It’s that wicked time of year again. Sharpen your scythe. Pluck an unsuspecting pumpkin from its safe haven. Carve it. Prepare its sweet and vulnerable flesh for the devouring.
The bad “spray-on tan” shade of the pumpkin’s outside lets you know right off the bat that something’s amiss—some toxic evil’s a-brewin’ inside. So what gives the pumpkin its supernatural, ungodly hue? Get ready for it…drum roll, please…brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr… beta-carotene.
Stop right there. I don’t like the sound of this beta-carotene, at all. It’s kind of freaking me out. "Ooooh, I am the super-villain Beta-Carotene, come to wreak unholy, unspecified havoc! Cower before my awesome… uh…awesomeness! GRRR!"
Gulp. Uh, OK, I spooked myself. Time to change subjects or seasons…or, possibly, undergarments…. (Too far?) All I’m saying is that you can just tell by looking at ’em that pumpkins are evil, right? Up to no good. Bad to the bone. (If they had bones—I’m telling you, they’d be bad.) Let’s just leave it at that.
No can do. Sorry to trick you, boys and ghouls; but, we need to stay on this shaky ground a while longer. Dig a little deeper. Unearth more dirt on beta-carotene. Where’s it come from? Is it good or bad? What’s it do? Why is it that ungodly color?
Sit up straight, uncover those eyes and unclench those fists! We’re about to sink our teeth into some tips I gleaned in my search for the truth.
Beta-carotene is definitely a good guy when you get it organically through your diet, not through supplements. It’s one of the most abundant “pro-Vitamin A” phytonutrients found in nature. (Phyto means “plant”.) Certain fruits and veggies are full of it—beta-carotene, that is.
Beta-carotene converts to retinol (Vitamin A) in our bodies with a little help. It is a fat-soluble compound, which means you must eat foods rich in beta-carotene with a dietary fat for it to be absorbed and converted by the body. (The good fat in the recipe below is just fine and dandy as an absorption-conversion catalyst!)
So, what’s the hubbub about Vitamin A? Why do we need this unholy conversion? Simply put, we need Vitamin A (and thus foods rich in beta-carotene) for normal growth and development, a properly-functioning immune system and good vision. Ironic, huh? The pumpkin is a time-honored symbol for Halloween—the season to flaunt all things abnormal—when, in fact pumpkins (and all beta-carotene-rich foods) help us be anything but.
And, believe it or not, that supernatural Day-Glo orange exterior is really one of the super natural colors in Mother Nature’s palette. Beta-carotene produces (often vibrant) shades in the yellow-orange-red range and, when combined with other of nature’s pigments, deep green, pink, and white.
But, let’s concentrate on fall harvest colors: Those silky ambers and deep, delicious gingers and greens that we see so abundantly this time of year. Most of these are thanks to beta-carotene—sweet potatoes, carrots and winter squash (including the pumpkin). Dark leafy greens like collards, kale, turnips, spinach, cilantro and fresh thyme—you guessed it, rich in beta-carotene. Oh, and broccoli—never forget broccoli!
So get freaky and have yourself a happy beta-carotene-y Halloween-y! Treat your tricksters (with parental permission) to the delicious pumpkin cookies below.
Be they ghosts, goblins—whatever the evil incarnation that comes a-knockin’ at your castle door—these diabetic-friendly devilish delights are guaranteed to put a smile on those impish faces. (And for you adults, a couple of these are GREAT with a cup of hot tea! Just 'cuz you're too old for the trickin', doesn't mean you're too old for the treatin'!)
The Great Pumpkin-Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Start to Finish: 1 hour
Ingredients:
-Butter-flavored nonstick fat-free cooking spray
-3/4 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
-1 1/2 Cups almond flour—I like Bob’s Red Mill®
-1/2 Cup flaxseed meal—I like Bob’s Red Mill®
-1 1/3 Cups old-fashioned rolled oats
-1 Teaspoon baking soda
-1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/2 Teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 Teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/2 Teaspoon sea salt or regular salt
-1 Cup Brummel & Brown Spread® w. yogurt (or your favorite butter substitute), softened
-1/2 Cup SPLENDA® Granulated No Calorie Sweetener
-2 Tablespoons SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend (optional)
-1 Cup Libby’s® 100% Pure Pumpkin (or your favorite, BUT, NOT PIE FILLING!)
-1 Large egg
-1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
-3/4 Cup raisins
Preparation:
1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray three large baking sheets (preferably with sides) with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2) Toast chopped walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
3) Combine flour, flaxseed meal, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.
4) Beat Brummel & Brown®, SPLENDA® Granulated No Calorie Sweetener and SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend (if using) in a large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in toasted walnuts and raisins.
5) Coat a tablespoon with the nonstick cooking spray. Drop cookie mixture by rounded tablespoons (try to get them equally sized and well-spaced) onto prepared baking sheets.
6) Bake 14-16 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 3-4 minutes. Remove cookies carefully (they will be a bit crumbly) to wire racks to finish cooling completely, about 15 minutes.
A little preliminary frightfest: The regular "non-carb-reduced-AT-ALL" original Libby's® "Pumpkin-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" recipe yields 48 cookies/servings, 120 calories each with a humdinger of 17g carbs per cookie. That's enough to scare you to death. Or carb you to death, as the case may be! (And, these are not huge cookies!)
A little-less scary (but, still hair-raising) option: "Harvest Pumpkin-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" recipe from SPLENDA® Simple & Sensational cookbook reduced the calories a little and the carbs a nice chunk: 48 cookies/servings with 110 Calories and 12g Carbohydrates per cookie/serving. Still, YIKES!
