Cookie Cut Outs and Magnesium Facts

For every molecule of sugar we ingest, our bodies uses 54 molecules of magnesium to process it! No matter where the carbohydrates come from; 4 grams of carbohydrates equal one teaspoon of sugar in our body. Let me say that again?4 grams of carbohydrates equal 1 teaspoon of sugar in our body. So with that thought, a small Blizzard has 530 calories and 83 grams of carbohydrates; which equals 21 teaspoons of sugar. A nine ounce bag of potato chips equals 32 teaspoons of sugar?add a soda, that?s another 16 teaspoons of sugar.

Are your kids having a hard time falling asleep? Most people are deficient in magnesium, including children. A magnesium deficiency can have serious consequences, including low serotonin. Magnesium and serotonin don?t just help to regulate your mood, they also can affect your physiology in many ways. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that sends signals of satiety, satisfaction and relaxation. It also regulates our appetite and influences sleep cycles; if serotonin is low, melatonin will be low. So low magnesium can lead to over-eating, depression, insomnia and other serious issues including migraine headaches. Find more fun facts like this in my kids color cookbook. Click HERE to find.

Insulin stores magnesium, but if your insulin receptors are blunted and your cells grow resistant to insulin, you can?t store magnesium so it passes out of your body through urination. Magnesium in your cells relaxes muscles. If your magnesium level is too low, your muscles will constrict rather than relax, which will increase pain (including migraines/headaches/fibro). To fix this problem, eat a low carb diet and consume magnesium glycinate (click HERE to find).


"HEALTHIFIED" CHRISTMAS COOKIES
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners Swerve (or powdered erythritol and 1/2 tsp stevia glycerite)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp extract (orange/lemon/vanilla/almond)
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
2 cups blanched almond flour
FROSTING:
2 cups confectioners' Swerve (or powdered erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite)
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
2-4 TBS unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp extract (orange/lemon/vanilla/almond/strawberry)
Natural Food Coloring


Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the cream cheese for 1 minute. Add the natural sweetener, baking powder, extract and salt and continue mixing until creamy. Stir in the flour and chill.

Place the chilled dough out onto a greased piece of parchment and top with another piece of greased parchment  Roll the dough out to 1 centimeter thick. Uncover the top parchment and use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out cookies. Place cookies on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 12-15 minutes.

To make the frosting, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl (start with 2 TBS almond milk and add more to get desired thickness). Add desired extract and color. Place the frosting into Ziploc bags and cut a small corner out. Squirt onto cookies. Makes 24 servings.


NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Cookies = 159 calories, 10g fat, 2.8g protein, 23.6g carbs, 0.6g fiber (23 effective carbs)
"Healthified" Cookies = 91 calories, 9.2g fat, 2.9g protein, 2.1g carbs, 1g fiber (1.1 effective carbs)

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