Eat Your Sweets

Hello all you Danica’s Daily followers!

My name is Holly, and I write the healthy living blog, The Healthy Everythingtarian. Each day I wake up, I try and dedicate myself to finding a balance between food, exercise and life. It isn’t always easy, and it hasn’t always been the case, but I firmly believe you can have your cake and eat it too.

Don’t believe me?

Still don’t believe me?

I think I’ve made my point.

Ever since I was a wee, little curly-haired tot, I have had a voracious sweet tooth. I haven’t met an ice cream I don’t like or a bakery I could will myself to walk by. Salty or sweet, you ask? I will toss the chips any day for a crumbly, buttery scone. To be honest, I still don’t quite trust myself in the candy aisle of gas stations.

But the moral of this story remains: I still eat my sweets and enjoy every bite.

As a healthy living blogger, I believe dessert is essential to happiness. That is why I categorize desserts into two categories: “the good stuff” and “the healthy stuff.”

I try to eat “the good stuff” occasionally – a decadent cheesecake on my birthday or a plateful of my mom’s delicious Christmas wreath cookies during the holidays.

For the past couple Thanksgiving holidays, I’ve made a Paula Deen recipe that is OUT OF THIS WORLD: Pumpkin Cheesecake.

It’s rich, seasonal, not-so-healthy and completely worth it – a perfect occasional dessert!

Contrastingly, I eat “the healthy stuff” on a weekly basis – this may include a dessert recipe I have healthified or a couple squares of dark chocolate.

A couple months ago, I came up with my recipe for Pumpkin Molasses Cookies. They’re vegan, include lots of beneficial nutrients and best of all, taste fabulous!

Vegan Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

2 cups flour (you can use regular or whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup evaporated cane juice (or other form of sugar), reserving 2 tbsp.
2 tbsp. water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together, including the ground flax. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, molasses and canola oil.  Then whisk in the sugar.

Fold the pumpkin molasses mixture in the dry ingredients. Add the water near the end, which should help the dough come together.  It will be sticky.

In a small bowl, place the 2 tbsp. of sugar and mix with a dash or two of ground ginger.

Spoon 1 tbsp. of the dough, rolling it in your hands into a ball.  Then toss the ball in sugar mixture until it is coated.  Repeat this process for all 24 cookies.  Before placing the pan in the oven, press a fork vertically then horizontally (creating criss crossing lines), slightly smooshing the cookie down.  The cookie should be 1/4- to 1/2-inch or so thickness.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly firm.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

I have calculated these babies out to less than 100 calories a cookie – a perfect weekly treat that anyone can fit into their diet!

So there you have it my gracious new readers – two recipes satisfying both the “real” craving and the “healthy” craving!

Thanks to Danica for asking me to guest post – isn’t she fabulous? Happy anniversary to the DD household!

Any questions? Shoot me an e-mail at healthyeverythingtarian@gmail.com.

Happy sweets eating!

Holly