The cookie jar. Hands off.
I’ve been largely dairy free for a while, in an effort to ward off recurring chest and lung issues. It seems to be working. Now I’m trying to go gluten free, cutting out wheat from my diet. Refined grains are on the hitlist after that, though this will undoubtedly be hard to keep to on the road.
These soft, doughy, gluten-free cookies satisfy my sweet tooth. They’re homemade rather than made from scratch – but better than getting them from the store at least. Yum.
In our culture, there’s an over consumption of processed wheat products, which can lead to digestive issues and sensitivities – which causes nutritional deficiencies and even mood swings. Avoiding gluten can help.
What you need:
1 1/2 cups of Pamela’s Baking and Pancake mix (gluten and wheat free)
1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup of coconut sugar
1/4 cup of raw cane sugar
1/2 cup of pecans
8 x tablespoons of butter
1 x egg
Try not to eat too many at once… (I should add that this applies more to me than to Nancy)
What you do:
Mix them all together, then bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes (important, don’t let them burn, or they’ll go brittle – a travesty).
This dose makes a lot of cookies.
I’m not going to claim these to be a healthy treat in any way. But they could be worse.
Tips on healthier gluten-free morsels gratefully received.
A different kind of monster…
Monsters and Monkeys. Not completely related… but this is the Monkey Bone, an integrated Rohloff and rear disk brake adaptor, for running my internal gear hub on the Krampus. More on how that works out soon…
Camera: Canon 5D Mk2 with 17-40mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.8 lenses.
I’m quite the opposite of a vegetarian and was once a mostly unaware eater, but I now put a lot of stock in the adage “you are what you eat.” A while back my wife had some health issues, and went dairy, egg and gluten free. Instead of cooking separate meals, we all did likewise. As the cook of the family, I had bit of a learning curve. However, we were amazed at how much we didn’t miss dairy, eggs and gluten grains. After a while, her health improved and she got the green light to reintroduce these items. However, we have since, by choice, limited these items because we preferred a diet mostly without them. I look forward to trying your cookie recipe.
You may have heard these tips elsewhere, but here are a few random things I found useful. Quinoa is a terrific substitute for a lot of gluten grains, particularly good used where you might otherwise use rice. It originated in South America, so it might be available on the road. Ancient Harvest brand quinoa pasta is excellent, just don’t overcook it. Apple sauce works well as an egg substitute in baked goods. Brown rice flour makes great cookies and cakes, and is excellent for sauces and gravy, or as a coating for fried or baked chicken or fish. For dairy and gluten free mashed potatoes, I boil the potatoes until they are very soft, keep back a couple of cups of the water they were boiled in for mashing, add olive oil and salt to taste, and use a Cuisinart hand blender to whip them. Mashed potatoes are themselves a great substitute for a lot of gluten grains, in pancakes, bread and rolls.
Anyway, good luck fighting your chest ailments. That’s a cute little monster.
Thanks for all those tips, Andy, much appreciated.
You’re quite right, quinoa is readily available in Peru, at least. In fact, it’s a cheap and popular street vendor breakfast, served hot, as a kind of porridge – embellished with tonnes of white sugar, of course.
When I was readying myself for the lung surgery I underwent a while back, I almost completely eliminated wheat, dairy and processed sugar. I was touring in Colombia which made it a challenge, but I felt really good for it.
I am now sorry that I missed dinner at your house, Andy. I’ll be back soon enough. Maybe a NAHBS rendezvous this spring?
You are more than welcome next time you are in town. I’ll be here for the NAHBS and won’t miss it, as I’ve never had the opportunity to go to one before.
Bummer! Patti made us a loaf of really good sweet bread- with chocolate chips- for the trip. I guess Joe and I will have to eat it. 🙂
Oh… I don’t know. Where sweet bread is involved, I can be flexible…
Great! I love cookies so I should try this definitely!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Not necessarily a reply to this particular post. Could you advise me on how and where you carry a DSLR while out riding? I am in contact with scott (porcelain rocket) and I would like to devise a padded compartment for my nikon d7000.
I’m not sure I can supply an ideal solution!
I’m constantly trying new stuff… For a while, I stashed it in an Ortlieb bar bag. Easy to access and completely waterproof, but it tends to bounce around a lot off road and eventually cause some damage. The latest method is to carry the camera in a lumbar pack, and a second lens in the top compartment of my framebag. That way I have quick access to it when I’m off the bike too, without the need to carry a backpack.
I’ve thought about getting Scott to make me a framebag with an DSLR camera in mind, perhaps using a side opening panel with padded inserts. Ultimately though, I think I prefer to have it on my body where it’s more protected – from vibration as well as rain.
That’s one reason I have a M43 mirrorless system too, even if I prefer the DSLR for its handling and the lenses I own. The M43 fits easily and snuggly into my Porcelain Rocket front pouch, where it doesn’t rattle around. For me, it’s definitely the better option on a longer journey.
Thanks Tiny Girl. Let me know if you come up with anything else tasty (-:
maybe GF will work, maybe it won’t…worth a try i guess
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/gluten-free-whether-you-need-it-or-not/
keeping a diary of what you’ve eaten (and how you feel) can help too
Hey Robert!
Thanks for the link. Interesting article for sure.
I admit, I’m always game for trying out a different eating regime. Less for fad though, and more out of curiosity. I can hear the researcher in you in your advice to keep a diary!
I’ve cut down on gluten before, prior to having surgery, on the advice of my partner, a student of Chinese Medicine. I have to say I felt extremely good for it, though I also reduced dramatically processed sugar from my diet at the same time – so it’s hard to say what did what.
Unfortunately, it’s a real pain to keep to a gluten free diet when I’m touring, as my body just craves a quick fix of carbs – and those Latin American bakeries are so hard to resist. Just like the cinnamon rolls round here… Remember those Bear Claw pastries up in Polebridge?