Now, I don't know about you; but, I thought we could do much better carb-wise than this; so, I went to work in my very own teen-tiny, not-so-secret laboratory. (That's my kitchen, in case you didn't know.)
And, here's the best option of all, my very own "The Great Pumpkin-Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie" recipe.
My muchly-modified recipe yields 45 cookies/servings, with 79 Calories (76, if you omit SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend) and 6g Carbohydrate (5, if you omit SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend) per cookie/serving. That's a whole lot less scary. And when it comes to carbs, the less scary and less lethal, the better.
Again, these are not huge cookies! But, my recipe cookie-size is exactly the same as the original Libby's® and SPLENDA® cookbook recipe cookie-sizes.
Nita's notes:
Here's what and how I substituted to make the carb-load a good bit lighter. My recipe in this post has only 1/3 of original Libby's® carbs and 1/2 of SPLENDA® cookbook recipe carbs for the same sized cookie. I wanted much lower carbs without sacrificing the rich taste and texture of these yummy cookies. I think you'll be very satisfied with my non-evil experiment results!
I used a mixture of almond flour and flaxseed meal (both MUCH lower in carbs) to replace the regular flour. Now, of course, almond flour won't work for every recipe; but, it's perfect for cookies.
Almond flour is simply blanched, ground almonds and has very little carbs, 6 grams per 1/4 cup. Flaxseed meal is also a great lower-carb flour substitute--it has only 8g carbs per 1/4 cup. In comparison, regular flour (white, all-purpose, whole wheat) has a whopping 23 grams of carbs per 1/4 cup. That adds up in a hurry!
So, how do you substitute almond flour and flaxseed meal for regular flour? A general rule of thumb: Replace 1/4 of the total amount of flour called for in a recipe with flaxseed meal and replace the remaining 3/4 amount with almond flour. (This original recipe called for 2 cups all-purpose flour. So, by using our formula: 1/4 of 2 cups = 1/2 cup flaxseed meal; 3/4 of 2 cups = 1 and 1/2 cups almond flour.)
Refined sugar and artificial sweetener adjustments: Rather than using 1/2 cup each of SPLENDA® Sugar Blend and SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend (I'm not even gonna discuss the undiluted sugar and brown sugar of Libby's® original recipe, egads), I substituted a total of 1/2 cup SPLENDA® Granulated plus 2 tablespoons SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend. Same great taste. MUCH fewer carbs. No-brainer substitution. (I've not yet tried a batch omitting that final 2 tablespoons of SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend; but, I'll let you know as soon as I do!)
(Special note: check out the links to Libby's® original recipe and SPLENDA® cookbook recipe to get the SCARY nutrition breakdown for those. Those facts'll send you screaming in fear for your life!)
Hope you enjoy my burnt offeringsas much as we do. (No, really, I didn't burn them!) They are scrumptious.
And, as always, make healthier choices for a happier life.
Happy haunting! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Anita Peacock
Lifelong Type 1 Diabetic
MyDiabeticBag@gmail.com
Visit us online now at www.MyDiabeticBag.com
Please, request to join our Facebook diatetes support group: MyDiabeticLife
Info Credits and Links:
“CDC – National Report on Biochemical Indicators of Diet and Nutrition - Fat-Soluble Vitamins & Micronutrients: Vitamins A and E and Carotenoids”, http://www.cdc.gov/nutritionreport/part_2a.html
“Human Nutrition: PL FAQs”: http://ars.usda.gov/Aboutus/docs.htm?docid=4142
“Influence of Dietary Fat on Beta-Carotene Absorption and Bioconversion into Vitamin A”, Ribaya-Mercado, Judy - TUFTS-HNRCA,
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?seq_no_115=161734
MasterCook Deluxe, version 11.0, ValuSoft, a division of THQ, Inc. http://www.valusoft.com/
"Splenda's Real Nutritional Information: An Update to the Sweetener Post", http://www.lowcarbfreedom.com/2005/06/an_update_to_th.html
Recipe Credits:
Bob's Red Mill® registered products and flour conversion use:
http://www.bobsredmill.com/; Bob's Red Mill, 13521 SE Pheasant Court, Milwaukie, Oregon 97222. All Rights Reserved. Permission to use granted to Peacock Products. (Thanks, Andre!)
Brummel & Brown is a registered trademark of the Unilever Group of Companies, dually headquartered in London, The United Kingdom (Unilever PLC) and Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Unilever N.V.).
The Great Pumpkin-Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie recipe adapted from “Harvest Pumpkin-Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” in SPLENDA® Simple & Sensational Recipes. (Copyright©2008. Published by Publications International, Ltd., Lincolnwood, IL 60712. All rights reserved. Permission to use granted to Peacock Products. (SPLENDA® adapted their recipe from the original Libby's® Pumpkin-Oatmeal Raisin cookies recipe as shown here: http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/134563/Pumpkin-Oatmeal-Raisin-Cookies/detail.aspx)
Libby’s® is a registered trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé
S.A., Vevey, Switzerland. http://www.nestle.com/
SPLENDA® is a registered trademark of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC.; 601 Office Center Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034. http://splenda.com/
Special Credits:
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, TV animated short film
based on Charles M. Schulz’s “Peanuts” cartoon strip. Director: Bill Melendez. Release date: 27 October 1966 (USA). Produced by: Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez. For more information, go to the following website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060550/
Special BIG thanks to Ted Lowell for helping me get my blog templates tweaked! You're a sweet boy, Tedward! Much love from Deeda.
