gluten and dairy free, naturally sweetened whole food digestive biscuits
Here’s the thing to know about me in order to understand the motivation behind this recipe.
I have a genetic risk of developing coeliac disease, as both my siblings have it, and I have the double genes for it. So the more I expose myself to gluten, the greater my risk. I also find the more gluten in my diet, the worse my endo pain - I can have a little, but not a lot, so I make calculated decisions on when I have gluten, and sourdough and croissants will always outweigh anything else!
I am prone to blood sugar instability thanks to dysautonomia, and the links with metabolic issues and endo, and possible PCOS (I have all the markers, but have never been diagnosed), so I eat to ensure blood sugar balance.
When autumn and winter hits, I want biscuits. Especially digestive biscuits.
So, given that digestive biscuits both contain gluten and refined sugars and flours (which can spike blood sugar), you can see the problem. Rather than going without or just eating them on special occasions, I wanted to make my own version that I felt really good about enjoying on a Sunday with a cup of tea for dunking. And yes, they dunk guys. THEY DUNK!
The chickpeas create the crispy snap of a digestive in this recipe, so they can’t be substituted. If you bloat or get digestive upset from chickpeas, please know I have used canned because the are lower in FODMAPS and easier to digest because they have been soaked in water for a long time, and each digestive is low FODMAP, so actually only a small serving of chickpeas.
These gluten free, whole food digestive biscuits are…
Gluten free to help minimise symptoms and reactions in certain endo folk.
Whilst not everyone with endometriosis needs to go gluten free or entirely gluten free (some people feel better just not eating it that often), reducing gluten may help some of us manage our pain and endo belly symptoms.
In a major and recent survey study of 2388 endometriosis patients, out of those who removed or reduced gluten, 45% experienced a reduction in pain. In another study, 75% of patients had a significant reduction in painful symptoms after eliminating gluten for 12 months. There is also a significant association between endometriosis and coeliac disease. And whilst the research on endometriosis and gluten has limitations, I myself experienced improvements by reducing gluten in my diet (in fact, it was one of the key players for helping me live a normal life again no longer ruled by pain and my periods), as have many of my clients (though not all, it’s very individual).
If you’d like to learn more about why gluten may impact some of us with endo and how, my Nutrition Masterclass dives into all the science, and you can also check out my podcast episodes like this one.
Are made with fibre rich whole food ingredients, are sweetened only with fruit, and contain olive oil and chickpeas, to help stabilise blood sugar.
Most shop bought cookies and biscuits are made with easy to digest starches and sugars like flour, and sugar. Even the healthier versions still use easy to digest sugars such as maple sugar and coconut sugar, and whilst some sugar, in moderation, is necessary for certain recipes and brings us joy and flavour, you know I am always looking for ways to choose more whole food, fibre rich and lower sugar options for us endo folk.
Why?
Because high sugar foods and processed foods can potentially contribute to more PMS, menstrual pain and endo pain. Blood sugar spikes increase oxidative stress, which leads to more inflammation in the body and that may trigger further pain and symptoms. In fact, oxidative stress is higher in people with endo, and it’s a key driver of endo growth.
I have focused on the presence of healthy fats, fibre and protein, which have all been shown to help stabilise blood sugar levels and slow down the uptake of glucose/starch from our food (chocolate, oats and dates, in this case) to our blood stream, preventing blood sugar spikes.
One of the easiest ways for us to support our blood sugar is to opt for whole food carbohydrates, such as whole oats, over refined carbohydrates, such as flour, as I have done here. Whole foods still contain their fibre, which helps slow down digestion and the resulting absorption of glucose to the blood stream, creating a steady drip rather than a flood.
Another great way to support blood sugar is with lower glycemic index foods, and every ingredient in this recipe is low to moderate on the glycemic index scale (some date types are moderate, others are low, otherwise every ingredient is low glycemic). The glycemic index is a tool that looks at foods and the impact they can have on your blood sugar, on a scale of 0-100. A high GI index would be 70 and above, a medium GI is 56-69 and a low GI index is 55 or less. High GI foods are very likely to spike your blood sugar levels and do so quickly, foods with a medium GI rating tend to cause a moderate rise and low GI foods tend to keep blood sugar levels stable and steady over time with a gentle rise. This is because low GI foods break down slowly in the gut because they are rich in fibre and slow release carbohydrates, this means that the release of glucose to the blood stream is slow and gradual.
