YUM! Healthy Gluten-Free Diabetic Low Carb Cookies

At Love With Food, we love to celebrate the passion of food makers. We know that a delicious idea and a lot of passion can build the tastiest food business. We want to share with you the stories behind passionate food makers who make our tummies happy!

Have you ever eaten a YUMMY cookie that’s healthy (no sugar added), diabetic-friendly, gluten-free, low-carb and Weight Watchers friendly? Meet Natasha’s Health Nut Cookies! These cookies not only taste great and score high in flavor, they are also safe for those with celiac disease or diabetes, people on low-carb or Weight Watcher diets, or those who are simply seeking a healthier sweet snack!

Natasha’s Health Nut Cookies are flourless, mainly made of unbleached almond meal, pecans, unsweetened coconut chips, dark semi-sweet chocolate chips, cranberries and sugar substitute. Almonds are effective hunger fighter that’s full of fiber, antioxidants, protein and high in vitamin E. This key ingredient is the reason why Natasha’s Health Nut Cookies are such healthy snacks!



Here’s the story behind Natasha’s Health Nut Cookies

Tell us a little about yourself
I’m a one-woman operation in Belmont, CA. I have a licensed manufacturing facility and have been in business since 1993 when I started Natasha’s Sweet Temptations. Back then, I baked and sold Russian Sherry Tea Cakes at local Bay Area farmers markets. The tea cakes were made from my grandmother’s recipe and they sold very well.

What made you create these healthy cookies?
In 2003, I noticed a big drop in sales of my tea cakes. I started asking my customers why they were only buying the cakes for special occasions. Most of their responses were either “I’m on a low card diet, or I just got diagnosed with diabetes or celiac disease.” At that moment, I thought to myself I either had to switch career or create a product to fill the need. My light bulb moment!

What challenges did you face?
I spend many frustrating hours of experimenting with different flours. Soy tasted terrible. Rice flour, which diabetics should not eat, had too many carbs and other mixes didn’t meet my expectations. Finally, I tried almond meal. The cookies turned out great! I thought I had found success, not realizing that I had a big cost-factor obstacle in front of me. The healthy ingredients such as almond meal, pecans. cranberries, dark semi-sweet chocolate chips and the sugar substitute are all very expensive. However, compromising great taste for a “lower cost, worse-tasting” cookie was not an option!

What kind of TLC do you put into your cookies?
To keep the quality of the finished product perfect and tasty, I’m extremely particular about making sure the ingredients are the highest quality. I handmake each batch to ensure the cookies are baked at exactly the right temperature for the right amount of time, every time. No matter how hectic my baking schedule is, I’ll always make time to answer any questions from my customers either via phone or email.

When the going gets tough, what keeps you going?
It took me approximately one year to find the right packaging, designing the labels which I did all myself, and it took another year for Whole Foods to approve my products. It’s not simple to run a food business and the operation cost can be high too with all the fees imposed by the state, city, county, health department etc. It’s tough, however when my customers tell me that they’ve lost weight just by cutting out popcorn and substituting one or two cookies for their late night snack, or when they brought smiles to my diabetic customers, or receiving thank you notes from pregnant diabetic customers who tell me this was they only tasty dessert they could eat while pregnant, these touching testimonials make all the pain and hardships all worthwhile and keep my baking passion going!

Where to buy Natasha’s Health Nut Cookies?
Natasha currently bakes Health Nut Cookies in three flavors (click on the images to find out more):
- Cranberry Orange
- Raisin Amaretto
- Vanilla Chocolate Chip

You can purchase them online at NatashasHealthNutCookies.com or call 1.866.328.8225. If you are in Northern California, you can purchase Natasha’s cookies at the following farmer’s markets.
- College of San Mateo Farmer’s Market (map)
- Mountain View Farmer’s Market (map)
- Downtown Pleasanton Farmer’s Market (map)

Special Cookie Deal

• Purchase Natasha’s Cookies by PHONE or Online. Buy 3 boxes get 1 FREE (CA residents only). Make sure to mention LOVE With FOOD.
• Purchase Natasha’s Cookies at the above Farmer’s Markets and get 10% discount. Make sure to mention LOVE With FOOD. (good till Sept 18 2010)

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