Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I came up with this recipe when my craving for oatmeal raisin cookies became unbearable.  The first batch I made did not turn out so great.. They were too cakey but I resisted giving up... So I made another batch and SUCCESS!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

1/4 cup oat bran

1/2 cup crushed/chopped almond mixture
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons smart balance butter

4 tablespoons applesauce

1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar

1 Egg, 2 egg whites or 3 tbsp of all whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Note that I did not use any flour at all in these cookies. I try to stray away from using flour as much as possible..

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat Oven to 350º F.  Grease baking sheet with non stick spray

I took about a handful of almonds (about 1/2 cup) and ground them up in my food proccessor until they were finely chopped (almost like a flour).  If you have almond flour on hand, you can use that instead.



In medium bowl mix all dry ingredients together.  Almond flour mixture along with oats, oat bran, raisins, baking powder, ground cinnamon, & salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.

This is the oat bran I use



In a large bowl beat butter, applesauce, and brown sugar.

Add the egg & vanilla, beat until blended.  Add the flour mixture to and beat just until blended.

Form Cookies by scooping up spoonfuls of dough with a tablespoon and place on baking sheet.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes or unitl 

edges are a nice golden brown.

FIRST STEPS

I started posting low carb/ healthy/ clean eating recipes on my facebook page and surprisingly started getting questions about dieting, what to eat, exercises and many people told me I needed to start a blog, so here I am, blogging.
Growing up, my parents always ate right.  My father was diagnosed with cancer in his 40’s therefore, he drastically changed his diet from healthy to even healthier.  He began to eat organic foods, and made drastic changes to his diet to help ward off the cancer invading his body and I believe his diet helped him live for another 10+ years.  Therefore, I grew up with minimal junk food in our house, which at the time disappointed me, but to this day I am grateful. 
This doesn’t mean when I grew up I continued to eat right... I bought what was cheap, easy and ultimately it was unhealthy.  I was never overweight but I was not in the shape I wanted to be in.  I always wanted to have the body you see in fitness magazines, not the skinny anorexic type, but a muscular, & toned physique.  But even though I had this image of what I strived to look like I didn’t know where to start.  I continued to doubt myself and thought, “I’ll never be able to look like that,” and my negative thoughts continued to infest my will to change.   I continued to eat fast foods, bought processed foods, and didn’t exercise as often or as intensely as I should or could have.
After my father passed away in 2010 I began to do research on pesticides linked with cancer. As my research became more extensive I eventually became infatuated with nutrition, supplementation, and exercise.  Since then I have  changed my diet, become an avid runner, and exercise on a regular basis and am mentally and physically the strongest I have ever been.  At first it was definitely not pleasant eating this "bland" healthy food, but through much trial and error and experiencing with different recipes, seasonings, combinations,  I have now found a way to make everything taste wonderful... I would rather have the food in my fridge & pantry than fast food ANY day. 
  It has been a pretty slippery slope for me, just like anyone else that has tried to lose  weight but I can happily say I am at a place where I know what is wrong, and what is right and how to stay HEALTHY and ultimately, happy.
I strive to be a role model in some way to people who are seeking to eat right, lose weight, gain muscle, etc.  The most important thing is to make SMALL changes.  If you prepare too many different goals for yourself you will become unmotivated.   Don't overwhelm yourself with too many goals.

I will be posting various recipes that have worked well for me, as well as fitness tips and inspirational quotes.. I hope this blog can help in some way for anyone desiring to live a healthy lifestyle!
If I can motivate someone to reach their goals purely by example and advice, then I am honored. :)