Preparing Health and Harvest

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.” I Corinthians 6:19 English Standard Version

The Bible tells us that our body is a temple and for me one way in treating it as such is providing proper nutrition; but I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled with eliminating certain foods from my diet.  When I entered motherhood, I prayed for the ability to teach my little ones to have a healthier pallet than I had. I hoped they would crave foods that are good for them, and I’ve made it my mission to come up with alternative ideas to sugary treats that will still excite them.

I’m always on the hunt for the perfect on-the-go snack that is packed with nutritious ingredients, provides a burst of energy, and satisfies my kiddo’s cravings for sweets. This cookie is just that! It takes no time to prepare and the ingredients are interchangeable, so you can make it your own. A recipe you can’t mess up? Yes, Please! We all need an easy cookie that’s healthy and fail proof in our back pockets during the holidays.

I believe one of the best gifts you can give your children during the Christmas season is your time. This no-bake recipe is perfect for getting your children involved in the making. My four-year old twin boys jump at the chance to help me in the kitchen. One will dump in the ingredients while the other does the mixing.

During the holidays we like to place the batter into festive molds. This year we used a gingerbread man mold so after the cookies set, they could have fun decorating them with icing before devouring the delicious morsels.

 

Here are the ingredients for these vegan, gluten-free healthy treats.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup

¾ cup of peanut butter

½ cup of gluten-free oats

½ teaspoon of coconut oil

¼ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon of Chia seed

1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Meal

1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips

Other ingredients that can be incorporated:

Nuts, Dried Cranberries, or Dried cherries.

Optional Icing:

2 tablespoons of organic powdered confectionary sugar

2 teaspoons of Almond milk

 

Directions:

1    Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl except chocolate chips and coconut oil

2    In a small pan, melt coconut oil and chocolate chips over low heat.

3    Pour melted chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.

4    Pour batter into molds.

5   Refrigerate for 30 mins until set.

 

Directions for the Icing:

Slowly add the milk to the powdered sugar until the consistency is smooth (Add more milk if you want a runnier icing or more sugar if you want it thicker). Spoon icing into a ziplock bag and cut off a very tiny corner on the bottom of the bag to pipe icing through.

Note: 

This recipe can be made without melting the chocolate. You can also omit the coconut oil and increase the chocolate instead. If you do not have a mold you can roll these cookies into balls.

If you add additional ingredients, the trick is to make sure everything is coated with wet ingredients. If it looks a little dry you can just add more melted chocolate or peanut butter whichever you prefer.

Enjoy!

Introducing our contributing writer Lisa Sciacca.

 You can see examples of Lisa’s work and follow her on instagram @Life_inPieces. Here, along with her photography, she shares what she’s learned along the way from recipes to quick teaching strategies. If you would like to connect with Lisa her email is life_in pieces@yahoo.com.

Her full bio can be found under the team link above.