Whew, that title is a bit of a mouthful, huh? Well so are these cookies! Though they be small, they are mighty with flavor and warmth! Yes, another pumpkin recipe. And don’t expect it to be the last! Fall is my favorite season of the year, I think, and although Los Angeles isn’t very good at crisp weather, I’m still gonna do the pumpkin up! Whole-wheat pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, here we come! I based this recipe off of Tried and Tasty’s wonderful recipe!
Does it bother me that maybe there should be a hyphen in the title? Kinda. But I actually purposefully left it out to keep it vague and free. Anyhow. I bring you Honey Spiced Cookies based on the Honey Biscuits recipe from A Feast of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones cookbook for those of you who *scoff* didn’t read the books). This is an incredible cookbook! I can’t recommend enough. It’s all based on foods that George RR Martin wrote into the books, and it splits the recipes into the different regions of Westeros. I’ve made several recipes from this cookbook such as applecakes and bread (both recipes serving the faithful Night’s Watch at the Wall). This recipe comes from the South from Lord Caswell’s kitchen.
These honey spiced cookies are warm, soft, and wonderfully potent with spices like pumpkin and ginger. The recipe takes under fifteen minutes and does not have a long ingredient list (honestly, if it’s too complicated, I don’t even want to make it). This recipe is probably best suited for warmer months due to its fall/winter-like spices, but I made this in a California heat wave (90 degrees F, ya’ll), and we still finished all of them in 1.5 sittings between the two of us. I mean, who says no to cookies based on the season?! Get real.
Another blogger reached out to tell us how inspirational it was to see us continue to post well into our fifth year of blogging. (We started H&F in August 2012.) When we started as a personal blog, we had no idea where we’d end up, but we’ve probably excelled more in the Hungry part of Hungry & Fit. Sure, you might have seen Hungry’s personal trainer showcase for an international publication, but who knew people loved our cooking (or baking) more than our training?!?
Don’t you just wish you could gnaw on? Something tasty that didn’t sit like a rock on your stomach? Some kind of dessert…maybe cookies…chocolate chip cookies…sounding better by the minute! I have a solution for you as we near swimsuit season: healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (they ALSO have raisins–added bonus). This recipe is very simple and features a new protein powder we’ve been trying!
It’s called Clean Lean Protein by NuZest (a kiwi company! How do we get so lucky?!)–and the ingredients are rather incredible. Most have no more than five ingredients and it’s composed of things like “Pea Protein Isolate,” “Vanilla,” “Strawberry,” “Red Beet” and other wonderful things. Usually protein powders have an insanely long list of ingredients that you can’t pronounce. Clean Lean Protein brings along this simple protein powder that actually doesn’t taste like cardboard! Although I used it in a baking recipe here, I’ve also used it for smoothies and shakes and it definitely hits the spot (it mixes well in a shaker cup too–huge plus). If you use hungry20 to buy a NuZest product, you can get 20% PLUS free shipping. Click here to get to their website. Don’t forget to enter in the contest below!
I think I talked many times about how baking is therapy. Not shoving sugar in your face, but the act of baking itself. It’s the act of creation and producing something, I think. Also getting to work with your hands helps too. Bringing several ingredients together to make something completely different is fun and satisfying. The process consumes you so you aren’t thinking about the challenges or difficulties in your life. Also, another great byproduct is the delicious things themselves! However, we don’t want to feel guilty about eating this “invention,” we should instead enjoy them.
This recipe is based on of this one here. It’s an incredibly easy recipe that’s hard to go wrong (just make sure you measure). It doesn’t take many ingredients, in fact, if you bake often, you’ll probably have most of them in your pantry. Sometimes Hungry doesn’t like when I bake “healthy” recipes, but I’m thinking that this time he did because they didn’t last over 24 hours (and there were at least a dozen of them). Praise to healthy oatmeal raisin cookies! This recipe is a crowd pleaser without making you feel the guilt!
Stiiir it up
Here’s another good recipe for a quick snack for plenty of people. This one is inspired by Carrots n Cake, but I kind of changed it drastically. Pancakes are great. Cookies are great. Putting them together is absolute genius…meet the Pancake Cookie. I was nervous about the recipe, but it ended up turning out well. I like that this recipe is totally versatile and you can make it what you want it to be. Plus, it only took about 15 minutes to create–that’s a time I can get behind. This is actually a perfect breakfast idea because it’s a PANCAKE ON THE GO! What! Genius! Alright, alright, let’s get to the actual yumminess.
Maple syrup is king
Whew, that’s a title that takes a breath out of you! And it should, really, because it is darn delicious! I love it when I have a reason to bake (even though I don’t always need one). This time it was for a co-worker’s birthday. I had just recovered from the flu, so I didn’t want to leave the house for materials. So after using the thinking cap for a moment or two, I came up with the perfect idea–chocolate chip cookie cake. Perfect for celebration as a cake, but great because I always have ingredients to make cookies. To throw a healthy spin on it, I used whole-wheat flour and not much sugar at all. One of the best parts about this recipe is that it is super simple and easy!
Start with the dry…
Fold it all together
Nom nom nom
BONUS PUPPY PIC
My baking partner, best of the best
I would say one of the most popular desserts of all time are chocolate chip cookies. I’ve rarely seen people deny them out of distaste, maybe just out of nutritional reasons. Chris is always wanting some fresh-baked cookies, and I decided to be nice (rare moments, I kn0w). However, they wouldn’t be completely without a twist of health. These chocolate chip cookies have whole-wheat flour in them instead of regular, which adds more fiber into our diet! Who needs apples when you could have these cookies? Just kidding, kids… But truth be told, these are full of fiber, and not overdone with sugar and butter. These are perfect for summer days and sure to win you friends!
