Vegan Cookie Mix Review

Review: Purely Elizabeth - Oatmeal Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

gluten-free, vegan, free of refined sugar

Should you buy this mix? Probably not.

I recommend a pass on this one. If you stick to a strict Paleo diet, definitely skip this one. To make these cookies, you have to add in oil (olive or coconut), applesauce, and vanilla extract. I went with melted coconut oil and organic, sugar-free applesauce. The resulting cookie was incredibly crumbly, to the point that I ended up eating the cookies with a spoon. The oatmeal flavor is a bit overwhelming for me, so eating more than one cookie at a time wasn't gonna happen (that's one way of eating cookies in moderation).

Now to the Paleo discussion. This cookie mix doesn't comply with Paleo, but it's one of the most Paleo-friendly cookie mixes that I've found yet. Yes it contains oats, millet flour, and garbanzo fava bean flour, which definitely makes this cookie mix fall out of the range of Paleo. However... instead of using regular sugar, this mix is made with coconut palm sugar which is rather well known in the Paleo realm. Additionally, part of the flour portion of the mix contains almond flour. Again, another popular Paleo ingredient. This was a cheat meal buy for me. Compared to the other gluten-free mixes out there, which are made with a mix of corn or rice flour, potato starch, and soy, this is a better choice for Paleo... in theory at least. In execution, it lacked a certain flair... or... well... cookie consistency. Maybe I did something wrong. It's quite possible. Maybe I um, accidentally added too much coconut oil? I don't know. Maybe my oven operates differently from others. Anyways, I'm sure this cookie worked for someone else. But not for me. So I vote no. It's got potential, but I think I'll stick with making my own cookies.

Ingredients: organic millet flour, organic coconut palm sugar, organic almond flour, certified gluten-free oats, chocolate chips (evaporated cane juice, chocolate liquor, non-dairy cocoa butter), dried cherries, garbanzo fava bean flour, organic chia seeds, baking soda, sea salt.

Chemo - Part 11 - Day 10

Well, there's good and bad news today about the chemo recovery. The good news: "Feeling more human." The bad news: A rash has developed on the face and chest, and was spreading a little. It's possible that it's a heat rash resulting from being feverish (so a side effect of a side effect) or if it's a side effect of the chemo itself. My parents haven't called the doctor yet, but if it's not better by morning, I'm calling the doctor myself.

I've been busy today after work, doing grocery shopping and cooking. Those recipes will come soon. In the meantime, I had found and tried out a recipe for pear sorbet here: http://rikishore.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-all-of-my-favorites-in-one-meal/. Because I don't have an ice cream maker, I made granita instead.

Ginger Pear Granita

3 ripe pears, cubed

2 tsp ginger, sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup water

1 tsp vodka (to prevent freezer burn)

Put the pears, ginger, and 1/2 cup water in a large pan over medium heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the ginger slices, then transfer to a food processor. Run until smooth. Mix in the water and vodka. Transfer to a tupperware and place in the fridge until cool. Once chilled, transfer to the freezer. Stir every 30 minutes, until the mixture looks like icy flakes (see below).

This dessert is yummy, sweet, and good for nausea. Yay ginger! It also helps with mouth sores and difficult swallowing. Who knew eating yummy things could be so good for you? I mean, besides everyone who follows Paleo that is...

Chemo - Part 10 - Day 9

Well folks, I'm beat. I've been up since 4:24 am Texas time (5:24 in Atlanta). I went to bed after scrambling to hold one of the dogs over the toilet as it threw up, and woke up with carting the same dog to the trash can in my room so that he didn't get sick on the bed. I took the dogs out, finished packing my car, ate scrambled eggs with my parents, and was on the road by 6 am CST. I powered through 1.5 L of water and 4 cans of Diet Coke while I spent over 12 hours today driving back West. (Given that I don't usually consume caffeine, that amount of soda is enough to keep me wide awake for a long drive on endless highways.)

