Molasses Oatmeal Pumpkin Seed Powerhouses

Iron Woman Cookies OR Molasses, Oatmeal Pumpkin Seed Powerhouses

(Wheat and Gluten free, Vegan, No Sugar)

These impromptu cookies were inspired by a recent phone conversation with my sister Helen. I asked her if she would be okay with being meat free while she visited my husband and I in Durham.

She hesitated, mostly out of concern that she wasn’t getting enough iron on her diet. But many foods that are the richest sources of iron are actually plant based. Molasses, pumpkin seeds and oatmeal are some of the best sources of iron. One serving of pumpkin seeds has almost 25% of the RDV of iron, 1 tbsp, of molasses has 5%, oats vary with 5-25% of RDV for iron. In contrast, about 3 ounces of roast beef has less than 10% of your RDV for iron. Easy math!

The vegetarian working group has a nice table for comparing vegan and non-vegan iron sources in an easy to read format. See below:

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm#table2

On to the cookies, the more important part of this post. A quick nutritional analysis has these cookies clocking in with 15% of the RDV for iron and less than 100 calories. Two cookies would actually be a tasty snack that would provide 1/3 of your daily dose of iron!! Easy, yummy and hubby approved. There won’t be any left by the time my sister arrives for Thanksgiving, so we’ll have to make another batch for sure.

Ingredients:

Dry:

1 cup gluten free rolled oats (I like Trader Joe’s brand)

1/3 cup oat flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

Wet:

1 tsp finely ground ginger

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ mashed banana

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tbs coconut oil

4 tbs blackstrap molasses

¼ cup pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients, stir to mix evenly.
3. Combine wet ingredients, use whisk or hand mixer to combine.
4. Slowly add dry to wet ingredients and blend until well mixed.
5. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes 12-15 cookies.

Enjoy!

Molasses, Oatmeal and Pumpkin Seed Powerhouses