365 Inspirations—22: Homemade Cookies (Grain and Sugar Free!)

"Baking cookies is comforting, and cookies are the sweetest little bit of comfort food. They are very bite-sized and personal."—Sandra Lee

  I recently made homemade peanut butter cookies that are actually grain and sugar free! That means they are GOOD for you too! I'm on a restricted diet and can't eat any refined sugar or grains due to digestive issues. I have to look at labels carefully and I eat a lot of smoothies, fresh juice, lots of veggies and fish or meat. However, I still LOVE desserts.

Just because you decide to do away with refined sugar and grains, does not mean you can't have cookies. You just have to be creative. These cookies are packed with protein and will not give you a sugar crash. In fact, they will lift you up and you'll be ready to do just about anything. They are great in a lunch box or when you are on the run and need a quick pick-me-up!

Here's the recipe:

1 cup of organic crunchy peanut butter with no sugar added
1/2 cup of honey
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 cup of butter
2 1/2 cups of almond flour (almond meal)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
Handful of walnuts and raisins

Mix the almond flour and baking soda, salt and almond flour together and set aside. Mix the other ingredients with a mixer. Gradually add the dry ingredients while mixer is going. If you feel you'd like thicker dough, add a bit more almond flour. Finally add in the walnuts and raisins. You'll need to put this dough in the refrigerator for about an hour for it to firm up. Roll the dough into one inch balls and then press down on cookie sheet with back of fork. Cook at 375 degrees for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. These are not super sweet, but if you'd like them sweeter, add a bit more honey.

Mine came out so soft and peanutty! I've already eaten quite a few! I often get inspired in the kitchen to try new things, especially with the new diet that I'm on. I feel so much healthier without grains and sugar. I no longer drink coffee either. Tomorrow I will blog about a book I read that changed my life and diet. I feel like I have so much more energy these days and I'm very grateful to the author.

I've realized that eating healthy can actually be fun and it has inspired me to be creative and experiment with new things in the kitchen.

Do you like cooking new things? What is your favorite thing to cook? Do you ever experiment with recipes for restricted diets? 

365 Inspirations—Seven: Korean Cuisine

"I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a valentine as you can give."
Julia Child 

 In this world of fast-food and FAST everything for that matter, I really appreciate and am inspired by the Korean cuisine. Nothing is fast about making Korean food. There are no drive-thru windows that I know of offering this cuisine.

Fortunately, I live in Seattle, which is abundant with ethnic food from all over the world and up in North Seattle, where I live, Korean food is everywhere! This was a blessing we did not know we'd find when my Korean husband and I arrived at our house in Seattle in 2006 after spending nearly a decade in Asia.

Within a mile or so of our house, I can count a dozen Korean restaurants offering various dishes. We even have a Korean spa and norebang (singing room) not too far away. Needless to say, my husband feels right at home here.

I wish I could tell you that after living in Korean and marrying a Korean man, I've mastered the Korean cuisine, but I haven't. Not really.

The thing about Korean food is it often includes many side dishes. Making the side dishes alone would take several days. Then you have the main dish and often you have a soup.

I can make various soups and a few rice dishes, (dol sot bi bim bap, duk mandu guk, kimchi jigae, daeng jang jigae, etc.) but I'm not sure how tasty they are and I don't have copious amounts of time to make all the intricate little side dishes! In fact, that's probably one part of the Korean cuisine that's gotten faster to prepare because many people pick up already prepared side dishes in Korean supermarkets.

Above is a picture of a dish called Duk Mandu Guk (Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup). Many Koreans eat this dish on New Year's Day. Since we have so many excellent Korean restaurants right next to our home, we go out for Korean food a lot. I hope to try and prepare more Korean food at home this year, but I may cheat and buy the little side dishes to make my life easier.

What is your favorite cuisine? Do you like to prepare it at home or go out to eat?