Healthy Almond Cardamom Macaroons

Oh my goodness I cannot believe I made 200 Macaroons!

I was feeding a crowd this past week. I knew I wanted to serve a wonderful sweet treat but I just couldn’t bring myself to serve a store-bought refined-sugar treat so I flipped through my mental file of yummy naturally sweetened treats looking for something I could easily make in a large quantity and I landed on my delightful macaroons.

These macaroons are easy to make, and the recipe is incredibly adaptable, you can play with the highlighted flavors to suit your palate.

Two of the reasons I really love this recipe (in addition to it being delicious!) are that it is gluten-free and doesn’t spike blood sugar levels. The healthy fat of the coconut oil and the healthy fat and protein of the almonds make this a relatively low glycemic index food, meaning that the sugar is absorbed slowly into the bloodstream. This leaves you feeling even tempered and keeps you from riding the sugar-roller coaster.

If you want it to be even lower on the glycemic index use rice syrup instead of honey.

I made 1/2 just like the recipe below – flavored with almonds, cardamom and vanilla and the other half I grated in about 2 teaspoons of orange rind and drizzled them with melted stevia sweetened chocolate.

The recipe makes approximately 24 small macaroons (the size of a small cookie or ice cream scooper)

Almond Cardamom Macaroons

Ingredients:

2.5 Cups Shredded Coconut
2 Egg whites
1/2 Cup Honey or Rice Syrup – rice syrup will make this less sweet
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/3 Cup Finely Chopped Almonds, (food processor or blender makes quick work of this)
1/2 teaspoon Cardamom

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place sweetener in a pan over low heat until it softens slightly. Add coconut and egg white. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until it all blends. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, cardamom and finely chopped almond. Let mixture rest until cool enough to touch.

With moist hands, make small rounded mounds or triangles (or use a small cookie/ice cream scooper -packing the macaroon mix into the scoop firmly) and place them side by side on the cookie sheet (they will not spread). Bake about 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Allow to cool to room temperature on cookie sheet.

Variations:

Grate in orange rind and drizzle melted chocolate on top
Use other spices you enjoy: Cinnamon or ginger are lovely
Add cacao and cacao nibs for a hit of chocolate

Enjoy!

Let me know what kind of variations you come up with!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, certified Health Coach and Psychology of Eating Coach believes that every women deserves to feel good in their own body. She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can love their body and life! She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and NourishedWomanNation.com

She helps busy women look and feel their best. She specializes in working with women over 40 who have tried other diets and approaches but are still struggling with their body and food. She helps women step into a new wellness paradigm that makes it real and do-able and makes self-care a sustainable healthy habit.

She’s the author of “Feed Your Kids Well In A World That Doesn’t: an everyday guide to make healthy food happen in your home and beyond”. She’s also the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

To get your F.R.E.E. Video Series “What to do now, when everything you’ve done hasn’t worked” by mail and receive her healthy recipes and wellness tips click here.

ninamanolson

Nina Manolson, MA, NBC-HWC, is a Body-Peace™ Coach.

She is a board certified Health Coach, Psychology of Eating Coach and Certified Body-Trust Provider, believes that every woman deserves to feel good in her own body.

She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can truly feel at peace in their body! She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and The Nourished Woman Nation.

She specializes in working with women over 40 who have tried many other diets and approaches but are still struggling with their relationship to body and food.She’s the creator of the BODY-LOVE MAP and the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.To take a powerful step on the Body-Peace™ Path, download your Practicing Body-Peace Journal right HERE.

If you’d like help with navigating an authentic and respectful relationship with your body. Let’s talk.