During COVID-19 we’ve been hitting the grocery store (usually Costco) every two weeks. Seeing that we’ve got a bubble of 8 people in one household (including 3 very hungry little humans – my kids) we need more food than usual. To avoid hitting the grocery store, we try to get everything we need at Costco. Even if it means having an excessive amount of carrots. The good news is that it’s prompted me to get adventurous with what I make. There’s only so many carrot sticks one can eat!
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve made my homemade healthy “treat”. Don’t get me wrong – we’ve been enjoying homemade treats made by other people. Case in point: my mom’s blueberry scones and shortbread cookies are deadly. I may have had a few while staying with them.
There’s something about going back to my childhood/teenage home that makes me want to eat like a teenager again. If I found it in the cupboard, I wouldn’t be surprised if I started snacking on Lucky Charms or Honeycomb cereal. Or Twizzlers, Joe Louis, and Half Moons [insert face palm]. My brother would be engulfing his bowl of Fruit Loops (which I couldn’t stand) or Passion Flakies.
Nope, I was not deprived of sugar in my youth. I promise you that!
But I’m taking a different path with my own three girls.
Today I took the morning off and I think I used my time wisely. I made a huge batch of ginger lemon tea and then baked some super healthy Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Paleo Morning Glory Cookies.
I could call them Carrot Apple Cookies.
But Gluten-Free Morning Glory Cookies has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
Now I only have 45 carrots to use.
I think I see some Carrot Fries and Healthy Carrot Cake on the horizon.
But for now, we enjoy these Gluten-Free Morning Glory Cookies. I don’t expect they will last long so excuse me while I go grab a cookie myself.
Morning Glory Cookie Ingredients
If you don’t have any on hand, here are a few products/brand alternatives I used for the cookies:
Almond Flour – oat flour is also an option
Almond Butter – any nut or seed butter will do
Dried Cranberries – try raisins or chopped dried apricots too
Morning Glory Cookie Recipe
Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Morning Glory Cookies (Carrot Apple Cookies)
- Oven
- 3 cups shredded carrots (I used a food processor to shred)
- 1 large apple (organic apple recommended )
- 1 cup nut or seed butter (I used a mix of almond butter and cashew butter)
- 1 cup almond flour (oat flour also works)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 eggs (or 2 flax eggs)
- 4 tbsp maple syrup or honey (optional for sweeter cookies)
Optional Add-Ins
- 1/4 cup dried fruit ((i.e. raisins, cranberries, blueberries, etc))
- 1/4 cup nuts or seeds ((i.e. pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, etc))
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- Preheat over to 350 degrees
- Shred carrots and apples using a food processor or cheese grater
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
- Place parchment paper or foil on a baking sheet
- Use a large spoon to scoop out ~16 cookies and press down slightly
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes
The first step to helping your kids go from picky eaters to healthy eaters is to make them more familiar with it. Children are sensitive people and they need to experience how it feels, smells, sounds, and more before it even enters their mouth. The Curious Cookie Food Exploration Mat is a sensory-based food game for kids to comfortably and freely explore new and previously rejected foods without pressure. Parents have reported much success after using it, so if you are ready to transform your picky eater, go to www.curiouscookiekids.com.
Yummy! Made these this morning. Thank you for sharing!
These are yummy thank you! I ran out of carrot and replaced around half a cup with squeezed zucchini & used mostly tahini with some peanut butter as it was all I had. 🙂
Great idea for a substitution! Glad you liked them!