods and it’s a great alternative for school treats or just for those with tree nut allergies.

Here is what you need for the cookies:

  • 2 cups sunflower seed butter (the jar is 16 oz so I was a little short so added 1 tbsp coconut flour)
  • 2/3 cup raw honey (or 1 cup coconut palm sugar) I used honey. Would like to try with coconut palm sugar to see how it turns out. So play around with a cup +/- and see how it tastes.
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 vanilla bean stem, slit lengthwise, little baby beans removed with the edge of your knife
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chunks (crushed from a bar) or chips

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Use tbsp to scoop out a dollop of cookie mix and pour onto baking sheet. Space out so cookies do not form together when they bake.
  5. Bake for 14-16 minutes, be careful not to overcook these.

With treats like these, who needs anything else (well, besides some almond or coconut milk for dipping of course)??

Okay, I totally should have taken a picture of these when the chocolate was melted. Next day, after being in the fridge picture just doesn’t do these cookies justice…

 

 

  • Sam - Landria,
    We are SO on the same page with this!
    Probably not good for us to talk about it if we ever see each other as we might get so heated one of us might explode 🙂

    Hope you are well X

    SamReplyCancel

    • landriav - HA, you are probably right. Thanks so much for your comment Sam! I really appreciate it! Hope you guys are well too! 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Jill - Landria, can I use almond butter? Do I need the vanilla bean or will they taste okay without it? Thanks. I agree with the first part of your post…so frustrating and unnecessary. My 3 year old son is just in pre-school and is fed juice, processed snacks, and candy and store-bought cupcakes and even donut holes for holidays and birthdays. Outrageous. I throw it away when he comes home with it and pray he will learn to like real food over processed food.ReplyCancel

    • landriav - Hey Jill! Almond butter is totally fine. As for the vanilla, I think it would be fine. And thanks for your post and support too. It takes some nerves (or craziness) to post something like this, so it’s nice to hear from others that feel the same!!ReplyCancel

  • Lindsey - Thanks for this great article. I also get worked up over the processed and high sugar foods for our kids. My girls love sweets so I try to deter them away from the bad stuff as much as possible. Unfortunately, they eat a lot of junk at school, parties, etc to the point where I want to scream sometimes. I am going to make these cookies for them this week. Thanks for the recipe! P.S. Miss you at TRX!ReplyCancel

    • landriav - Ha! Nice to hear from you Lindsey! It’s hard to find that balance, isn’t it? Especially when you feel like it’s tipping away from you most of the time! I miss seeing y’all at TRX. Hope to make it back soon! 🙂ReplyCancel

  • tamila - love your website. i used 1/2 almond butter 1/2 sunflower butter + coconut sugar and they turned out amazing! such a wonderful recipe to have!ReplyCancel

    • landriav - Oh awesome Tamila, I was wondering how they would be with coconut palm sugar. It’s my first choice in sweetners but didn’t have any the other day. Can’t wait to try them again with it. Thanks for posting!!ReplyCancel

  • Trisha - I just made these cookies with coconut sugar and they turned out AMAZING! My husband and I have been eating paleo for a month and a half now. It’s been going really well and he’s lost 14 pounds. We’ve been enjoying most everything we’ve been eating, but every once in a while it’s nice to have a treat. This is by far the best paleo baked item I’ve made so far. I handed one warm out of the oven to my husband and he looked at me with his eyes open wide and said “It looks like a real cookie…and it smells like a real cookie!”
    P.s. I left out the vanilla bean because I didn’t have any, and just used vanilla extract and they turned out great.ReplyCancel

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