Happy New Year! I used to love the New Year…a fresh start, a time to start following through with all those New Year’s Resolutions…well at least for a couple of weeks anyway. One of my favorite New Year’s Resolutions that I used to make is: #1. Stop eating baked goods – cookies, cakes, pastries, etc. I was addicted to these products and it was all I ever wanted to eat no matter how bad I knew they made me feel.

Well, guess what…all of these items contain wheat and wheat is addictive. Most people don’t think of food as having addictive qualities, but the chemistry of wheat in your body is very real. If you have gluten sensitivity, your body does not have the ability to break wheat down into smaller building blocks in the small intestine. Because wheat doesn’t get broken down, the immune system recognizes it as a ‘foreign protein’ and attacks it, causing damage to the intestinal wall that increases over time. This constant erosion over time produces what is called a ‘leaky gut.’ Simply put, the gluten, while still intact, leaves the small intestines.

Glutens are opioid-like proteins, which means that they literally cause a ‘gluten high’ that lasts for a few hours, followed by a crash and a craving for more gluten. It is like a drug, and no matter how hard you try, your instincts are stronger, telling you ‘you need more.’ One of the ‘side effects’ for me when cutting out the gluten was that my cravings were gone.  If you have any of these reactions, you may want to try this: cut out the gluten and see what happens!

Here is an amazing Chocolate Chip cookie recipe that I use when my girls are having friends over and they want to impress them.  These are a great treat with none of the side effects.

Lisa’s Better than Nestle Cookies

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp tapioca flour
4 tbsp arrowroot
1 tbsp sorghum flour
1 tbsp potato starch
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
3 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup carob chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease two large baking sheets or line with parchment paper.  Blend brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca, cornstarch, potato starch, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt in bowl. Mix flaxseed with 3 tbsp warm water until blended together. Pour oil and both sugars into a large bowl. Add flaxseed/water mixture. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Then add the carob chips and mix again. Roll dough in your hands to make a ball. I like to wet my hands first to keep the dough moist. Place on the baking sheet and flatten slightly with palm of hand. Bake for 15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes then move to a cooling rack.

*The size of these cookies can vary depending on what you need them for. You can make them into bite size cookies, large individual cookies, or 2 giant cookies, which I have used to make an ice cream cookie cake!

References: What is Wrong with Wheat? By Eric Armstrong at TreeLight.com/Health