On healthy lifestyle changes, and a Chocolate Coconut Crinkle Cookies recipe

What do you do when you’re on a diet? Do you swear off sweets, fats and carbohydrates and become an ascetic, or do you allow yourself a treat once a week?

I’m asking because  I’m on a diet.

Actually, I’m a bit wary of using the word “diet”, because it instantly conjures up notions of deprivation and sacrifice, and that’s a state of mind that I don’t want any more.

I don’t know about you, but during my life I’ve often struggled with weight, and the fact that I have a sweet tooth and I’m not into sports hasn’t helped me at all. On top of this, about five and a half years ago I quit smoking and gained quite a lot of extra-weight.

From time to time I’ve tried shedding that extra-weight, but with very poor results. My pattern was this: I decided I had to lose weight and “went on a diet”, which meant that I would limit not just my calories intake, but also the quality of food I ate.

So no sweets, very little pasta & bread, almost no fat – which translated in eating mostly fresh or steamed vegetables, grilled lean meat  or fish, and fruit.

Oh so BORING!

After a few weeks of this torture, I’d usually go back to eating all the things I’d deprived myself of, and quickly gained the weight I’d lost, if not more.

Sounds familiar?

If it does, you’ll understand my frustration in seeing the weight creep up again, and looking at that lovely pair of jeans gathering dust at the back of my wardrobe…and because I felt so frustrated, I’d usually comfort myself with hefty portions of sweets and other calorie-laden food.

There’s a quote I love, that is very much perfect for this:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

Since I’m tired of the same results, this time I’ve decided to follow a different approach.

Instead of starving myself on the latest diet, I’ve decided to re-educate myself, change my eating habits and be healthy.  This means that, among other things,  I’m not depriving myself of sweets, but I’m just eating a small portion of them once a week.

It might take me longer to lose my extra-weight, but I’m aiming to a sustainable weight loss based on lifestyle changes, so that’s just fine.

Another quote I love comes into play in this occasion:

An inconvenience is an unrecognised opportunity. Confucius

So I’m taking the “inconvenience” of being overweight as an opportunity to learn new recipes that can make my diet healthier

Today’s recipe, for example, is dairy-free and gluten-free and uses pure coconut oil, which although a fat has lots of health benefits, and is definitely healthier than butter.

I worked out the calories for these delicious cookies using The Calorie Counter.  Each cookie has about 40 calories, so 3 cookies will give you 120 calories, which is the same as a large banana, 50 gr of multi-grain bread (2 slices), or 150 gr of boiled potatoes (medium potato).

Happy baking!

Tips & Notes

• Coconut oil solidifies at temperatures lower than 24° C (75° F) so unless it’s very warm (never an option in Ireland) you need to melt it before using it. Make sure that all other ingredients are at room temperature, because when the coconut oil gets in contact with cold ingredients it tends to solidify again, so you might end up with a gritty, lumpy batter.
• The cookie dough needs to rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours, although I prefer making the dough in the afternoon or evening and leaving it to chill overnight.
• These cookies are best eaten a few hours after they’ve been made, or better still the day after. To get the right texture – crisp outside and soft & chewy inside – you need to watch the baking time carefully and not overbake them; as soon as the cookies are crackled, they’re done. They might still seem a bit soft, but they’ll get harder when cold.

Chocolate Coconut Crinkle Cookies  (gluten free & dairy free)

(makes 40-42 small cookies)

30 gr virgin coconut oil (1 oz.)
90 gr dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa (3.2 oz.)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
75 gr caster sugar (2.6 oz.)
50 gr. brown rice flour (1.7 oz.)
40 gr. desiccated coconut (1.4 oz.)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
30 gr icing sugar for coating (1 oz.)

• Half-fill a small pan with water and place on medium heat until simmering. Pour the solidified coconut oil in a medium heatproof bowl, together with the dark chocolate broken into pieces. Place the bowl over the pan; lower the heat and let the coconut oil and the chocolate melt. Set aside.
• In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients except the sugar together: brown rice flour, desiccated coconut, salt, and baking powder.
• Pour the egg and vanilla extract in another bowl, and beat with an electric beater for about 2 minutes.
• Add the sugar and beat for about 20 seconds until combined.
• Pour in the melted chocolate and coconut oil and beat until combined; at this stage the batter will be thick and glossy.
• Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients in two times, until combined. The cookie dough will be quite soft.
• Cover the dough with foil and chill it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Take the cookie dough out of the fridge. If you left it in the fridge just for 2 hours, you can use it straight away; if you let it chill overnight, let the dough rest at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) static.
• Roll the dough in small balls of 2.5 cm (1 inch) diameter; slightly flatten each ball with the palm of your hand, and then coat each dough ball with plenty of icing sugar.
• Place the dough balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, giving them some room to expand.
• Bake for 1o to 15 minutes, depending on your oven; the cookies are done when the surface looks crackled, but they’re still slightly soft inside. If you bake them too much they’ll still taste good, but will lose the chewy texture.
• Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool, and serve them at least a couple of hours after they’re done, or better still the day after.
• Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

For a printable recipe click here.

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Tagged as: dairy-free, gluten-free, recipe, video recipe