Hold the sugar
How vegans eat sweet treats
By Tina Safi
One of the hardest things about being a vegan must be giving up baked goods that include forbidden milk and eggs. In exchange for their sacrifice, vegans are in better physical condition than a lot of us, but is a life without cookies, even the healthy ones, really worth living? Miriam Diamond, also known as Nana, has solved that dilemma with her all-natural, organic vegan-friendly cookies
More than a decade ago, Diamond, who lives in San Diego, struggled to create a delicious, healthy cookie. Because she had worked in health food for more than 20 years, she was able to figure out how to eliminate all refined sugars in order to avoid the rush and crash one gets from snacks containing refined sugars. The oatmeal raisin cookie, for example, contains organic whole-wheat flour, rolled oats, fruit juice, whole-grain dextrins, expeller-pressed oil, raisins, walnuts, baking powder and natural flavorings. Sure, it sounds healthy, but could anything that good for you actually taste good?
The answer, surprisingly, is yes. The cookie has a distinct homemade quality to it-it's chewy and moist, and while you can kind of taste the fruit juice, that's not a bad thing. Until you've tried it, don't write off the subtle taste of fruit juice in your cookie.
Diamond started Nana's Cookie Company by loading her car and delivering cookies (up to 28 varieties) store to store. While all Nana's Cookies contain no dairy, eggs, hydrogenated oils, salt or refined sugar, Diamond's also developed the No Gluten Cookie and the No Wheat Cookie. Her newest, the Temptation, was created last year when friends asked her to experiment more with chocolate.
Nana's Cookies are available at most Whole Foods and Henry's stores and online at www.healthycrowd.com. Although they are kind of pricey, at $24 for a dozen, the few extra dollars may be worth the calories you're saving and the health risks you're avoiding. Go ahead and enjoy every guilt-free bite.
Published: 07/25/2007
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