My husband used to laugh at me for buying healthy cookies. “The whole point of eating cookies is to indulge,” he’d say. “They’re supposed to be rich and buttery.”
Then he tried a Nana’s chocolate chip cookie.
I shouldn’t say he tried one. He ate the whole cookie—my cookie, the one that I was just about to put in my mouth. I wasn’t very pleased.
“I thought you don’t like healthy cookies,” I said.
“These are good!” he replied. “Wow, I can’t believe how healthy these are for you,” he said over and over, reading the back panel.
Yes, they are good for you. The Original Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (the flavor he was enjoying) have very healthy ingredients, including whole wheat flour, rolled oats, fruit juice, rice dextrin, non-gmo expeller pressed canola oil, chocolate chips, walnuts, non-aluminum baking powder, natural flavoring, and sea salt. And they have a great, chewy, sweet, crumbly, natural flavor and texture. They don’t taste too dry, fake, grainy, or overly sweet, as some healthy cookies do. The one downside is that they’re very caloric (the chocolate-chip ones have 210 calories and 9 grams fat for only half of a cookie), so eat 1/2 a cookie for a light snack, or eat the whole thing when you need a more substantial snack. They do satisfy your hunger, and they come in great flavors besides chocolate chip, such as oatmeal raisin, sunflower (another one of my favorites), peanut butter, cranberry orange, coconut chip, ginger, and double chocolate. They also have wheat-free and gluten-free cookie varieties.
If you’re looking for a lighter snack, Nana’s does make smaller treats—cookie bars and cookie bites that come individually wrapped five in a box (the Chocolate Chippy Bar has 130 calories for whole thing; the Chocolate Chip Bites have 120 calories). These are good for a little dessert but aren’t as filling if you need a substantial snack.
Nana’s also makes special omega-fiber cookie bars; I sometimes eat the apple harvest ones when I need a quick breakfast; they’re surprisingly filling for only 120 calories and 4 grams of fat. And they have a great apple and oat taste. They’re made with a very nutritious fiber mix that includes whole wheat flour, oats, wheat bran, psyllium, flax seed, millet, chicory root, fruit juice, and real dried fruit, no unhealthy oils or artificial flavors.
I do like fattening cookies once in a while, but it’s good to know that I can indulge my cookie craving more often without guilt thanks to Nana’s!
–Lauren
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the review, I’ll look out for these, I’d love to try the sunflower version!
I love these!!!
I seriously only eat these cookies.
My kids absolutely love these cookies! This is one cookie I will not give them trouble for eating ever.
This sounds good. Do they have other types of cookie?
Oatmeal Raisin or White Chocolate perhaps
Another healthy alternative to this a Chocolate Chip Banana Cookie. My grandma makes these and they are one of my favorites. She uses way less butter than a typical choc. chip recipe by substituting banana. Keep in mind that these cookies won’t be crispy or hard on the outside- they are more like a muffin. But still really good
I got confused. Wasn’t Nana’s cookies a gourmet cookie company that delivered their products (independent).
nanascookies.com
Then this is a different Nana’s cookies?
like brand name
The reality of serving sizes is that VERY few people are going to eat 1/2 a cookie and save it for later. (See Dr. Brian Wansink’s work – http://www.mindlesseating.org). A 420 calorie cookie is practically a meal, (over 20% of your total daily caloric intake) not a snack. The words “All Natural” do not automatically equal “Healthy”, though the natural foods industry would love for everyone to continue believing that.
Full disclosure: I love this product, I think they’re a great vegan chocolate chip cookie – but using the word “Healthy” in concert with any Nana’s product is a joke. Yes, this cookie is additive and preservative free, but that doesn’t make it good for you. This cookie is, in fact, quite bad for you. A calorie is a calorie – refined white sugar and fruit juice concentrate are both the emptiest of calories. While this product is slightly better than an equivalently sized white-flour-white-sugar-chemical cookie, Less Bad≠Good, and arguing otherwise is a non-tenable position.
Lauren, you’re mission statement is “We can eat snacks that we love and be healthy, lose weight, and not feel guilty, all at the same time.” If you’ve eaten a 400 calorie chocolate chip cookie as a snack, it’s probably not something to feel good about.
I never buy any commercially made snacks. For a simple, cheap, 5 minute to make snack, try Denise’s Slice.
What to do.
In a mixing bowl put 1 cup of wholemeal self raising flour, 1 cup desiccated coconut, ¼ cup of raw sugar, 1-1/2 cups of mixed fruit or sultanas or chopped dried apricots or chopped dates OR a combination of them, throw in some sunflower seeds if you have them in the cupboard (about a cup) and ½ packet of choc chips (if you have them). Mix well, then put in one cup of milk and mix really well. Put into a greased and baking paper lined slice tin and bake in a 175’C oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is nice and brown.
This cuts into 18 slices. It should be kept in an airtight container in the fridge. We have a slice in our lunch each day – and a slice with our cup of coffee (from our wonderful Nespresso coffee machine) each afternoon.
As you may have noticed, the slice has no butter or eggs in it. The only fat is that from the coconut, a good fat. I’m not sure of the energy rating – a friend is going to get her Weight Watchers coach to work it out – but I think it would be fairly low.