Mexican Wedding Cookies-Splenda linked to Cancer-Please Read-Cherie Clabom

By Cherie Clabom- The Juice Lady

Splenda Linked to Cancer Splenda has been found to release cancer-causing dioxins in food.  A new review study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health reported that researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) discovered that sucralose (Splenda) releases cancer-causing dioxins in food when baked or heated, which is one of its primary marketed uses. The Department of Pharmacology at Duke University challenges a number of claims of Splenda's alleged safety, including the claim by its manufacturer, McNeil Nutritionals, that sucralose passes through the body completely undigested. Evidence shows this is false. The authors warn that when sucralose is used for cooking at high temperatures it generates chloropropanols-- chemicals that may be linked to a higher risk of cancer.  Sucralose was also found in the study to alter the expressions of P-glycoprotein and cytochrome P in a manner similar to organochlorine drugs. This suggests that sucralose is actually more of a drug than it is a food additive. It has no business being indiscriminately added to food without a proper drug warning. Learn more... For your holiday baking, I recommend pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, xylitol (made from Finish birch bark only), and stevia (my top choice).

Gluten-Free Mexican Wedding Cookies Mexican wedding cookies are a wonderful treat to include in your Christmas gift bags.    1 ½ cups blanched almond flour (or your favorite gluten free flour) 1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt ⅛ teaspoon baking soda 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil 2 tablespoons coconut sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract ½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped ½ cup powdered coconut sugar In a food processor combine almond flour, salt and baking soda Pulse in coconut oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla Mix in pecans by hand Use a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop to scoop dough in small amounts* Use your hands to form cookies into balls, pressing very firmly Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes Dip cookies into powdered coconut sugar**    Makes 18 cookies * When you make these cookies, be sure to press the dough into balls very firmly so they don’t fall apart after they are baked, this is an important step so do not skip it! Also be sure to form tablespoon-sized balls so that the cookies are bite sized. **To stick to the classic version of this recipe, roll the cookies in powdered coconut sugar instead of granular coconut sugar. To make the powdered coconut sugar called for in this recipe simply blend your regular coconut sugar up in a vitamin or on high speed in your blender or coffee grinder. I make a cup at a time and store leftover powdered coconut sugar in a glass mason jar. Homemade powdered coconut sugar keeps for a few weeks when stored this way. If you can tolerate xylitol (many people with gut and digestive issues cannot), you can make powdered xylitol sugar.