Energy Cookies

I am back to recipe testing for my next vegetarian cooking class on February 24th. Since February is heart and stroke month in Canada I thought I would offer a class that encourages eating more whole grains and legumes. February is the month that we in the wellness industry focus on lowering our risk of heart disease and stroke. The heart and stroke foundation recommends eating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and high fiber foods to reduce your risk of heart disease. The soluble fibre found in grains and legumes helps to reduce "bad" LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol. The insoluble fibre helps to keep your bowels healthy and regular. Additionally the heart and stroke foundation encourages people to enjoy meatless meals a couple of times a week since they are both nutritious and easy on the pocket book.

These are Dreena Burton's Energy Cookies from Vive le Vegan. I have already promoted these cookies with my pre and postnatal clients as a healthy snack. I also encourage my holistic nutrition lifestyle coaching clients to eat healthy snacks and these would be a fantastic choice. These cookies feature nutritious whole grain flours, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, hemp seed nuts, AND are wheat free, sugar free and loaded with lots of goodies. Best feature yet, even my five year old daughter eats and ENJOYS them!

Let the Pumpkin Baking Begin

These are the pumpkin oatmeal cookies from Vegan with a Vengance. By the way, has everybody seen her adorable cupcake blog? It is beautiful. Anyway, back to these amazing pumpkin cookies. They are loaded with good stuff such as lots of rolled oats which are great for the slow release of sugar into the blood stream and walnuts which are an excellent source of omega 3's. I love grabbing these cookies on my way out to teach yoga and pilates classes. They are totally satisfying and really pull you through.