Food Planning for Vacation
In preparation for vacation I’m not only packing and planning activities but I’m planning food as well. Since we will be staying at a beach house and will be eating there as well as eating out I am planning my menu ahead of time. With preparation and planning you can plan healthy lower fat and lower calories meals instead of spur of the moment which usually leads to high fat and high calories. My favorite cookbook right now is Tosca Reno’s The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. I have decided to make several of her dessert recipes ahead of time and have been putting them in the freezer to take on vacation. This will keep something sweet and “snacky” available so we aren’t tempted to run to the store for chips and store bought cookies.
So far I have made Whole-Wheat Flax Cookies, Breakfast Fruit and Nut Cookies and her Applesauce Pumpkin Muffins. All 3 of them are very very good, I had a hard time not eating more than I should of each one!! Of course I couldn’t leave the recipes alone … I had to add, delete and twist them all a bit. I will include a recipe below for the chocolate chip cookies and in other blogs, more recipes, but my favorite were the Whole-Wheat Flax Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are DELICIOUS!! I added bittersweet Ghiradelli chocolate chips to them … YUMMMO!! Now, I can’t tell if I am just so deprived of junk food or if these truly are just as good as any chocolate chip cookies i’ve had. So, you’ll have to try them and see for yourself … I truly felt these were just as good as any chocolate chip cookie I’ve eaten.
On my meal’s menu I have Chicken and Dumplings and Beef Stew planned and of course some BBQ chicken with my homemade bbq sauce. I will take advantage of the cool weather and make some fall/winter dishes since I am missing those so much right now in all of our heat. As I made these recipes I will blog about how I made them healther and lower fat – lower cal and will share them with you.
Whole Wheat Flax Chocolate Chip Cookies
- ½ Cup Whole Flax Seeds
- 1½ Skim Milk
- 1 TBS Lemon Juice (to make buttermilk)
- 2 Cups Whole Wheat
- ½ Cup Ground Flax Meal
- 1 Cup Rolled Oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 Cup Canola Oil
- ¾ Stevia (I used baking stevia with fiber (nu-stevia brand)
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBS Vanilla
- 2 Cups chopped Almonds
- 2 Cups Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (I used Ghiradelli)
- ½ Cup Whole Flax Seeds
- 1½ Skim Milk
- 1 TBS Lemon Juice (to make buttermilk)
- 2 Cups Whole Wheat
- ½ Cup Ground Flax Meal
- 1 Cup Rolled Oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 Cup Canola Oil
- ¾ Stevia (I used baking stevia with fiber (nu-stevia brand)
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBS Vanilla
- 2 Cups chopped Almonds
- 2 Cups Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (I used Ghiradelli)
- First - soak your flax seeds for at least an hour (minimum) in your homemade buttermilk.
- (mix lemon juice with skim milk to make buttermilk)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl measure flour, flax meal, oats, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, whisk together.
- In another bowl, mix Canola oil, Stevia and one egg at a time until beaten. Add vanilla and mix well again.
- Add your flour mixture to your oil mixture a little at a time until all folded in and blended. Fold in chopped almonds and chocolate chips.
- Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Use large spoon and add dough by dropfulls onto cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 15 mins. or until just beginning to turn gold brown. ENJOY!!
- First - soak your flax seeds for at least an hour (minimum) in your homemade buttermilk.
- (mix lemon juice with skim milk to make buttermilk)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl measure flour, flax meal, oats, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, whisk together.
- In another bowl, mix Canola oil, Stevia and one egg at a time until beaten. Add vanilla and mix well again.
- Add your flour mixture to your oil mixture a little at a time until all folded in and blended. Fold in chopped almonds and chocolate chips.
- Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Use large spoon and add dough by dropfulls onto cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 15 mins. or until just beginning to turn gold brown. ENJOY!!
2 Comments
Is that 16 grams of carbs per cookie?
Yes per cookie. 😉