Chocolate Chip Seed Cookies – for hormonal balance

I’m really happy to be posting this recipe, as I have found these to be very useful little cookies. I know, the word “useful” isn’t usually associated with cookies, but in this case the word fits. You see, I was first interested in the recipe because I wanted to find a tasty way to eat a lot of ground seeds, as part of a natural hormonal balance technique called “seed cycling.”  Seed cycling can help with  PMS, low energy, menstrual cramps, irregular cycles, acne, back aches, headaches, uterine fibroids, hot flashes and more. These symptoms are not normal, although many of us have lived with them for years.

But what is seed cycling, you ask? It involves eating ground seeds daily at different phases of the month, and helps the body naturally re-balance hormone levels. This is for women who are menstruating, peri-menopausal and menopausal. And apparently for men too – they have hormonal cycles as well! There’s more information about seed cycling on this site and here.

The first phase, the follicular phase, happens the beginning of a menstrual cycle. If there is no menstrual cycle, this can be timed to the first day of the new moon. At this time you eat a tablespoon of freshly ground flax seeds and a tablespoon of ground pumpkin seeds daily.

In the second, the luteal phase 14 days later, you eat a tablespoon of ground sesame and sunflower seeds each daily. If there is no menstrual cycle this time coincides with the full moon.

It is important to grind the seeds daily, so they don’t become rancid. Grinding them also allows the body to digest the seeds; flax and sesame seeds in particular pass right through you if they are not ground. I store my seeds in the freezer so they stay fresh.

Now, you might be wondering why I made these cookies when I could just sprinkle the seeds on my yogurt, oatmeal or salad. Well, the truth is that I couldn’t force myself to eat them any other way. I tried mixing it with my plain yogurt  with fruit, but I had a strong dislike of the texture of the seeds in the yogurt, and I wanted to keep enjoying my yogurt snacks.

So I searched around for a while until I found this recipe, and it changed everything. Now taking my medicine is delicious. I altered the recipe a bit to incorporate both phases of the seed cycling, and changed a few other parts of the recipe to suit what I had in my kitchen, and how I thought it would taste better. You could also exchange the chocolate chips for some dried fruit.

So because of the seed cycling I started making these, but there are some other benefits to this recipe. It is gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free.  They also make a great protein snack. So I think a lot of people might enjoy this one.

Oh, and anybody can eat these, not just people who are trying to balance their hormones, or who have food sensitivities. They are a yummy cookie.

I’d love to hear your feedback if you found these cookies helped you, or if you just enjoyed eating them.

Makes 24-28 cookies.

What you need for phase 1 cookies:

• 1 cup ground pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup ground rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or butter
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

What you need for phase 2 cookies:

• 3/4 cup ground sesame seeds
• 3/4 cup ground sun flower seeds
• 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup ground rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or butter
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

What you do:

1. Choose which phase you are going to bake for, then combine the freshly ground seeds, rolled oats, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine.
2. Add the vanilla to the melted coconut oil/butter, then pour it into the bowl with the maple syrup. Stir to bring it all together.
3. Mix in the chocolate chips.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F.
5. Using wet hands, form the mixture into slightly flattened balls, about 2 dozen of them. I divide the mixture into 4 sections, then make each into 6 or 7 cookies. Make sure they each have a couple of chocolate chips in them.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, one tray at a time in the center of the oven.
7. After removing the slightly browned cookies from the oven, let them rest for about 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.
8. Store in the freezer, removing as many as you need for the day. I eat 2 a day.