Grain-Free Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week I visited a friend in Brooklyn and stumbled into a little health-food store.  Since I hadn't planned on shopping I didn't have a plan and just grabbed some things off the shelf that looked interesting, including some coconut flour, which I've been really curious about trying, and this awesome flax/cocoa/blueberry/strawberry blend.  Seriously, how healthy does that sound??

What did I decide to make with it?  Chocolate chip cookies, of course!  Cookies are something I can make without a recipe out of almost anything, so why not?  It took a few failed tries to get the recipe right, but I think they came out great.  These cookies are in no wise low-calorie.  Sorry.  A cookie is basically a ball of sugar and fat and that's what these are.  However, they are still relatively healthy.  They carry a lower glycemic load than regular cookies, are full of healthy fats (yes, including saturated fat) and antioxidants, and one cookie contains 25% of your DV for fiber.  If you use the flax/cocoa blend, these cookies will contain a hefty dose of iron, B vitamins, magnesium, selenium, and calcium.

Coconut flour is made from the dried, defatted meat of coconuts and is high in fiber and a good source of protein.  It is much lower in carbohydrates than normal flour and is gluten free.  I did my research online and estimates vary wildly about just how much coconut flour should be used to substitute for wheat flour, but the bottom line is that you cannot just substitute coconut flour for wheat in a 1:1 ratio because it doesn't behave like regular flour.  For one thing, coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid, something which ruined my first two attempts at these cookies.  If you're going to use coconut flour you should up the liquid accordingly.  Another thing is that it tastes like coconut, which can be good or bad depending on your tastes, but to my mind the subtle coconut flavor takes these cookies to the next level.  So good!  Use virgin, unrefined coconut oil for the most health benefits and coconut flavor.

Since I am certainly no expert in cooking with coconut flour, all I can say is what worked for me in this particular recipe.  I tweaked the recipe several times and the end result was delicious.  The other secret ingredient was that flax/cocoa/berry blend.  I must admit I was skeptical of this at first because I really don't like fruit.

What?!

Yes, even though I am a vegetarian and try to eat healthy, I hate fruit.  Of course, that doesn't stop me from eating fruit, because I need my antioxidants, but it helps if it's hidden in a delicious chocolatey powder like this.  Fortunately, a combination of this magical powder with the coconut flour created a workable flour for baking that, as a bonus, tasted like chocolate and coconut (and NOT like berries, thank God.).  If you can't get your hands on this, ground flaxseed makes a perfect substitute.

Lastly, one time when making chocolate chip cookies I made the exact opposite mistake than that of Ruth Wakefield, infamous inventor of the chocolate chip cookie.  According to legend, Ms. Wakefield  intended to make chocolate cookies and had hoped the chocolate chips would melt and permeate the cookies.  They didn't melt and thus the chocolate chip cookie was born.  WELL.  I intended to make chocolate chip cookies once but in a fit of impatience melted the butter I was using, which in turn melted the chocolate chips.  The result was fantastic.  The chocolate chips melted into the batter but still maintained some shape, meaning the resulting cookies were chocolatey in the crumb but also punctuated by misshapen chocolate chips.  I did the same thing when making these cookies and OMG.  So good.  "Is there ganache in this?" "What is that chocolate you used?"  Were some questions I was asked.  You don't have to melt the chocolate like I did, but why wouldn't you?  The chocolate melts into the sponginess of the coconut flour, leaving the finished cookie with a unique crumbly, rich texture.

Yes, they look like meatballs.  They're cookies, I swear!

So here is the recipe.  It is a slightly smaller batch than your typical Tollhouse Cookie recipe and makes about 16 cookies.  These cookies are decadent and chocolatey, but also flourless, gluten free, high in antioxidants, fiber, and MCT oils.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or flax/cocoa blend
2/3 cup coconut palm sugar
2 large organic, free-range eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp baking soda
optional: shredded coconut or chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix the dry ingredients and chocolate chips.  Pop the coconut oil in the microwave (in a microwave-safe cup or bowl please!) for a few seconds until mostly liquid, then quickly incorporate into the dry mix.  The chocolate chips should melt slightly (you don't want it so hot that they liquify entirely).  Finally add the eggs.  Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes.  Enjoy!

Nutrition Info for 1 cookie:
calories: 170, protein: 3.3 grams, fat: 11.33 grams (8 grams saturated, 2 grams monounsaturated, 1.3 grams polyunsaturated), carbohydrates: 25 grams (7.5 grams fiber)

Backbend Sequence

When creating a yoga practice, we want to focus on moving the spine in all the ways possible: bending forward, backward, laterally, and twisting.  Today's sequence focuses on back bending, and the good news is that unlike my last few sequences, this one is appropriate for all levels.  I personally love strengthening my lower back, as it's an oft-neglected part of the core that protects the spine.  With that in mind we begin here with some back strengthening backbends, that may seem deceptively simple, before moving on to the more impressive looking backbends that work more on stretching out the front of the body.  With the more stretchy backbends, the key is to lengthen out of the lower back, keeping the spine as long as possible and not compressed.

While I was recording, my cat BooBoo decided that was the perfect time to play with me, so you can hear her a bit in the background.  I don't know what it is about cats and yoga, but they love it!  I like to think they attracted to the calm energy we emit from the mat.  When we first got my cat Roxy she pulled one of these on me.

My cat Monkey is fond of what we call "yoga mat attention." He is a connoisseur of every kind of attention possible: good attention (pets), bad attention (yeah right.  He just gets more pets.), on-top-of-the-refigerator attention, etc.  But his favorite is yoga mat attention.  He won't let me do yoga without first petting him on the mat for at least fifteen minutes.  

Here he is about to get "on the stairs" attention.

BooBoo loves yoga too, but she loves when I work out in general.  I swear she pretends to spar when I put on kickboxing dvds.  When I recorded this she was all over me, and you can hear her knocking things over and trying to knock me over on the recording.  Whoops.  You can also hear planes in the background, which I tried to get rid of but that messed with the audio so in the end I left it in.  

This is the kind of sequence I like to include in my "open level" classes.  Usually in these classes there are at least one or two yogis who add extra vinyasas between each pose as well as one or two yogis who have no idea what the hell the word "vinyasa" even means.  I like teaching those classes.  It's a challenge to try to, well,  challenge everyone.  This backbending sequence is challenging because it requires strength more than flexibility.  It is challenging because it strengthens the posterior muscles, muscles we tend to ignore because we can't see them.  It is challenging because we have to stay completely present in these poses; if your attention wanes your body loses the pose. The deepest bend we attempt is Camel Pose:

HERE is the audio.

Practice this sequence as part of your daily practice or on its own.  And let me know what you think on Twitter and in the comments!