After deciding that there's no way that I'd be able to convince myself to leave my apartment after unpacking my car to go buy food, I stopped in at my local Whole Foods to pick up some pre-cooked meat for dinner. I finally got back to my apartment at 6:20 pm CST, and then managed to completely unload the groceries, cooler, rowing machine (erg), a couple boxes of old books from high school (including all of my high school yearbooks), a box of wine glasses and two pillows my parents gave me for Christmas, a bag of shoes, a potted plant, my suitcase, a duffel bag of shoes, my backpack, a case of Kopparberg cider, and a couple other bags of sundries. All in my apartment by 6:45. Phew. My erg is currently sitting in a corner of my bedroom, and all of my clothes are unpacked and toiletries put away.

Enough about me. Today was apparently a day of sleeping back in Atlanta. I think, overall, the aches and pains are a bit better, though a lingering headache has been today's biggest annoyance. I'm hoping today is a good sign. Sleep is good. It gives your body time to rest and attempt to repair itself. Maybe by resting today, tomorrow will be better. Fingers crossed.

This is another recipe from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen. This vegetable dish helps with constipation as well as general nutrition. Plus, the ginger can help a bit with nausea. If made according to the instructions, the serving contains 50 calories, 2.5 g of fat (0.4 g saturated fat, 1.7 g mono-unsaturated), 7 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 2 g fiber, 195 mg sodium. It can last for 3-5 days in the fridge.

Shredded Carrot and Beet Salad

2 Tbls freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp EVOO

1/2 tsp freshly minced ginger

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup carrots, peeled and shredded

1 cup beet, peeled and shredded

2 Tbls mint, chopped (optional)

1. Mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, EVOO, ginger, and sea salt in a bowl.

2. Pour half of the dressing over the carrots and toss to cover evenly. In a separate bowl, do the same thing with the beets.

3. Mix together and serve.

If you're going to store this in the fridge, I'd recommend keeping them in separate containers because the color of the beets may end up overwhelming the carrots. But if you're lazy and don't care if there's color bleeding, just go ahead and put it in the same gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

Chemo - Part 8 - Day 7

Let's start with an update on the chemo recovery. Things aren't going so well right now. The bone pain has spread, so there's a constant whole-body ache. Additionally, we had a short period of nausea such that we were positioning a trash can close by, as well as placing an ice pack on the back of the neck as well as a cold washcloth on the face. It passed, but came with cold sweats so that a fresh shirt needed to be grabbed and we layered on two blankets and used a heating pad to warm up. Nausea, bone pain, and headaches are terrible on their own. Combine them and it's misery.

One of the families that lives on my parents' street is vegetarian, so when they decided to help out my parents by providing food, they provided vegetarian dishes. When my parent had surgery back in January, our neighbor made the following soup. My parents had told her how I enjoy cooking, so she provided the recipe and all of the necessary ingredients. Because of the black beans used for protein instead of meat, this dish isn't Paleo, but it is a good option when recovering from chemo. This recipe comes from The Voluptuous Vegan, page 36. There are a few differences based on the proportions that I used, but it's basically the same

Colombian Black Bean Soup

2.5 cups dried Michigan black beans, soaked overnight

1 jalapeno pepper

1 dried chipotle pepper or habanero chile

6 cups water

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 Tbls olive oil

1/2 green pepper. finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

1 onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbls freshly squeezed orange juice

3 Tbls freshly squeeze lime juice

Salt and pepper

Cilantro (optional)

1. Drain the soaked beans. Put in a large pot with the peppers and water. Boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer for an hour, until beans are tender.

2. Remove the pepper. Remove 1 1/2 cups of beans and 1 cup of the cooking liquid to a blender, blending until smooth. Return the purée to the pot.

3. Toast the cumin seeds in a small, dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Grind the seeds to a powder with a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder.

4. Warm the olive oil in a medium pan. Saute the onions and garlic over medium-low heat for 7 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the cumin, green pepper, and celery, cooking for 5 more minutes until smooth.

5. Transfer the sautéed veggies to the pot. Add 1 1/2 tsp salt and a little bit of black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

6. Stir in orange and lime juice. Season to taste.

7. Serve with chopped cilantro and orange and lime pieces.