Sometimes you just need a cookie!! I have found a delicious, buttery, low-carb shortbread cookie recipe. This has been a long search and I am so happy to have found a great one. When you make these cookies, after you mix the ingredients, you won't have a dough - you will have a crumbly mess. Have faith these will work. Press the dough together into a log shape while you wrap it in plastic wrap and then chill it very well. I chilled my dough for about 3 hours and was surprised at how well the dough stayed together while I cut it into cookies.  I also use 6 drops of DoTerra lemon essential oil in place of the 1 tsp of grated lemon zest. This saves time and has a stronger lemon flavor which we like. For the recipe chick HERE to go to a great blog: ibreatheimhungry. 

These are our favorite crackers. They are so delicious and easy to make with just a few ingredients, equal amounts of blanched almond flour, shredded Gouda cheese, a little sea salt and cold water, I use 2 TBL of water. Because of blogging etiquette I need to send you to Maria’s blog for the recipe because I have not changed it. I do have some helpful hints though as I make them every week.

To keep the cost down I buy the Gouda in a two pound wedge at Costco. I shred it all in my food processor and freeze it in individual zip lock sandwich bags. Since cheese is a little variable when measuring I like to weigh it. I determined 1 ½ cups of shredded Gouda is 4.5 ounces.

I don’t separate the dough into two balls. I roll all of the dough between parchment papers until thin. I fold the edges of the parchment, with the dough that is too thin on the edges, so that my edges are straight and not too thin, so that it will not burn. My square is 11 ½” x11 ½.” I bought a pizza cutter, it is much easier to cut the crackers with than a knife. I bake the crackers at 350 degrees for 17 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. While warm I recut the crackers on the lines.  I leave the crackers out to crisp up overnight then I put them in our cracker jar which is on the counter. One batch makes about 56 crackers.

Regular goldfish crackers contain partially  hydrogenated vegetable oil also known as trans-fats. These factory made fats are so bad for our health. Unfortunately our body sees them as a fat instead of the toxin that it is. It crams this toxin into our fat cells which blocks our bodies use of essential fatty acids. This can lead to cancer, obesity, birth defects and many more health problems. We avoid eating partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and stay away from all vegetable oils, opting for healthier coconut oil, olive oil and organic butter. These crackers are more delicious than regular goldfish or cheese crackers and so easy to make. Our Grandson loves these, he calls them “cheese cookies.” Click here for the recipe.

Our goal is to keep our blood sugar stable without spikes of too high and dips of too low. When blood sugar goes up, insulin goes up. We keep our blood sugar stable with a diet high in healthy fats and proteins and low in carbohydrates. Mark lost 30 pounds in two months when we started eating this way. We were so thrilled when he had is cholesterol checked, a few months after our lifestyle change - for the first time in twenty years all of the numbers had improved! I wanted to answer the question, that do carbohydrates, blood sugar, and insulin have to do with your cholesterol?

I spent many months researching this question; it is understandably a complicated subject. The following five quotes answer in a nutshell what carbohydrates, blood sugar, and insulin have to do with your cholesterol:

From the book The Protein Power LifePlan by Michael R. Eades, M.D. & Mary Dan Eades, M.D. page 107 “What is cholesterol? Far from villain, this waxy alcohol (not a fat at all) occurs in every cell of every organ and tissue in the body. It functions there in many ways, among them, giving shape and structure to the cell membranes and
providing the raw materials to produce the sex hormones, “youth” hormones, and the hormones that help us to withstand stress and reduce inflammation. Without enough cholesterol, the body can’t properly replace and renew its worn or damaged cells, since making a new cell membrane requires cholesterol. Without new cells,
the body will age and die.”

Protein Power by Michael R. Eades, M.D. & Mary Dan Eades, M.D. page 34 and 35. “Insulin activates the enzymes that run the cholesterol-making apparatus, resulting in overproduction of
cholesterol. Our own cells make cholesterol, and lots of it. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of the cholesterol burbling along in your blood vessels was made by your own body. Only 20 to 30 percent came from your diet. Every cell in the body has the capacity to make cholesterol, but most is made in the liver, the intestines, and the skin with the vast majority coming from the liver cells.”

