There is some evidence that flaxseed may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Organic Essential Flaxseed is a perfect choice as a dietary fiber supplement to encourage proper digestion and regularity with all the added benefit of lignans. Flax lignans might lower your cancer risk by preventing pre-cancerous cellular changes, as well as slow down the progression and movement of cancer cells. The American Cancer Society reports that lignans may help to reduce the growth of hormone-related cancers including prostate, breast and ovarian cancer, though more human research is needed.  – Information provided by LIVESTRONG.com.

Although flaxseed contains many healthy components, its primary health benefits are:

• Omega-3 essential fatty acids: “good” fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.
• Lignans: have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75 to 800 times more lignans than other plant foods.
• Fiber: Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

To use flaxseed in baking, you can substitute ground flaxseed for part of the flour in recipes for quick breads, muffins, rolls, bread, bagels, pancakes, and waffles. You can typically replace 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the flour with ground flaxseed if the recipe calls for 2 or more cups of flour. For this recipe I only used flaxseed and no flour.

I also used hemp seeds in this recipe. Hemp seeds are a complete protein and very rich in Vitamin E. They provide a rich array of minerals including zinc, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. Hemp seeds have a nutty flavor similar to sunflower seeds or pine nuts.

When choosing bananas for this recipe, your bananas should be extremely brown, almost to the point when you would throw them away or freeze them. If they are not overly ripe, your cookies will not be as sweet and probably not taste as good. If you are using non-ripe bananas, you should add about a 1/3 cup of maple syrup to the batter.

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Banana Chocolate Chip Flax Cookies

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup raw almond butter
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup raw shelled hemp seeds (hemp hearts)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (fine shred works best)
• 1/4 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients until well blended.
3. Drop with a tablespoon onto a greased baking sheets.
4. Bake for 9 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Flax Cookies

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup raw shelled hemp seeds (hemp hearts)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (fine shred works best)
1/4 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine all ingredients until well blended.
3. Drop with a tablespoon onto a greased baking sheets.
4. Bake for 9 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

~ “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” – Jim Rohn

These cookies were the first Paleo dessert I made when we started changing our diet. The recipe comes from the Paleo Plan. I usually tweak the recipes, but this one is perfect as is. (I did make one small change to the salt by using Himalayan Pink Salt instead of the sea salt the recipe calls for.) I could not believe how good they tasted and how much the kids enjoyed them. My son calls them his “favorite healthy cookie” .

When consuming grain free baked goods we have to be careful about how much we consume because most contain large quantities of nut flours. These nut flours contain high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids. While omega-6 fatty acids are good for you, in excess, they can cause problems. It’s a good idea to keep your omega-3 consumption (from foods like organic butter, pastured beef, pastured eggs, raw organic cultured or fermented dairy, fish, etc.) twice as high as your omega-6 consumption to avoid possible inflammation.

The recipe calls for Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, but you can also add raisins, walnuts, pecans, silvered almonds or anything else you may choose. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips are certified gluten free, contain no wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg or soy. They are also made without casein, potato, sesame or sulfites and contain no trans fat or cholesterol. They are certified kosher, vegan – no preservatives, all natural. I replaced our Toll House chips with these chips without telling my kids and no one knew the difference.

When purchasing your honey, raw unprocessed honey is a good choice. 75% of all honey sold in stores contains no honey at all. A comprehensive investigation conducted by Food Safety News (FSN) has found that the vast majority of so-called honey products sold at grocery stores do not contain any pollen, which means they are not real honey. “Raw honey is thought to have many medicinal properties,” says Kathy Egan, dietitian at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.  ”Stomach ailments, anemia and allergies are just a few of the conditions that may be improved by consumption of unprocessed honey.”

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Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Ingredients

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or wire whisk.
5. Pour wet ingredients slowly into dry ingredients and beat with mixer or fork until combined.
6. Add the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop Tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.

 Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or wire whisk.
5. Pour wet ingredients slowly into dry ingredients and beat with mixer or fork until combined.
6. Add the melted coconut oil and continue to blend until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop Tablespoon size balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.

~ “One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” – Luciano Pavarotti