Sunday, February 21, 2010

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies – am I cheating?!

Had ya worried didn't I? I JUST posted about how well I'm doing on my Lent journey with giving up sweets, and now I'm blogging about cookies?? Actually, these aren't what you think… listen up!

I never realized how many sweets much crap I ate until these last few days. It's astonishing really. Despite being on Weight Watchers for the last year and a half, I still find ways to sneak in snack cakes, fat free ice cream, chocolate, granola bars, Pop-Tarts, etc into my daily diet. In fact, since I'm not a big veggie eater, I'm always quick to reach for the sugary snacks, rather than the more sensible, filling and probably more tasty option. Who am I kidding – is a salad really more tasty than some Ghirardelli? At any rate, it has been challenging for me to eliminate the sweets, and so I found one healthful way to get my sweet fix w/o including any junk into the mix. I searched my Biggest Loser cookbook for a healthy alternative, and found Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (pg. 196). Three simple ingredients: pitted dates, old-fashioned oats, and peanut butter! This is my kind of snack – simple, quick and delicious!

Biggest Loser's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

12 Pitted Dates
1/3 c. Old Fashioned Oats
1 Tbsp Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter

Simply chop the dates up in a mini-food processor until the dates stick together in a ball. They need to be very finely chopped! Transfer the dates to a small mixing bowl, and add the oats and peanut butter. You can either mix with your hands or use an electric hand mixer. I found it was easiest to do with my hands, since when I tried the mixer the oats began flying all over the place. Once well mixed together, divide the cookies into 4 small balls. Place each ball between 2 sheets of wax paper and press down on each ball until the cookie is 3" in diameter. The serving size is 2 – where you get 2 cookies per serving. If you're a WW follower, I calculated these at 4 POINTS per serving. I found them very sweet and filling, especially since the fiber is coming at you left and right from the PB, dates, and oatmeal! If you make them, let me know what you think – I definitely plan to be munching on these in the near future!


1 comment:

  1. Hi, Hilary!! Thank you SO much for your sweet comments about Doodles & Co.! I am so beyond thrilled that you and your boyfriend loved the Sausage Gravy & Biscuits! Don't worry about being a "weenie..." maybe you'll work your way up to the spicy kind. :oD I look forward to reading more book reviews on your blog...I too LOVE to read, and I like a lot of the same authors! Keep up the great work with your Lenten resolution...that's very admirable!

    :oD Chelsie

    ReplyDelete

You May Also Like: