Archives for March 2017

I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a good biccie or cookie! They don’t even have to be that sweet, but there’s something very comforting about a crunchy or chewy little morsel of deliciousness. These biccies are soft in the middle and just a little crunchy on the outside.

However, being a nutritionist, I like my treats to be healthy and full of goodness. My self-made mission in life is to turn tasty treats into healthful and still delicious treats. When we eat what makes us happy, in the right portion sizes, include all the food groups and stay moving, we are at our most healthy. 

These biccies cover off healthy – tick! – intolerance friendly – tick tick! – and they’re yummy too. The biccies are packed full of fibre and protein from the chickpeas and more protein and zinc from the cashews, so they’re going to keep you fuller for longer and not send your blood sugar into a spike. They are also made with a whole food sweetener that’s also packed with vitamins and minerals (and not completely devoid of nutrients, like processed sugar). If you’d like a fructose-free option, that’s there too.

You can mix these up with different nut butters and seeds, but I’ve kept them low in salicylates and amines for those of us who need that. Stay away from those store-bought, sugar-laden biccies that are no good for you, and probably full of palm sugar too (which is leading to deforestation and the destruction of many beautiful animal species).  Try these instead. As always, they are super quick and easy, and make the perfect after school snack with a piece of fruit 🙂

If you can, buy BPA-free cans of chickpeas. BPA builds up in our system and mimics oestrogen. We can have trouble excreting it, which may lead to symptoms of excess oestrogen, such as sore breasts and irritability before your period, and more serious complaints, such as early-onset puberty, fibroids and breast cancer. It also messes with our other hormones, such as cortisol, the stress hormone, throwing them out of balance too. So please be mindful to choose BPA-free whenever you can.

Cashew & chickpea biccies

Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free

Ingredients

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

1/2 cup cashew butter

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds (or hemp seeds)

1/4 cup maple syrup (or rice malt syrup for a less sweet, fructose-free version)

1 tsp baking powder

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease two flat oven trays.

Combine all in food processor and blend until smooth. Use a dessertspoon to scoop out heaped spoonfuls and slide off the spoon with your finger. (They are very sticky so try and do it in one movement – they’ll flip over – and place them straight onto the greased tray.)

Place in preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. 

Makes about 18 biccies.