A few months ago my husband decided to give up gluten. His reasons were health related and totally viable – it lasted six days. It actually ended with a stomach flu that involved him saying to me in the middle of the night, “GET ME GLUTEN”. He thought the sans-gluten diet led to the upchucking and I was telling him he’s off his rocker (though while I was telling him this I was also in the kitchen, toasting him a flour tortilla on the stove top – who’s more off their rocker??). The only good thing about his gluten free week was that I had a very respectable reason to get creative in the kitchen.
This was probably a good thing because these days you can’t throw a rock without hitting someone who eats gluten-free, and it’s nice to have something to apologize with (you know, after you hit them with that rock). Not only are they gluten-free, they’re dairy- and sugar-free—with no cooking required. They are a PERFECT snack for kids and you can even get them involved with rolling the cookie balls – any time kids take part in the process they are happier eaters.
And speaking of happy eating, these suckers rank high on the deliciousness factor. I’ve made them several times since the husband welcomed back gluten with open arms. They taste like a moist, perfect oatmeal cookie with a little kick of salt to make you come back for more. The dates supply all the sweet you need; you won’t even miss the sugar! These came together in about five minutes (no lie), and you can store them in the fridge for up to a week (just don’t mistake them for meatballs).
A word of warning: These are quite possibly the ugliest cookies you will ever see. I couldn’t even show you a picture of the finished product because I didn’t want to scare you off – seriously, turkey meatballs. These would be the cookies you make for your family, not for company. If anyone calls you “crunchy” or “granola” for making a “raw” cookie, just pop another one in your mouth and chew away while thinking “good, more for me, you superficial dummies”.
No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten-Free)
Makes two dozen
2 cups oats (quick or old fashioned)
¼ tsp. kosher salt
2 cups packed, pitted, dried dates
¼ cup roasted (unsalted) sunflower seeds
2 tbsp. almond butter (or peanut butter)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. water
- Combine oats, salt, dates and sunflower seeds in food processor and pulse (then run for 30 seconds) to combine.
- Add almond butter, vanilla, cinnamon and water and run until uniformly combined.
- Roll into 1 tbsp. size balls (or to whichever size you prefer) and store in an air tight container in the fridge. Will keep for up to 1 week.
Per serving: 53 calories, 2 grams fat, 130 milligrams sodium, 22 milligrams potassium, 6 grams carbs, 1 gram dietary fiber, 1 gram protein.
I was recently at a seminar where they talking about how unhealty ‘gluten free’ is, unless you’re going all natural gluten free….because store-bought g free products are actually processed more than others in order to remove the gluten. just a heads up.
Hey Katie – I totally agree with that! My husband is no longer eating gluten free… we are actually huge fans of gluten 🙂 It’s a shame that it’s becoming a buzzword and a diet trend for ppl just trying to lose weight – less processed, “clean eating” is the way to go!
The only people who should be on a gluten free diet are those who have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. As someone who was diagnosed over ten years ago, I am always puzzled by people who think going gluten free will be healthier. It’s not a fad diet. It’s a necessitity for those of us with an actual medical diagnosis.
Totally agree, Erin! from what I’ve heard lately, some doctor’s are suggesting gluten-restricted diets to patients who show a “sensitivity” to gluten. It seems like certain “fads” in nutrition get played up on the news or in magazines, and gluten is definitely in the hot-seat these days!
Yes! totally. Anyway, love the blog and your Be Well Philly posts.
In my (dietitian) opinion – I think we could all benefit from eating LESS gluten, but I think there are too many people jumping on the gluten free bandwagon to lose weight, as has been mentioned in previous comments. I know my family and I (and most of America) would benefit from less gluten and more variety of other, non-gluten containing grains as well as more fruits, vegetables, and protein. The research is ongoing though, and I’m sure we’ll continue to find new things out about this topic as time goes on.
My husband has actually forbade me from going gluten-free. Not in our house he says! In fact, we frequently make bagels from high-gluten flour. Yikes!
Yes – gluten left my house for about a week for a health reason (for my husband) – 1 week and only 1 week as he decided getting better wasn’t worth a life sans-gluten 🙂 I think gluten in WHOLE wheat, barley and rye is an awesome, perfectly natural thing. Gluten in donuts, white bread and white pasta is most DEFinitely something we could all eat less of 🙂 Interested in what you find (as a dietician) down the road!