The Protein Power LifePlan page 56. “Under the influence of insulin, the liver increases its production of cholesterol, resulting in more of the “bad” LDL cholesterol, less of the “good” HDL type, and higher levels of triglycerides in the blood-a blood profile that spells increased risk for heart disease.”

The Protein Power LifePlan page 109 “By simply changing the way you eat to a diet lower in starch and sugar and higher in good-quality fats, you can reduce elevated cholesterol, lower your triglycerides, alter the type of “bad” LDL you produce, increase your “good” HDL levels, and reduce your risk for heart disease-without resorting to expensive and potentially damaging medications.”

The Protein Power LifePlan page 106 “Niacin. In those rare cases where our patients require LDL and cholesterol lowering beyond that which our nutritional program delivers, we usually use this simple, inexpensive, and relatively side effect free vitamin…For our patients we recommend beginning a dose of 500 mg No-Flush Niacin three times a day, but that dose can be pushed up to 1,500 three times daily without problems if needed. In our experience, that’s rarely the case.” 

Our new way of eating dramatically improved Mark’s cholesterol number; they were better but not great. He has a
genetic predisposition to produce excessive amounts of cholesterol. Mark exercises a lot more than I do, he hikes four miles a day, we eat the same foods and my cholesterol numbers are better than his. Therefore we decided to add “No-Flush Niacin”, Red Yeast Rice and fish oil to his regime. Now, his cholesterol numbers are great!! 

 
Mark is a cookie monster! His sister Julie tells us that when they were growing up, Mark would walk through the
kitchen, where Julie was making cookies, as he would leave the kitchen most of Julie’s cookies were piled in his hands. Mark is still a cookie monster today, but now he has a new favorite cookie! They do not cause his blood sugar to spike which would lead to excess insulin in his blood, therefore causing excessive cholesterol. These cookies were inspired by Maria’s Nutritious and Delicious Journal, to see her "Healthified” Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe click here.

These cookies use Just Like Brown sugar which is made of chicory root. If you click on Maria's blog above she goes into detail about the healthy benefits of chicory root. It is so good for your digestion, helps gall bladder issues, is helpful for your kidneys and liver, the list goes on. And it does not raise your blood sugar. The problem with Just Like Brown Sugar is that it costs about $20. a pound. I decided to weigh 3/4 of a cup to determine the cost per batch of cookies. I was surprised that 3/4 of a cup of JLBS weighs 2.6 ounces and 3/4 of a cup of erythritol (Zsweet) weighs 5.3 ounces. This means that JLBS costs about the same as Zsweet or Swerve because it weighs half as much. With a pound of JLBS I can make 6 batches of cookies. That equals about $3.33 of JLBS per batch of 24 cookies, that is not bad for all of the health benefits of chicory in a super yummy cookie. I can not find Just Like Brown Sugar, Zsweet or Swerve locally. I order it on my Amazon Store.

Delicious low-carb Chocolate Chip Cookies

½  cup softened butter (I use organic)

½ cup coconut oil

¾ cup Just Like Brown Sugar  (2.6 oz)

¾ cup granulated erythritol (I use Zsweet or Swerve) (5.3 oz)

1/8 tsp stevia (I use Bolivian stevia, this is equal to ¼ cup of sugar sweetness)

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 ½ cup blanched almond flour (5.2 oz)

½ cup coconut flour (2.4 oz)

1 tsp baking powder (I use aluminum free)

1 tsp sea salt (I use real salt)

½ cup healthy chocolate chips click here for the recipe

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and the coconut oil. Add the sweeteners, egg, and vanilla. Cream until well mixed. In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mixing until smooth. Gently add the chocolate chips.

Place the cookie dough by the heaping tablespoon on a cookie sheet. Press down the dough just a little bit to flatten
the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes until the edges are light brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet. Makes about 24 cookies.