Healthier Tiger Stripe Cookies, a Chocolate Treat For Everyone

Healthier Tiger Stripe Cookies, a Chocolate Treat For Everyone When my daughters were little I baked cookies regularly. With one exception, Oreo cookies, my kids knew little about store-bought. All of our cookies were homemade and I made one or two kinds each week. I have hundreds of cookie recipes and, like most people, nibble on raw dough and taste the cookies to see how the batch turned out.

When it comes to baking, unfortunately, I'm my own best customer. I stopped baking cookies after I gained weight. But my teenage grandchildren live with us now and they are always hungry. Grocery prices are shooting up and, to save money, I decided to bake cookies again. So I'm back to baking some of our family's favorite cookies, including Tiger Cookies. The recipe was originally published on the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes box. I found the recipe in "Best Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars," by Ceil Dyer. Published in 1979, my cook book is frayed, falling apart, and the pages are covered with drips. Since the cook book was published I've learned a lot about nutrition and decided to create a healthier version of Tiger Cookies. I substituted half white, half wheat flour for all-purpose flour. This flour is heavier than regular, so I used less. For sweetness I used half Splenda and half sugar. Instead of two eggs, I used one and some egg substitute. The biggest change in the recipe was the shortening. The original recipes calls for butter or margarine. I used I Can't Believe it's not Butter! This stick margarine, a blend of soybean and canola oils, has 50% less fat than butter, 0 grans of trans fat, and 0 cholesterol per one tablespoon serving. Because I'm a vanilla nut I doubled the amount. While these cookies freeze well, they are fragile, so put them in a plastic container, not a plastic zipper bag. A cookie and a glass of milk make a delicious after school snack. For an unusual dessert, fold broken cookies into sugar-free, fat-free vanilla ice cream. I think everyone in your family will enjoy these Healthier Tiger Stripe Cookies. My grandson's friends eat them by the handfull! Healthier Tiger Stripe Cookies Ingredients 1 1/4 cups half white, half wheat flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup I Can't Believe it's Not Butter! (2 sticks) 1/2 cup Splenda (regular) 1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/4 cup egg substitute 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 3 cups frosted corn flakes, crushed to make 1 1/2 cups 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted Method Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. Cream margarine, Splenda and sugar until fluffy. Add egg, egg substitute, and vanilla. Fold crushed cereal into batter. Drizzle melted chocolate chips over batter and fold in with rubber scraper, making sure to leave some streaks. (You don't want the batter to be all chocolate.) Drop by teaspoons into prepared baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. If you are using no-stick baking pans, reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake a little longer. Makes at least 5 dozen cookies. Copyright 2009 by Harriet Hodgson Healthier Tiger Stripe Cookies, a Chocolate Treat For Everyone

A Sugar Free Lifestyle - 10 Reasons to Quit Or Reduce Sugar

A Sugar Free Lifestyle - 10 Reasons to Quit Or Reduce Sugar The following 10 reasons to quit or reduce sugar can help you live a sugar free lifestyle. America is addicted to sugar. Most Americans consume three times more sugar daily then is recommended by USDA. This government watchdog recommends that you only eat 10 teaspoons (tps) of the sweet stuff a day.

A sugar free lifestyle, suggests that you quit or reduce the sugar quantities you consume. So the following 10 reasons can serve as goals to motivate you to give it up. One, you will feel better than you have felt in years. Usually in two to three days, you will be more perceptive, more alert and have more energy than you have had in a long time. Two, your blood pressure will become substantially lower. There is a good chance you can quit taking some or all of your B. P. medications. Never quit unless your doctor recommends that you do. Three, you will lose weight. In order to eat only 10 tps of sugar per day, you will have to cut back on certain foods. Suggested for women is 1000 to 1200 calories per day and for men 1500 to 1600 calories per day. Four, you will lower your risk of developing high cholesterol. Once again, you may not need to take your cholesterol medications. Five, you lower your risk of a heart attack. Obviously, when you quite eating sugar and empty carbohydrates, decrease your weight, your B. P. and cholesterol drop, too. Because of these three things, lower weight, lower B.P. and lower cholesterol, your risk of a heart attack is lessened. Six, you may add years to your life span. You can never know how long you will live; however, lowering your risk of heart attacks, the number one killer in America, you may indeed add years to your life. Seven, losing inches around your waist lessens your chances of heart disease. Men, whose waist measures above 39 inches, are at greater risks than those whose waist line is below 39. For women the magic number is 35 inches. Eight, you will be at less risk to develop cancer. Diet has been proven to decrease chances of developing cancer. A diet high in dietary fiber can greatly reduce the risk of colon cancer. By eating a proper diet, you lower your risks. Nine, You reduce your chances of osteoporosis. That's right! A diet high in sugar has been linked to this disease, too. Ten, you may never develop atrium fibrillation. One of the common causes of afib is a thickening of the heart wall due to high blood pressure. This causes one part of the heart to beat faster than another part of the heart. Afib can kill you if left unchecked. Some people with afib and on a sugar free diet have been able to quit their meds for this killer. The above ten reasons to quit or reduce your sugar intake and live a sugar free lifestyle it is hoped will motivate to take a serious look at your diet. You could start today. Your health will improve. You will lose weight, and you will feel so much better. As always, eat healthy, my friends. A Sugar Free Lifestyle - 10 Reasons to Quit Or Reduce Sugar