Tip: Pink Protein Cookies for Gains

The Most Maligned Fruit

When you think of cranberries you probably picture the canned stuff. You can even hear it go "shloop" as it exits the can in a solid cylindrical block. Cranberries in their canned state are so sad and so sugary that you'd probably be better off just eating a real dessert instead of carving into the can-shaped sugar brick.

The big question is, who relegated cranberries to a sauce? Sure, you could make it from scratch, but why is sauce their only gig? And why do they have to be a high-calorie or high-carb food?

Fresh or frozen cranberries only have 46 calories per cup. (Per cup!) And they only have 12 carbs per cup, 4 of which are fiber. So there's no reason to make them into a carb-bomb. As a bonus, cranberries are packed with polyphenols.

Granted, they're extraordinarily bitter for most people's palates, so you'll need to soften that with some sweetness, but once they're sweetened, they can go into practically any dessert. So, let's bake some cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 Bag fresh cranberries
• 1 Scoop (30 g) Metabolic Drive® Protein, vanilla
• 1/4 Cup coconut flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 Cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/4 Cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the cranberries. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil on the stovetop. Add the cranberries, and then bring the water to a boil again. Once it's boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Let the cranberries cool. Put them in a mixing bowl and let them cool in the fridge or at room temp. This is important. Don't add the other ingredients to hot cranberries.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Combine the stuff. Add the coconut flour, protein powder, salt, and baking powder. Then once those are mixed together, add the chocolate chips and walnuts.
5. Spoon the dough out forming 11 medium-sized cookies. I don't recommend forming the cookies with your fingers. So use a cookie scoop or a spoon and try to get them uniform in size.
6. Pop them in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes... or until the tops are slightly golden brown. Cook time will depend on the size of the cookies, your oven, and your elevation. Check them at 15 minutes and let them bake longer if needed.

Nutrition Info

Without the optional walnuts and chocolate chips:

• Calories per cookie: 69
• Carbs: 9 grams (3 from fiber)
• Protein: 6 grams
• Fat: 1 gram