Fiberful Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a delicious chewy, yet crunchy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I created this cookie recipe so that I could eat a cookie with chocolate in it that I didn't feel as guilty about. And it worked! They were a hit all around! From the smell they emanated while in the oven to the chocolate craving they satisfied.

Fiberful Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 cups Fiber Cereal ground as finely as possible until it equals 1 cup. (Possible brands: Fiber One, Kashi, Oat Bran, All Bran, etc.)
OR
1 cup Bran Flour
1/2 cup Regular Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
3/4 cup Softened Butter
3/4 cup Packed Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs (try to find the eggs that market their omega 3 value!)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 3/4 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
2 cups chocolate chips OR Dole Raisins

Combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat butter and sugars in a bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in oats and chocolate chips while stirring. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets 2 inches apart.
Bake at 375 degrees F. 6 minutes. Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

WHY FIBER?

"Fiber steadies your blood-sugar level. Fiber, especially the soluble type, found in psyllium, bran, and legumes slows the absorption of sugar from the intestines. This steadies the blood sugar level and lessens the ups and downs of insulin secretion. So a breakfast and lunch containing moderate amounts of soluble fibers, such as bran, fruit, and oats, can be especially valuable to a child who shows behavior and learning difficulties from blood sugar swings. Keeping insulin levels low and stable also helps the body store less fat, another perk for people trying to control their weight.

Fiber slows fat absorption. Fiber may also slow down the absorption of fat from what you eat. This is another weight-control perk offered by a high-fiber diet. The stools of persons eating a high-fiber diet have a higher fat content than stools from someone eating low-fiber meals.

Fiber reduces cholesterol. A diet high in soluble fiber, such as that found in oat bran, whole oats, psyllium, legumes, barley, fruit, and prunes, lowers blood levels of the harmful type of cholesterol (LDL) without lowering the good cholesterol (HDL) levels. As it travels down the intestines, soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a gluey gel which picks up cholesterol and carries it out of the body. Yet, doctors caution, adding more soluble fibers to your diet is not a license to eat high cholesterol foods. High fiber diets are usually low in fat, too, and the cholesterol-lowering effects may be related to less fat in the diet as well as to fiber. Recent studies showed that eating an extra ten grams of fiber daily (the average American adult eats only eleven grams of fiber a day), decreased the risk of dying from heart disease by 17-29 percent."

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