Since its introduction in 1912, NaBisCo’s Oreo cookie has becoming the best selling cookie of the 20th century in the U.S. This classic snack – crème smeared between two chocolate discs – is a childhood classic. But despite its popularity in numbers – more than 362 billion Oreos have been sold since 1912 – the cookie isn’t winning friends among health enthusiasts.

The first listed ingredient in Oreos is sugar. Other offenders include enriched flour, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring. One serving of Oreos equates to three cookies, which together contain 7 grams of fat, 2 of which are saturated, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein, 160 milligrams of sodium, and traces of calcium and iron.

Overall, the cookie is devoid of any significant nutrition and packed with empty calories and low-quality carbohydrates that only spike blood-sugar levels rather than add digestion-friendly fiber. The solution is to get as simple and pure as possible. The following recipe is an almost-raw, vegan version of Oreos, without the sugar and flour. Coconut butter is a rich and decadent alternative to the vanilla crème, while a walnut and date mixture become the ultimate power couple for the discs. The result is a denser, more satisfying treat that fills you up with enzymes, nutrients, and taste!

Pair with a glass of warm vanilla almond milk if you’re feeling the occasion!

Vegan Oreo Cookies

Makes 10-15 cookies

Ingredients:

For the chocolate wafers

• 1 cup walnuts
• 8 Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• Dash of sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the vanilla crème filling

• 1/2 cup coconut butter

Directions:

For the filling, process all ingredients until the mixture forms a ball.

Roll out the walnut mixture so that it is about 1/2-inch thick. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until hardened and easier to work with.

Use a 2-inch diameter cookie cutter to form discs.

Place 1 teaspoon of coconut butter between two discs and press both sides of the cookie together so the cream flattens and resembles an Oreo.

Enjoy the healthy fats of the walnuts and coconut butter as well as the fiber and potassium founds in the dates. This is a much healthier and more satisfying alternative to the virtually nutritionally-devoid Oreo cookie.

Store these in a refrigerator to prevent the coconut cream from getting too soft or melting.

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Photograph source: So Good Blog

The post Nutritional Breakdown: The Oreo Goes Gluten-Free appeared first on EcoSalon.

Scrounge up some greens at farmers market and make a sweet but hearty summer salad. 

The arrival of summer means the arrival of bags of mixed salad greens at farmers market, or of course, your own from your garden. Instead of basing salad recipes off of them though, I like to throw them in as an extra addition to whatever I am making, a complement to the rest of the dish. That’s exactly what they are in this quinoa salad recipe.

Using both red and white quinoa you get a colorful salad that is full of omega 3s and hearty enough that you can eat it as the main dish. The dates and currants give it a sweeter flavor, which is perfect for warmer weather and a meal outside.

Summer Carrot and Date Quinoa Salad with Basil and Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Summer Carrot and Date Quinoa Salad

• 1/2 cup white quinoa
• 1/2 cup red quinoa
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup currants
• mixed salad greens

Basil and Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• juice of 1/2 an orange
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (depending on how much basil flavor you want)

Directions:

Prepare the quinoa. Place in saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of sea salt and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer until water has cooked off, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large salad bowl combine chopped carrots, dates and currants.

To make the dressing, combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar and orange juice in a small jar or bowl. Add in mustard and whisk until well-blended. stir in basil.

Mix in quinoa with rest of salad ingredients, and top with dressing. Toss together.

Before serving, add in a couple of handfuls of mixed salad greens.

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series.

The post Sunday Recipe: Summer Carrot and Date Quinoa Salad with Basil and Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette appeared first on EcoSalon.

Date palm plantations line the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. Once leading date exporters, they now rely heavily on the domestic market. But Iraq only consumes around half of the 350,000 tonnes of dates it produces annually, leaving around 150,000 tonnes of dates a year to be disposed of. Some are fed to animals. Many are left to rot.

Now, according to Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s, there is a third option – converting the unused dates to biofuel.

In a move that is more economically rather than environmentally motivated, the Prime Minister’s office issued a cabinet statement on Sunday announcing that a United Arab Emirates based company has received the go ahead to make biofuel from the dates.

Farming and agriculture is Iraq’s leading industry, but decades of sanctions, isolation and war have resulted in a poorly functioning agricultural sector.  This biofuel project, therefore, is seen as a new way to boost agricultural productivity.

How much date biofuel the UAE company will be able to produce is unknown, but any produced will initially be used domestically. If successful, it is expected that farmers will expand the date plantations, with any resultant biofuel being exported.

Image: Itinerant Tightwad

The post Too Many Dates and Not Enough Biofuel? appeared first on EcoSalon.