It’s been a funny week, at times it has seemed excruciatingly long yet it has also been unbelievably productive. Our family is vacillating between being buoyed by the sale of our home and completely overwhelmed by the thought of how much we have to do before closing. At times like these we tend to forget to take care of ourselves and each other. We have all been feeling a bit weepy and emotional and when I picked Izzie up at camp she was quite clearly distraught (but holding it in). It turned out that they had made zucchini chocolate chip cookies at camp and due to her wheat intolerance she couldn’t have one.
Poor kid. She kept saying; it’s ok mommy, you packed me a really good lunch but not three minutes later she began to cry about being “different”.
Now normally I would not suggest making cookies on a weeknight, but the kid deserved them, so we made these.
Chocolate Ginger Zucchini Cookies
We had so much fun making these, I let Izzie do the majority of the actual making of the cookies, she chose the flavors and tasted along the way, her little face lighting up with excitement as she pulled things from the cupboard and the fridge. We talked about the different ingredients and I gave her a little culinary quiz (what does the baking soda do? Why do we need to use eggs or egg replacer?). She knew her stuff! Along the way because we have so much zucchini we made zucchini fries;
The zucchini, soon to be oven fried..
Poor guy didn’t see it coming..
I made these very simple; olive oil, granulated garlic, and salt. Roasted in a 425 oven with a dash of broiling at the end.
Now, I’ll say this, they did taste delicious but I wouldn’t call them fries, they were pretty mushy. The flavor was great though and Izzie did eat hers with ketchup so I guess they were somewhat of a success. Anybody have ideas on how to make them crispy while keeping them healthy?
By this time Izzie had finished mixing the cookies (squishing the dough together with her little hands and licking them clean) and her dinner was ready. Before I go on about the cookies a little interjection on feeding your kids. If you want them to eat healthy food you have to make it interesting, fun, and pretty. Here we have the lovely (but mushy) zucchini fries, chicken apple sausage from Trader Joe’s and a grilled cheese and spinach sandwich (gluten and dairy free). Doesn’t that look yummy? Last night she had;
Zucchini “pasta” with chicken sausage and beet carpaccio
Ok, so the beet carpaccio didn’t go over so well (“What is THIS?! Yuck, it tastes like a magazine”). What does a magazine taste like? I personally have never tasted one but apparently Izzie has, does it taste like beets?
With dinner finished it was cookie time!
These cookies are so good, they taste like a soft chocolate gingersnap and are light and spicy, you can’t even see the zucchini because Izzie shredded it so finely. I had two, I’ll admit it!
After dinner I went to the gym and then came home and decided to give myself a nice raw honey facial as recommended by my lovely friend Jessie;
Oops! Almost forgot that cookie recipe. I used the egg replacer I am now using all the time, 1 T chia and 1 T flax-seed meal in a 1/4 cup water, let gel for 20 mins or so, works like a charm! You can also use 1 egg in place of the replacer.
Chocolate Ginger Zucchini Cookies
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp flax-seed meal
1/4 cup water
Combine and let gel for 20 minutes.
Oven to 350.
In a large bowl mix together;
1 medium zucchini, shredded FINELY (about 2 cups)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup gluten-free flour (can be regular too, use 1 cup and omit potato starch)
1/3 cup potato starch
1 cup gluten-free oats (can be regular too)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ginger
1 mashed banana (very ripe)
Mix above ingredients with egg replacer until smooth.
Drop by tablespoons onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
Yes, they will look like cow patties, this is normal.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 96
Total Fat 1.1 g
Sat Fat/Trans Fat/Cholesterol free!!
Sodium 73 mg
Carbohydrate 21.1 g
Fiber 1.6 g
Sugars 12.1 g
Protein 1.6 g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 2%
Iron 2%
Pretty darn guilt free for a chocolate cookie!!! On that note I am homework bound!
Life is a bowl of cherries…eat it up!