In its ongoing effort to move the needle on obesity and chronic disease, Pennington Biomedical Research Center has a tasty ace up its sleeve. The research institution boasts its own on-site Metabolic Research Kitchen, where recipes and meal plans are developed to support research studies conducted by Pennington Biomedical’s world renowned scientists.
“Not many research centers have their own metabolic kitchen,” said Metabolic Kitchen Director Renee Stelzer, RD. “We’re lucky to have a state-of-the-art facility that is ideal for conducting simultaneous nutrition studies.”
It works like this. Researchers develop studies with specific nutrition requirements in mind. To test their ideas, they work with dietitians at the Metabolic Kitchen, who use a sophisticated nutritional analysis program to create highly precise menus and recipes that meet the requirements of each study—down to the tenth of a gram. These closely monitored menus are served to study participants.
But it’s not enough to prepare meals that simply meet a study’s nutritional requirements, Stelzer explained. They also need to taste good.
“This is Louisiana, and we’re used to food having a lot of flavor,” she said. “We want these meals to be enjoyable while also advancing science.”
The Metabolic Kitchen is located within Pennington Biomedical’s Baton Rouge campus, which itself is a campus of Louisiana State University. Other research facilities around the country that do not have their own research kitchens contract the Metabolic Kitchen’s services to support their own studies.
This holiday season, the Metabolic Kitchen makes a great place to turn to find healthy recipes that taste great and incorporate nutrient-dense ingredients, like the “Lump of Coal Cookies” recipe below.
Lump of Coal Cookies
Delicious Christmas cookies with a fudgey center and rich chocolate flavor from the Pennington Biomedical Metabolic Kitchen
This festive recipe is a tasty way to add nutrients into a classic holiday cookie, and it’s been known to win over beet doubters, too. They’re packed with antioxidants from beets, cocoa and pumpkin, and contain more vitamin A, protein, and fiber than traditional sugar cookies. The flavor of the rosy root vegetable is disguised in the cookie, and its consistency resembles shredded coconut. Wear gloves when shredding the beet to avoid staining your hands. The coconut oil can be replaced with peanut butter to give the cookie another layer of peanutty flavor.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp oat flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (heaping) peeled & grated raw beet (about 1
- medium sized beet)
- 1 tbsp melted coconut oil (or peanut butter)
- 3 tbsp canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a baking sheet.
- In one bowl, mix together oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar. Add in melted coconut oil, canned pumpkin, and grated beet.
- Combine the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until well combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough onto the greased baking sheet in 1 tablespoon portions, flattening each cookie slightly (dough will be sticky).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Makes 12 cookies
Each cookie contains 100 calories, 5g fat, 15g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 3g protein
For more information, and to explore the Metabolic Kitchen’s entire recipe resource guide, visit www.pbrc.edu/kitchen.
