Portion Control and Primal Peanut Butter Cookies

Today I made Vegan Peanut Butter cookies from Elana's pantry.  I modified the recipe slightly by replacing the agave nectar with maple syrup and coconut palm sugar.  Agave nectar is very sweet, so the exchange was not one for one.  For those of you who think agave nectar is good for you, check this out.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/agave-this-sweetener-is-f_b_537936.html

I also replaced the two tablespoons of palm shortening with one tablespoon of coconut oil.  The results?  Amazingly delicious. 

• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup chunky or creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup grade B maple syrup
• 4 tablespoons organic coconut palm sugar
• 1 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a medium bowl mix together peanut butter, sweeeteners, oil and vanilla with a hand blender
3. Blend dry ingredients into wet with hand blender until well combined
4. Roll 1 tablespoon of dought into a ball and place onto a parchment paper or silpat lined baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough. 
5. Bake at 350° for 8-12 minutes until golden around the edges
6. Serve

Each peanut butter cookie is 154 calories.  High calorie but not high sugar, so they provide energy but no insulin spikes.

Recording my food in a daily diary has led me to focus closely on portion control.  I find that if I make something and store the leftovers in one container, I am more likely to have a few extra bites.  But if I portion it out into single servings, I don't overeat.  I eat the designated serving and then that't it.  On Saturday, I cooked ground beef for tacos.  It was 3/4 of a pound of beef.  After cooking it, I formed three piles in the skillet and served myself one.   The other two I stored in separate containers in the fridge. Then yesterday, I reheated one portion for a two taco meal.  When I made honey vanilla custard for company (with a little leftover), I poured the hot custard into individual ramkins.  Each ramkin is a serving.  No more no less. 
This is something I have not done before, and I think it's helpful.