Iron-Rich Ingredients and desert!

Dearest Kat,

After posting the recipes for what I would eat this last week... surprise, surprise, I did not end up making either of the recipes yet. BUT in the wake of that, I HAVE found a couple of things in my cupboard that are surprisingly easy to cook with AND have iron in them. So I thought I would share.

The first is blackstrap molasses of all things. With slightly less calories per Tablespoon, this rich syrupy sap has an amazing 20% DV of iron for each! I bought it to make these tasty ginger cookies.

A couple weeks ago I was sent this recipe for a single serving deep dish cookie, and of course I have messed with it to make it more healthy and nutrient-rich. That makes up for the fact that I have consumed it... well... 6 nights this past week...

I'll try to detract from that fact by explaining the "upgraded" ingredients :

• butter --- coconut oil 
• flour --- 1 part garbanzo bean flour + one part other flour (tried millet, but that was a bad choice. Almond and spelt have worked great) 
• sugar --- 1 part molasses or honey + one part 'solid sugar' (I usually use coconut palm sugar, but brown or white sugar would also work) 

You can also experiment with the recipe. When I ran out of the expensive dairy/soy free chocolate chips, I tried other ways: 

• plain chocolate cookie: cocoa 
• snicker doodle: cinnamon + coconut sugar sprinkle 
• chocolate snicker doodle: cocoa + cinnamon 
• chocolate ginger: cocoa + ginger powder
• chocolate peanut or almond butter: cocoa + nut butter 

So I mentioned garbanzo bean flour earlier. It is one of the cheapest alternative flours I've come across. WAY cheaper than almond flour (usually $10/lb), this little power powder was only $3 for a 1 lb. bag of Bob Mill's. It also has a significant bit of iron, with 10% DV per 1/4 cup.

Made these pancakes this morning with it and were so pleasantly surprised at their fluffiness, and texture. Most gluten-free pancakes aren't that forgiving - or healthy for that matter. The amount of batter was perfect for the three girls eating, which probably means it would be perfect for you and Jamison :) 

From a Tennessee coffee shop wishing you were here, 

Joy