food to glow

Try my Buttery Lemon Cookies with a steaming mug of Super U Mushroom Coffee for a healthy afternoon lift and tasty wee treat. 

Craving something sweet, but don’t fancy chocolate? Or loads of extra carbohydrates? You could do a lot worse than mixing up a batch of vegan, grain-free and low-carb Buttery Lemon Cookies. And, for you lovers of frosted cookies, whip up the accompanying cardamom-butter icing. Pro tip: Be sure not to eat all the icing before the cookies cool. Easily non-vegan and full-sugar, too!

(This is a sponsored post.)

Time Flies

Gosh it’s been a while, huh? I think the last time I was here was the end of December. When things were still normal. A time we will I’m sure be referring to as BC – Before Covid.

Thank you to all who have reached out and checked that I was okay (I am). With travel, being a bit unwell, tech issues, and then all of “this”, I just felt I needed a break. I even missed my 9th anniversary of writing to you and sharing my recipes.

And you know, I’ve really missed being part of your life. Even in this small way. I’ve missed your comments and reactions to some of my crazier recipes (I’m thinking about Baingan Bharta Pasta with Burrata). I’ve missed the steadying routine of recipe writing and food snapping. And pulling together a blog post that weaves the food with what is going on around me.

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A post shared by Kellie Anderson, MSc (@food_to_glow)

Meanwhile on Instagram

For those of you who follow me on Instagram you will know that I’ve been creating and sharing recipes throughout most of the intervening time (see above). Why? Instagram is easier. A lot easier. No consideration of SEO and Lord Google either. I have almost used Instagram as our own food diary, too.

“What was that great thing we had last Wednesday?” “Oh, let me check my Instagram.”

Instagram is my food memory. 

Hopefully I am back for good. Ready, fit and keen to share what’s happening in my kitchen. And in my somewhat whirling dervish of a head. 

Cookies, with a side of Shroom Coffee 

So, a recipe. A simple one that doesn’t require precious, covetable flour. As a side note: are you coveting your neighbours’ flour? Or at least salivating over Instagram shots of flour sacks stacked up in Insta-perfect kitchens? Never mind the sourdough, give us the flour!

So, no flour for this one. Or sugar. Or dairy. But you can absolutely use real sugar and actual dairy in a straight swap. And, although most of the shots are of cookies in the buff, do make the easy butter icing. You will want to spread it on banana bread and pound cake, too.

Before I hit you with the recipe, I just want to share a new drink with you. Now, keep an open mind for this. You’ve always trusted me, right?

Mushroom coffee. Yep, mushroom coffee! I pinky-swear all you get is a smoooooth 100 % Arabica coffee with a really compelling earthy back note. No mushroom taste. I tried it on Andrew, didn’t tell him what it was, and he gave it a happy thumbs up. He then promptly tucked it into his man bag and took it to work (yes, he still needs to go in). Smart man. 

What’s so special about Mushroom Coffee?

Super U’s Mushroom Coffee is pretty much the perfect brew to boost energy, productivity and focus. It’s a really smooth blend of premium instant Arabica Coffee, Maca and dual-extracted Chaga, Cordyceps & Lion’s Mane Mushrooms. Coffee + mushrooms = to kick-start your morning x power through your afternoon.

Pros:

✓ Only 50mg of caffeine per serving. So no jitters unless you have like 5 cups on the bounce!

✓ Less than half the amount of caffeine compared to a regular cup of coffee.

✓ 500mg of dual-extracted mushrooms per serving.

✓ Energy without the jitters or caffeine crash.

✓ Instant – just add hot water and a splash of milk, if you like.

Cons: none

Medicinal mushrooms, such as in this blend, have been well-studied for the anti-fatigue effects. They probably “mitigate fatigue through effects on the functional systems, including the muscular, cardiovascular, hormone, and immune system.” (Biomed Res Int 2017)

With things as they currently are, even though we aren’t dashing around in the same busy way as previous, mental stress is very, very tiring, isn’t it? And the temptation is to load up on sugary treats to keep us going. Perhaps try these protein-rich, no-sugar lemony butter cookies with a black cup of Shroom coffee? See how that goes for you.

What you need for  Buttery Lemon Cookies

Almond Flour – if you have ground almonds or almond meal it is best to pulse in a blender or food processor to get the fineness of flour. Don’t over do it though, or you’ll get almond butter!

Erthyritol sweetener with added stevia – this type of sweetener is safe. There is no bitter aftertaste either. I like 100% Natural Erythritol by NKD Living, Natvia  and Truvia . Try other brands if you like, but it’s best if they can be used nearly like-for-like with sugar. This is for reasons of texture more than anything. Use granulated sugar if you wish. 

Butter, milk and cream cheese – vegan or dairy. Your choice. Unsalted if you can.

Lemon juice, ground cardamom and vanilla – these bring the cookies to life!

No-sugar icing sugar, such as Powdered Erythritol by NKD Living  – or regular confectioners’/icing sugar

The above is for the cookies and the essential frosting.

Ready, Set, Bake

Instead of just reading, let’s get baking! So that you can easily find the no-carbohydrate products, I’ve linked them on Amazon.co.uk (above). Any purchase through these links gives me a few pennies (!) but doesn’t cost you any more. You may be able to find these products for less at your supermarket. Can’t say I’ve seen the inside of one of those in awhile :/

Check out Super U for even more natural functional superfood blends, like their fabulous Magic Matcha, Clean Greens and Lean Protein. They even have the very Instagrammable Pink Pitaya. :-)