Honey and Tahini Cookies with Diana from @KETO.ABG
In this blog, we meet Diana, digital creator at @keto.abg. With a family history of diabetes, she made the decision to follow the keto lifestyle and loves to experiment with new recipes and create beautiful content for her Instagram followers.
Keep reading to see how she incorporates raw honey into her lifestyle by replacing refined sugar with this healthier choice of sweetener on her higher carb days, and discover a delicious new recipe that Diana has shared with us from @foodandwine
DIANA | @keto.abg
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FOOD PHILOSOPHY
My name is Diana and I live in sunny Southern California. I work as a laboratory scientist full time, I'd also call myself a scientist in my own kitchen. I've been following the ketogenic lifestyle for over 3 years and although I am more health conscious now, I will forever be a foodie at heart. But eating keto doesn't mean it has to be boring. With goals of staying healthy in mind, I enjoy cooking and baking delicious recipes as well as trying new places to eat!
WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES WHEN CREATING RECIPES? I.E. DO YOU BALANCE HEALTH AND TASTE? OR IS IT MORE ABOUT FLAVOUR?
My priorities when creating recipes is balancing both health and flavor. I do not use grains or sugar and ensure that the net carbs are kept to a minimum to fit my keto macros. I often look for recipes that are dupes to dishes that I enjoy, but are too sugar or carb heavy. With many amazing substitutes available, I haven't found recreating low carb dishes difficult at all.
WHAT LED YOU TO THE KETO LIFESTYLE?
I come from a family history of diabetes and since I've been young, I've dealt with metabolic and hormonal issues that I realized much later was attributable to my high carb, high sugar diet. I learned that you can bio hack these issues through the ketogenic diet, which I found has reversed many of my health issues.
HOW DOES HONEY FIT INTO THAT FOR YOU?
After being fat-adapted for a few years now, I've recently begun introducing higher carbohydrate foods that I love and miss one day out of the week to keep my diet flexible (this is known as CKD or cyclical keto diet). These foods include delicious, nutrient dense honey! I now enjoy honey with tea and in my baked goods.
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE TAHINI AS ONE OF YOUR INGREDIENTS FOR THIS RECIPE?
I chose Tahini in this recipe because it is gluten and grain-free, alone it is keto friendly, and contributes to the nutty, chewy texture of the cookies. The flavor complements the honey so well and is a really fun and uncommon combination.
HONEY TAHINI COOKIES
INGREDIENTS
*1/2 cup sesame seeds *1 1/2 cups almond flour
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp sea salt
* 1/3 cup @steensmanukahoney Wildflower Honey
* 1/3 cup tahini
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* Optional: 3 scoops @vitaminbounty collagen powder (I found I needed to add an extra tbsp of tahini and a splash of almond milk to the mixture with this)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.2. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl and mix well until combined.
3. Form dough into 30 balls using a 1 1/2 inch scoop, then roll them into the sesame seeds. Flatten each one into 1/4 inch rounds.
4. Bake cookies for 8 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom in the oven halfway through. Allow to cool before enjoying.
Recipe credit: @foodandwine
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/honey-tahini-cookies
