Reading a recipe for Oatmeal Spice Cookies in today’s Denver Post got me thinking about Don’t Forget the Oatmeal: A Supermarket Word Book, Featuring Jim Henson’s Sesame Street Muppets. This book is a favorite of Nathan’s. It features Burt and Ernie going on a shopping spree at the grocery store, but nearly forgetting to buy some oatmeal for breakfast.

Burt loves oatmeal, which makes him my kind of guy. For I believe that there are four types of breakfast people in the world – those who like bread (pancakes, French Toast, bagels, oatmeal, etc.), those who like milk (yogurt and cottage cheese for example), fruit eaters, and those who like eggs and meat (bacon, sausage, ham, and so on).

Nathan and I are bread people who love oatmeal. He also likes fruit, especially cantaloupe in the morning, and I grew up eating Dannon’s coffee yogurt every morning. My husband is definitely an eggs and meat kind of guy, who can be persuaded to eat fruit and yogurt on occasion. Lucie is a bread and milk with an occasional side of bacon kind of girl (aren’t we all?). However, she would love to eat Oreos and Rice Krispie treats for breakfast instead if I’d let her.

Whatever kind of breakfast person you are, we can all agree that eating oatmeal is good for you. Per writer Jill Wendholt Silva:

…oats are high in vitamin B-1 and contain a good amount of B-2 and E. A whole grain, oats are also packed with phytochemicals and insoluble fiber that have a beneficial effect on cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and intestinal health. And they’re a stick-to-your- ribs sort of food that can keep hunger pangs at bay for hours.

Other ingredients that make this cookie a real standout are walnuts, which offer healthful omega-3 fatty acids, and sunflower seeds, rich in iron. Spices are high in antioxidants. (In a just-released American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, 13 of the 50 food products highest in antioxidants were spices, including cinnamon.)

Sometimes you have to disguise oats to get people to eat them. Healthy, low fat cookies are a great way to do this. So why not give them a try?

Oatmeal Spice Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1 cup brown sugar
3. 2 egg whites
4. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5. 2 teaspoons vanilla
6. 1/3 cup fat-free milk
7. 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
8. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
9. 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
10. 2 teaspoons baking soda
11. 1/2 teaspoon salt
12. 2 teaspoons cinnamon
13. 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
14. 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
15. 1 cup raisins
16. 1/4 cup roasted, unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds
17. 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray baking sheets with nonstick spray coating.
3. Beat together sugar, brown sugar, egg whites and oil. Beat in vanilla, milk and applesauce. Stir together flours, baking soda, salt and spices; blend into sugar mixture. Stir in oats, raisins, sunflower seeds and walnuts.
4. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
5. Dip the bottom of a glass into sugar, then use bottom of glass to press cookie down lightly and evenly to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
6. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Per cookie: 73 calories (17 percent from fat), 1 gram total fat (trace saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 14 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein, 64 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

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