Now, with that being said, the amount of that food you’re eating can have an affect too - and that’s called the glycemic load, which essentially takes into consideration the GI of the food and how many carbohydrates from that food you’re eating in one serving. Unless you’re really struggling with blood sugar or diabetes, you don’t really need to go down this rabbit hole - instead, it’s really just about eating foods in healthy moderation. Which leads me to…
Most dates have a low to moderate glycemic index and are rich in fibre, so they shouldn’t cause a dramatic or quick rise in blood sugar, especially compared to standard table sugar or maple syrup, typical cookie sweeteners.However, research has shown that individual blood sugar responses vary from person to person, and if you eat a lot of even a low glycemic index food, it may have a greater impact on your blood sugar levels because you’re eating more in one sitting, as we just discussed. This recipe uses more dates than I typically use in a a recipe, and I’ve added some notes on that below, to take into account the variation in blood sugar responses. However, because this recipe is so rich in fibre, healthy fats and protein, sticking to the suggested serving size shouldn’t cause a blood sugar spike, but just don’t go eating the whole tray of them!
With all that being said, I deliberately used low-medium glycemic ingredients for this recipe, which means a serving (2 digestives) has a moderate glycemic index and load, they are pushed up from low to moderate just because of the naturally occurring starches and sugars in chickpeas, oats and dates.
To further assist a healthy blood sugar response, I’ve used a generous amount of olive oil in these biscuits, rather than butter. Research has shown that adding olive oil to meals reduces the post-prandial blood sugar levels (meaning it helps prevent blood sugar spikes from foods/meals), even in high glycemic meals (meaning meals/foods high in sugar or starch that can cause rapid blood sugar spikes).
I’ve also used chickpeas, not just for their crunchy texture when cooked, but for their blood sugar benefits. Research has shown that when compared to other carbohydrates, like white bread, chickpeas not only cause a lesser spike, but a lesser crash as well. When compared to white bread, which created a large spike followed by a more severe crash, chickpeas created a gentler, more even rise in blood sugar that was followed by a gentle return to baseline blood sugar levels pre-meal. What’s even more interesting is that when eaten first, chickpeas reduce blood sugar spikes in the following meal! So, we can use chickpeas here to prevent or lessen any potential blood sugar spikes from the glucose in the dates and oats.
Constant blood sugar swings can take their toll on hormones, leading to issues like elevated androgens (think testosterone), which can affect ovulation and cycle length. Blood sugar swings may also cause oestrogen excess or dominance and low progesterone if ovulation is interrupted or stopped entirely. Both of these imbalances can cause more PMS, heavier periods, and may also exacerbate endometriosis symptoms.
Additionally, these biscuits can help us out with luteal phase cravings. When we’re in our luteal phase, we often experience more blood sugar swings because oestrogen, which dominates in our follicular phase, helps us to regulate our blood sugar response, but is lower in the luteal phase. As a result, we tend to get cravings for sweet foods or foods high in starch, such as cookies! The problem is, these foods keep us on a blood sugar rollercoaster, and raise inflammation levels, resulting in more of those inflammatory symptoms and pain that we’re trying to avoid. These biscuits, being low in sugar and rich in fibre, can help us get our fix without the pain triggering spikes.
Finally, blood sugar swings are linked heavily with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, so if you struggle with low moods in your luteal phase, supporting blood sugar can actually support your mental health.
Rich in prebiotics and polyphenols from the oats, chickpeas and dates to help heal the endo belly and reduce systemic inflammation.
A major study of 10,000 people found that eating 30 or more plant foods a week helps to create a healthier and more diverse microbiome. This recipe offers you 4 of your 30! For extra guidance on how to reach your 30 a week, check out this article by The Gut Health Doctor or this one by Zoe.This recipe is also high in polyphenols. Polyphenols are types of antioxidants found in certain plant foods that not only reduce inflammation levels and improve overall health, but they are also an absolute favourite food for our gut microbiome, which means that can support our good gut bugs to thrive.
Polyphenols can be found in various plant foods, and are in high amounts in chickpeas, olive oil, and dates.
The anti-inflammatory effects of extra virgin olive oil, thanks to its polyphenol content, are far reaching. For example, research has shown that extra virgin olive oil can decrease C-Reactive Protein levels, a marker for inflammation.
Additionally, these biscuits are a great source of prebiotic fibre from the whole foods, and provide special soluble fibres like beta-glucans from the oats, that are incredibly beneficial for a healthy gut microbiome.
Research is finding a strong correlation between microbiome disturbances and endometriosis development, such as reduced levels and variety of good gut bugs and higher levels of pathogenic (bad, infectious), opportunistic (in high numbers, can cause problems like inflammation) gut bugs, as well as gut bugs linked to elevated oestrogen levels. These microbiome differences have also been associated with higher IL-8 levels, a type of inflammatory cytokine shown to be involved in the development of endometriosis.
Polyphenols and fibre are like gut bug boosters - the more we provide to our good gut bugs, the more they grow and outnumber the bad guys. This helps to bring the gut back into harmony, which can improve gut symptoms and intestinal inflammation and whilst we need to do more research, could even help us fight endo.
