Cystic Fibrosis effects the way she digests fats making it nearly impossible to absorb fats and calories without the help of pancreatic enzymes in pill form that she takes by mouth every time she eats food. Even with the enzymes that she so readily takes before every meal and snack, there is still fat that doesn't get absorbed. It ends up in the toilet in less than 24 hours. Getting in as many calories as I can into her diet is important so that her chances of absorbing is increased with every bite and every calorie she intakes. The more the merrier!
It can be incredibly difficult to get a preschooler to eat, so when you find something that they are receptive to, you just need to run with it. I found a food combo that Lucy just devours. It's not a likely combination, but it seems to go together just as easily as peanut butter and jelly. The salty and sweet pair well together.
Bacon and chocolate!!!
About a year ago, I introduced Lucy to Nutella sandwiches. One day I was making her one, and I had some left-over bacon from breakfast that I crumbled inside the chocolate hazelnut sandwich. She gobbled it up as if I hadn't fed her in weeks. Bacon and Nutella sandwiches are now a part of her normal lunch time cuisine. Salty AND high calorie! Just what she needs!
Then, this summer, we had gone to the Sacramento State Fair where they were serving up chocolate covered bacon. Lucy ate so many pieces with a pleasantly puzzled look on her face the entire time!
My friend posted a recipe on her Facebook page the other day that was right up Lucy's alley, and I knew we had to try it! It's a super easy recipe and makes about 9 cookies. They're sweet, they're salty, and they're delicious!
Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies!
7 strips bacon, cooked really crispy, dried on paper towel
**(SAVE BACON GREASE!!)
1 cup, plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 stick butter softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet Chunks!)
optional: chopped nuts
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Chop up your crispy bacon finely.
-Mix together flour and baking soda
-Cream together butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add egg and vanilla extract, and beat until just blended. Add the dry ingredients; beat until just incorporated. Be careful not to over beat! Stir in the chocolate chips, bacon, and optional nuts.
-Drop a large tablespoon of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
-Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on the edges and lightly soft in the middle.
-Let cool on a rack for only a few seconds and eat HOT! Store any left-overs in a container and refrigerate.
When I make these cookies again, I might be doubling the recipe and maybe adding a few extra pinches of kosher salt to the dough. Lucy just craves the salt, and it would be a great way to get the sodium in!
**The original website suggests saving the bacon grease to drizzle onto the top of fresh popcorn. What another great idea to add calories for my kiddo!
Enjoy the cookies! We did!
Funny I should find your post tonight! Today I was doing research in preparation on starting Ruby on solids. I even went and bought a jar of coconut oil and chia seeds. I'm trying to find thst balance of fatty but natural. Can't wait til she's old enough to eat things like in this post, thanks for the recipe!!
ReplyDeletewell I can imagine how good that is..I love both chocolate and bacon!!! Oh and I adore nutella!!! It must be challenging to see that your daughter gets enough food before it disappears into the great white throne..I can relate..altho bacon goes thru me like a freight train..haha!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this Kacie! I'm definitely going to have to make some.
ReplyDeleteI was not sure about this it sounded strange to me but Zoey is a picky eater so I thought we would try it. She LOVED it. This is the first cookie she ate all of. Normally she will only eat about 1/4 of anything and feed the rest to the dogs. Not this she ate every bit of it. Thanks!
ReplyDelete