Dietitians Dish – December 7, 2020
Treat Yourself for the Holidays!
It’s nice to enjoy holiday sweets, but they can take their toll on our waistline and energy levels. They’re often full of added fats and sugar, which can leave you dragging through the bustling, festive season. When you’re choosing recipes for cookies and desserts, try to find ways to sneak in a few nutrient-packed ingredients.
That could mean swapping or adding items like:
- Nuts and seeds – for heart healthy fats and gut protecting fiber
- Dark chocolate – for heart protective flavonoids
- Oats – for gut protecting fiber
- Avocado – for heart healthy fats and gut protecting fiber
So whether you add them or swap them, ingredients like these can have nutritional and health benefits. Which means you don’t have to skip the sweets altogether – just include them in your holiday festivities in a smarter way!
Holiday Avocado Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup regular or quick-cooking oats
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 ripe, fresh avocado (halved, pitted and peeled)
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup (6 oz.) dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 3 baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Beat avocado, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low until smooth. Stir flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans.
- Drop by heaping teaspoons onto lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 1-inch apart, pressing down lightly. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown around the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.