Can I bore you with one of the best side effects of pregnancy?
A lowered immune system.
Now, most of you are probably furrowing your brow and wondering how this is by any means a good thing.
For someone like myself, who ordinarily has constant itching and perpetual food allergies, this is sheer bliss!
For the third, and probably final, time in the last 12 + years, I’m able to eat normally!
This comes as a result of the body’s inability to ‘attack’ the growing baby, which would be perceived as a foreign invader under different circumstances. Consequently, the body lowers its overall defenses, which is why pregnant women can easily get sick during this time.
Though I mentioned burger and fry cravings in my previous post, that was more a product of the incessant nausea that was plaguing me day in and day out.
Now that I’m through that phase and into my second trimester, my taste buds have somewhat returned to normal, giving me the freedom to indulge a bit in foods that would typically give me distress.
Peanut butter is high on this list of indulgences.
Creamy, crunchy, I don’t care….just give it to me without added sugar or oil and I’m good!
Laura Scudder’s is my all-time fave brand, one of the reasons being that I grew up eating it, but another being that it’s one of the few natural peanut butters that you can still buy in a glass jar.
Peanuts, salt…that’s what your peanut butter labels should read people.
No sugar or palm oil or whatever other crap companies want to try to stick in there to ‘enhance’ the taste.
One of my favorite tricks, if you can even call it that, is to pour off the top layer of separated peanut oil and replace it with an equal amount of olive oil.
This, I feel, makes it just a little bit healthier for me.
Peanut butter oatmeal, peanut butter muffins, peanut butter cookies…needless to say, I’ve been going a bit mad with the stuff, eating it while I can!
These cookies came about as a result of just wanting a healthy, high protein treat to munch on in a day, so I made them a bit smaller, yielding a more appropriate ‘snack-size’ portion.
I feel good about giving these to my girls, and the hubby has been enjoying them at work, so (if you give them a try) I hope you like them too!
- 1/2 c. natural peanut butter salted
- 6 T. coconut sugar
- 1/2 t. vanilla
- 1/4 t. cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 c. quick oats gluten-free, if necessary (I use Country Choice Organic Oats)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together just until combined.
- Beat in the egg and baking soda, again just until combined.
- Stir in the oats, the mixture will be very thick at this point.
- Roll the dough into 12 equal-sized balls and flatten them onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes until golden.
- Once out of the oven, gently press down on the tops with a fork (see below image) to decrease air and compact the cookie for best texture/taste.
- Cool and enjoy!
WW points (new system): 3
Adapted from this recipe
Notes:
Increasing the size on these (AKA making fewer, larger cookies) will also increase the baking time, so be aware.
Don’t skip the flattening step!…
It really compacts the cookie, lending a better texture and taste…crispy edges with a chewy center, mmmmm…
Little girls everywhere approve! 🙂
What is your favorite way to enjoy peanut butter?
Alice. says
April 30, 2019 at 3:55 pmThat’s an interesting fact! I didn’t know the immune system is lowered during pregnancy (I don’t have that experience yet). I’m really glad I found this post and thanks for sharing it, Lauren! 🙂 I tried the cookies, they came out super yummy! And flattening them at the end really does improve the texture, I agree. I wasn’t sure about those 6 T of sugar (these days you usually use 1-2 T plus sometimes stevia, but this is an older post), so I risked and used heaping 3.5 T but the cookies turned out just right for me. I’ll be making them again! Thank you Lauren 🙂
Lauren says
May 4, 2019 at 11:08 amHi Alice,
Glad you enjoyed these, yes, they are from my ‘pre-low sugar’ days, lol, but it’s good to hear they worked with less! The immune system thing is very interesting. I had no idea before I got pregnant with my first, and all of a sudden, I could eat foods I normally couldn’t! When I asked my naturopath, he explained that the immune system relaxes so as to avoid ‘attacking’ the baby. The downside is that pregnant women tend to get sick easier! 🙂
Gabby @ the veggie nook says
December 21, 2014 at 12:20 pmThat’s so exciting you can indulge in things you wouldn’t normally be able to! I’m jumping up and down on your behalf! These look like a great way to pack maximum peanut butter into your life!
Lauren says
December 21, 2014 at 5:31 pmThanks Gabby! Hope you’re doing well girl! 🙂
Kat says
December 19, 2014 at 8:11 pmHave you looked into helminthic therapy as a treatment for your allergies? Here’s a link to some information (not endorsing the company, but it provides some decent general info): http://www.wormtherapy.com/theory.html
Lauren says
December 20, 2014 at 8:14 amThanks Kat, I’ll definitely read up on it!
A says
December 9, 2014 at 1:47 pmThe cookies turned out great! I made two batches the first day. Thankfully I bought a bag of coconut sugar a few days prior (first time).
Lauren says
December 9, 2014 at 6:52 pmThat’s great, thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Mike @TheIronYou says
December 9, 2014 at 9:29 amI love that you always look at the glass half-full. Enjoy this allergy-feel period of your life. And big congrats on your pregnancy!
Lauren says
December 9, 2014 at 12:04 pmThanks so much Mike! 🙂
Mike @TheIronYou says
December 9, 2014 at 12:10 pmOf course, I meant ‘allergy-free period of your life’…what would an allergy-feel btw? :/ 😉
Sharon says
December 8, 2014 at 1:26 pmSounds delish! I can’t imagine not being able to eat peanut butter. It’s been a staple, like an everyday staple, for me forever. Have fun with it! Looking forward to many peanut buttery recipes. 🙂
Cyndy says
December 8, 2014 at 12:33 pmHi Lauren. I would love to make these but…I can’t have any grains. What about almonds coursely ground? Any suggestions? I also have a ton of allergies. 3 months ago I started a supplement called D-Hist by Ortho Molecular. This product has been a huge blessing because I used to have constant itching all over my body. I am living with Candidia for life due to a low immune system and also have celiac. God bless you.
Lauren says
December 8, 2014 at 1:07 pmThank you Cyndy, I’ll have to look into the D-Hist! I think ground almonds would work…or maybe quinoa flakes? Good luck and let me know how they come out if you try them another way. 🙂