A Cookie, A Book, & A Hero

What do a cookie, a book, and one of my AIP heroes have in common?  This post is going to cover a few topics, but they are all related.  I'm sure by now most of you know that I super heart The Paleo Mom, Sarah Ballantyne, Ph.D.  She is hands down my source for all things Autoimmune Protocol and Paleo.  I mean this lady has a Ph.D. in medical biophysics and she uses that to help thousands of people learn about the details of healing through nutrition on her blog, for FREE, every day.  Plus, she is a wife, mom, and fellow autoimmune sufferer, just like me.  That's what I love about her, she is helping lead the AIP charge with the nitty-gritty science, while also being a totally normal woman I can relate to any day.

Back in June, she and I "met" online, when I asked her for some advice on following the Autoimmune Protocol.  I had jumped right in and was tackling it while traveling for work.  Whew!  It was tough and she offered some great advice.  After that, she asked me to write for her and recently I joined forces with another blogger as Team Paleo Mom, helping Sarah answer her readers questions.  She needed some extra hands on deck these past few months, 'cause she IS WRITING AN AIP BOOK!!  The book, "The Paleo Approach - Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body" comes out in September, but you have a chance to preorder now on Amazon.



Trust me, I've had the privilege of learning about tid-bits of the intense research and writing she is pouring into this comprehensive guide and it is definitely worth getting your order in now.  Follow the link above for all the details . . . this book will have all the information we could possibly need to get us going on the path to healing. 

I thought I'd celebrate Sarah's book announcement by sharing one of her recipes with all of you, complete w/ pictures.  I love so many of her recipes, but this cookie recipe is a major hit in my home, with my Paleo co-workers, and even non-Paleo friends.

Decadent Double Chocolate Cookies

All the ingredients assembled.  The raw honey is from a local Amish farm.  Notice the baking chocolate & cocoa powder are both Ghiradelli.  They have pure chocolate options that aren't processed with any dairy or soy.  The chocolate chunks are Enjoy Life brand.  Love them!

The plantain, molasses, & honey in my ridiculously small food processor.  You can totally still make these even without a fancy food processor!!

Lots of peeps are confused about coconut oil at first.  It is solid at room temp and is a lot like Crisco.  There is no need to melt it before making these cookies.

Melting the baking chocolate in a double boiler. 

The dry ingredients & the plantain/wet ingredients all ready to go.

Mixing it all up by hand.  I find this dough is too thick for my little food processor.  Don't worry my hands are very washed up!

Ready to hit the oven.

All done & looking delicious . . . especially with a tall glass of coconut milk.

These cookies are AMAZING!*  So chocolately good.  I get crazy raves every time I make them, even from non-Paleo followers.  An unripe plantain?  Who would ever guess? Thanks for the creativity Sarah.  So excited for the book & more recipes!  See a cookie, a book, and a hero really do have alot in common.

*A quick word of warning . . . if you have never used unripe plantain or tapioca flour, eat one cookie & see how it goes.  Occasionally, people have sensitivities to these two foods.  And as always, if you are following AIP, go very slow with chocolate!