Gotta love these ingredients
Best part to eat
Boooom!
*Question of the Day: What’s your favorite kind of cookie?
BONUS KITTY PIC
Sajah being cute
Tis the season of holiday parties full of cookies, brownies, fried foods, and tons of booze. Yikes. Double yikes if you’re trying to get through the holidays without packing on a tire belly. So I’ve created a rough holiday party survival guide. I need it too as I’m working hard to get ready for New Zealand!
1. Eat before you go. This is one of the best ways to avoid pitfalling from a grumbling tummy into a plate of sugar cookies. Eat something with plenty of protein. This will keep a fuller belly for a longer time. Then you can think clearly about the choices you are about to make at the festive party. Even if you have little time between blow-drying your hair and deciding which shoes to wear, slam back a healthy bowl of cereal at least!
2. Stick to one glass. An easy easy way to overeat or just overindulge in general is to throw down too much alcohol. When you drink too much, your awareness of hunger and fullness fades and whatever looks good, you are going to eat. I’ve seen this countless times. Also, sticking to one glass helps you make smart decisions even beyond food. You get a taste, but you stay classy!
Found this atop a gym locker…not classy
3. Go for greens. Have you ever snacked on a ton of raw green beans? It actually gives you a sense of fullness. Anyways, at parties, there is usually some type of greenery, even if it does look lonely in the corner. This is the thing you wanna overdo, the thing you wanna go crazy on. Stuff your face with those sliced cucumbers and dunk it in hummus too!
4. Moderation. There are going to be treats that, even if you ate before you left and only had one glass of wine, you are going to want to try. That friend who has a wicked baking thumb? Yeah you want to try her decadent cookies. One of the most important things with eating–and life–is moderation. Have a bite of that cookie, taste a little bit of that cheesy dish. Just play it smart, don’t overdo.
So when you want to eat the whole cookie pan…just have a little
5. Use smaller plates. This happened to me recently at a holiday party. There were only small plates. At first it was frustrating, but then I realized it kept my ravenous stomach at bay. Like I suggest at any big family gathering, stick to the small plates. Fill it up with greens and some of the other stuff and sit down and eat it. If you really want to wait in line and get more food, sure. But this way, there’s not a huge plate of food eyeing you, waiting for you to finish it even though you’re full.
6. Be a butterfly! Social butterfly, I mean. Who has time to gobble up fudge when you’re engrossed in wonderful conversation? Go around, talk to different people, catch up! Honestly, when you’re busy talking, you’re not going to think of food. Try it.
^.^
Those are just a few ways to survive those deadly holiday parties. Meditate on moderation before you go! Serve yourself a delicious dinner so those jugs of eggnog don’t tempt you. Stay strong, remember your goals, and remember that this is just one night. And even if you botch it, it’s not the end of the world. Use this steps to stay hungry and fit!
BONUS KITTY PIC
Nymeria’s favorite hangout spot
I know I’m not alone when I find myself in a vicious cycle of overeating and then getting really angry at myself. It kind of burns a hole in the day. This is happens when I’m trying to follow a meal plan, eat cleanly, etc (otherwise I don’t much care). And then I fall off the wagon and divulge a little too much. It leaves you with guilt, anger, and disappointment. I’m sure many of you know these feelings and know what I mean. This cycle of self-loathing is useless and doesn’t get you any closer to your goals, so let’s learn how to just drop it.
Incoming…pics of food that are easy to eat too much of!
You overate. You went too hard into that ice cream. You took too much of Grandma’s toffee. GET OVER IT! We all know that emotions can tie directly into eating more, so why do we let ourselves get so upset? Sure, we’re disappointed. We’re mad at ourselves for not having enough willpower and letting our cravings get the better of us. But why should we hold onto it? Why should we sit in a puddle of disgust?
Take the first step and forgive yourself. You made a mistake. Put it in perspective. There’s not a chance you’re going to remember this in 5 or 10 years, what does it matter? Acknowledge what you’ve done. It’s okay. We make mistakes. You can’t be expected to follow something to a T 100% of the time. Don’t stray from what you did. Own it so that next time you can prevent it by understanding what you are feeling right now. Because what happens when we try to ignore or smother our emotions? We eat more!
So we own what we did, but we don’t get in a hissy fit over it. We did the deed, we ate two more cookies than we meant to, but there’s nothing you can do it about now. So don’t get in a dark mood and hate yourself. Negative energy will always set you on a worse path for achieving goals. Tell yourself, “It’s okay. I did something I didn’t want to do, but I’m going to learn from this and try harder next time.” Use it as an advantage for you. You can always turn a negative into a positive. Remember how when you put the bowl of candy out, it was that much harder for you to resist. Put it in the cupboard where you can’t see it.
Starting to get it? We own what we did, we understand why, and we put it in perspective. Take a big breath and let it out. It’s not the end of the world. Just get back on track now and let the overeating be a thing of the past. Don’t let it haunt you or give you feelings of self-hatred. Remember, that makes things worse. Forgive yourself and move on. It’s one small moment in your big life. Don’t let it ruin more than 5 minutes. Use this advice to stay hungry and fit!
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