Are a great source of beneficial nutrients, including magnesium, zinc, B1, folate, B6, and iron.
Research has shown magnesium to be an effective treatment in preventing dysmenorrhea (period pain) because it reduces inflammatory prostaglandins that are the drivers of both endo and period pain. One study showed that six months of magnesium treatment reduced prostaglandin F2a by over half! In fact, in recent research, magnesium is being explored as a dietary treatment for endo and a higher intake of magnesium rich foods was associated with a lower risk of endo. Additionally, magnesium helps to regulate our sex hormones, and as result, is a recognised treatment for preventing PMS.
Low levels of zinc have been linked to endo, and research has shown it can significantly reduce period pain thanks to its anti-inflammatory benefits. It additionally supports follicle development and ovulation, while deficiency has been linked to infertility.
B1 helps to reduce menstrual pain by regulating nerve signalling and muscle contractions, it’s also an antioxidant that helps to lower inflammation. Research has linked better B1 levels with less menstrual pain, and a systematic review and meta analysis found that B1 effectively contributed to dysmenorrhea pain management.
Folate is crucial to ovarian function and ovulation, and low folate levels can cause irritability, mood swings and fatigue, and fertility problems.
B6 is one of the most important B vitamins for balanced hormones as it supports progesterone production and oestrogen metabolism. Additionally, research has shown that B6 treatment can help reduce PMS, especially the mood challenges that can come with the syndrome.
Finally, iron deficiency is extremely common in general, but even more so in people with heavy menstrual bleeding. Iron plays a major role in preventing fatigue, and yet many of the clients who I work with, come to me with significantly low levels due to having SIBO, avoiding red meat, heavy periods or other reasons. Supporting healthy iron absorption and intake is a key part of beating endo fatigue and recovering from heavy blood loss and low levels can cause brain fog, extreme tiredness, heart palpitations, dizziness, muscle weakness and depression to name a few.
Important notes to help you tailor this recipe to your own body and needs (and tastebuds!)
Are these biscuits low FODMAP?
Yes, two biscuits are well within your low FODMAP ranges, with 3-4 pushing you into moderate territory.
Blood sugar considerations
These biscuits are relatively high in carbohydrates per serving (about 30-35g), so for some who are sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations, it may be best to keep to the serving size of two biscuits, rather than more. Now remember, I have added chickpeas and olive oil, not to mention packed this recipe out with whole foods, in order to stabilise blood sugar despite the carb load - and all of the carb sources are complex carbs too, meaning the absorption of glucose is slower than refined carbs (like flour). So, in theory, they shouldn’t have much of an impact on blood sugar, but just in case, I recommend sticking with two - but it’s totally your choice of course!
Date choice
I recommend a sticky and chewy date type here like medjool or deglect noor. As we travel full time, the types of dates we can get from country try to country really varies, and I tried this recipe with a more oily, soft style date (I couldn’t get the name to translate) and they didn’t have the same bite and took longer to bake.
Further resources
If you’re struggling with your endo nutrition or gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on endometriosis and SIBO.
Gluten Free whole food digestive biscuits
Ingredients:
150g rolled oats
75g dates (choose a sticky and chewy variety, though you may want to choose based on blood sugar impact, see above)
75g canned chickpeas
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1/2-1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
Small pinch of salt
makes: 8-12 (depends on thickness) biscuits
prep time: 15 mins
bake time: 16-18 mins
cool time: 40 mins
Method:
Preheat the oven to 165c (fan assisted). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Drain the chickpeas but don’t rinse (this helps with the crunch), and dry well with kitchen roll or a tea-towel.
Pulse the oats until a flour is achieved, this won’t be a super fine flour, there may still be some very small flecks of oat pieces in there.
Add the dates and pulse again until well incorporated.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend well until a crumbly dough is formed, that holds together when pressed.
Work quickly, as the dough dries fast (because oats are absorbent) and it becomes more crumbly to handle. Press the dough down into digestive shapes on the baking tray, about half a cm thick. You can press them in biscuit moulds if that’s easier and will also give you a more uniform shape.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and the edges are just starting to darken, but check regularly to avoid burning at 18 minutes onwards and take out earlier if they start to look too dark. They will be fairly firm but with some slight give when pressed, they will harden as they cool.*
Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for five minutes, before moving to a cooling wrack until cool. You can eat them still warm after about 30 minutes.
*Ovens (annoyingly) vary greatly, so you may have to experiment with temp and times to achieve that desired sandy crunch and snap you get with digestives. I made these four times and found 165c minutes was best for the oven I was using, but then we relocated to a new Airbnb and I found I had to bake them for longer!