I have recently come across an offer for 2x 500grams Quaker Oats for AED 9.50 ($2.58) and decided to buy. My thoughts: make granola bars, oats cookies, energy balls or just plain oats porridge.
My kids love oatmeal, just add chocolate powder and that's it. Seems like champurado to them.
Oats are very nutritious hence I love to serve them to my kids in any form. They are loaded with lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants:
Each 1/2 cup of dried oats contains:
- Manganese: 191% of the RDI
- Phosphorus: 41% of the RDI
- Magnesium: 34% of the RDI
- Copper: 24% of the RDI
- Iron: 20% of the RDI
- Zinc: 20% of the RDI
- Folate: 11% of the RDI
- Vitamin B1 (thiamin): 39% of the RDI
- Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): 10% of the RDI
- Smaller amounts of calcium, potassium, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and vitamin B3 (niacin)
(Source: http://www.healthline.com)
Oats are also high in fiber and therefore could help relieve constipation. It is also recommended for people who have high cholesterol levels as the high soluble fiber in oats called beta-glucan can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and help fight against heart disease.
Researches also say that people with Type 1 & 2 Diabetes can also benefit from oats. Oats can help improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar levels.
Oats also can have the ability to help us feel fuller for longer, thereby help us cut weight too. Those with oily and acne-prone skin can also apply oats on their skin. Oats have antibacterial properties and help soak up excess oil from the skin. [1]
Most of the cookie recipes I find generally use butter. This time, I looked for a substitute and found that I can use other oils like canola or coconut oil in making these delicious cookies.
Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder ( this time around, only my sweetened drinking chocolate powder was available )
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups rolled oats (I used quick cooking white oats)
Yield: 25 cookies
Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 300°C. Prepare the baking dish, grease or line with wax paper.
2. In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, chocolate powder, cinnamon and oats.
3. Add the oil, vanilla and egg. Other recipes would call for the sugar to be creamed together with the oil or butter, but mixing them as above did get the same results for me.
4. Add the dried fruits (or chocolate chips, whichever you prefer)
5. Mix all the ingredients properly then form into small balls.
6. Press the rounded oatmeal cookie batter into the baking sheet.
7. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies turn light brown.
The cookies are soft and chewy, which is how I wanted them to turn out. I found out, however, that it is too sweet for my taste. Perhaps due to the fact that I used sweetened chocolate powder, at the same time the dates and prunes, which also have their own natural sweetness. I may have to omit the white sugar on my next attempt or use unsweetened chocolate powder.
I put my second batch on a lower level in the oven, nearer to the fire. Not a good idea. It burned. Huhu.
Anyway, not to worry since I know that hubby 
Other times, I normally "fortify" my cookies or granola bars/bites with flaxseeds meal. Flaxseeds are a great source of fiber and Omega 3. This time around, I forgot to include these power seeds into my recipe. I will definitely add some next time.
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