Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe, Spotlight on Pecans, Chilling Cookie Dough, Rethinking (Dietary) Cheating and Avoiding Falls

Chocolate chip cookies are an American classic with hundreds of variations. My recipe adds healthy ingredients so you can feel good about indulging. Speaking of indulging, new research shows that occasional splurges don’t have to derail a smart eating plan. It turns out that your mindset matters more than the calories on your plate. Read the details below.

Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

  Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies? This recipe transforms the classic formula by replacing half the butter with extra virgin olive oil and adding nutritious whole wheat flour and pecans, which lend a nutty crunch. For best results, bake only one sheet of cookies at a time. This recipe makes a large batch. If you only need a smaller one, put one dough log in the freezer for the future. 

  Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups cake flour 
  • 1-1/2 cups bread flour 
  • 3/4 cup white or golden whole wheat flour 
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter, softened 
  • 1-1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar 
  • 2 large eggs 
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla  
  • 1 pound dark or bittersweet chocolate chunks 
  • 10 ounces pecan halves

  Directions

  Step 1

  In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and place next to your mixer or mixing bowl.

  Step 2

  Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl and a hand mixer on medium speed, blend the butter and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the olive oil and vanilla. On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture and beat until no traces of flour remain, about 20 seconds, then mix in the chocolate and pecans until evenly distributed, about another 20 seconds. 

  Step 3

  Divide the dough between two long pieces of parchment paper and shape each into a thick log, about 3 inches in diameter. Roll up each log in its parchment and tuck under the ends. Wrap each log separately in foil, then refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

  Step 4

  When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F. Slice one log into 10 disks and transfer to a rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment. Bake on a rack in the lower third of your oven until lightly brown, about 16 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Repeat with the second log. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before eating and let cool completely before storing in cookie tins. 

  Yields 20 oversized cookies

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Pecans

A high-quality source of protein with few carbs and zero cholesterol, unroasted and unsalted pecans have the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark to show that they meet nutritional guidelines for heart health. Pecans are rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid and other B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, and one-and-a-half ounces of these sweet nuts deliver 15% of daily fiber needs. As part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, they may also reduce the risk of heart disease.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Chilling Cookie Dough

Many types of cookies require chilling for easier rolling and cutting, but there’s another key reason for this step: richer taste and texture. This happens as the structure of the flour and sugar change over time. If you’re in a rush, allow a minimum of 30 minutes in the refrigerator, but for the tastiest results, 24 hours or more is better. In fact, cookie dough can be kept in the fridge for as long as 3 days before baking. If you’ll be storing the dough any longer than that, place it in the freezer. 

For Your Best Health 

Rethinking (Dietary) Cheating

For many people trying to lose weight, a “cheat meal” feels like a well-earned break from strict dieting—a chance to relax, enjoy something decadent, and return to routine refreshed. Eric Trexler, PhD, a fellow in the Health, Wellness, and Physical Education Department at Duke University, recently coauthored a study examining the surprisingly complicated world of cheat meals. The analysis looked at both psychological and physiological effects of loosening dietary rules and found that planned indulgences can help some people stay on track. But science also warns that unplanned or binge-like episodes may fuel guilt, shame, and unhealthy eating patterns.

“People really overestimate the physical impact of a cheat meal and dramatically underestimate the psychological impact,” said Dr. Trexler, who conducts evolutionary anthropology research and collaborates with global health researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine. Though his doctoral research explored dietary nitrate and blood flow, he’s also examined what he calls “nonlinear dieting strategies,” an approach that intentionally includes higher-calorie days or meals during weight loss. He detailed what people misunderstand most about these meals and how mindset matters more than the calories on a plate.

Dr. Trexler said that people tend to panic about how many pounds they’ll gain from a single cheat meal. The truth? Physically, one big dinner does almost nothing in the long term. Mentally, though, framing it as cheating can fuel guilt, shame, and the feeling that you’ve blown your diet, which can derail progress. When an indulgence is spontaneous or emotionally driven, the guilt that follows can easily snowball into overeating—turning a single cheat meal into a cheat weekend and then a cheat week. On the other hand, when a higher-calorie meal is intentional and fits within a larger eating plan, people tend to stay more motivated. Ideally, you enjoy the meal and then return to normal eating. 

“A dietary strategy that has a lot of planned dietary deviations in place tells you, ‘You can do this,’” Dr. Trexler said. “You can implement these lifestyle changes. You don’t need to be perfect 100% of the time. You need to be good enough most of the time, and you are.”

According to Dr. Trexler, cheat meals aren’t inherently good or bad. The key is how intentional they are, how you think about them, and what happens afterward. Instead of “cheating,” a term that suggests a moral failure, he urges people to think about planned flexibility as part of a sustainable eating pattern—one that lets you enjoy your grandmother’s caramel cake “without worrying how many eggs or cups of sugar are in it,” he said. “Eating isn’t just about nutrition. Eating is a social and cultural event. At a certain point, implemented long enough, changes become the norm. You realize you can enjoy sitting down for dessert and having one piece of cake instead of two.”

Dr. Trexler warned of two red flags to look out for: turning one indulgence into a multiday binge and overcorrecting with extreme restriction or punishing exercise. Both patterns mirror the binge-restrict cycle common in disordered eating.

Fitness Flash

Avoiding Falls

A new study published in JAMA Ophthalmology found it’s not just that poor vision increases fall risk or that hazards increase fall risk—it’s the interaction between the two that really matters. Older adults with severe vision loss are three to four times more likely to fall when they live in homes with hazards such as missing grab bars, tripping risks like loose rugs and wires, or uneven floors.

“The home is not just a background; it’s a key shaper of fall risk,” said lead author Shu Xu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. “Our study emphasizes the need to include the home environment as a key component of fall prevention, especially for older adults with vision loss. If we focus only on improving vision, we may overlook a group at very high risk: people who have both poor vision and hazards in their homes.”

The population-based cross-sectional study analyzed data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study, which gathered nationally representative data on US Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older adults living at home.

Dr. Xu and colleagues documented that nearly half of older adults lacked grab bars in the bathroom. More than half of the sample lived with at least one hazard. Tripping hazards affected 9.5% of homes, broken flooring was present in 4.5% of them, and a total of roughly 7% of homes had two hazards.

“When an older adult with normal vision lives in a home with multiple hazards, fall risk is relatively low, but with high levels of vision impairment, fall risk increases threefold to fourfold,” Dr. Xu said. “Importantly, even among those with high levels of vision impairment, fall risk only increases significantly when home hazards are present.”

Incremental declines in vision directly raise fall risk for older adults with hazards in the home. Researchers measured specific visual functions and found that each one-line difference on the Snellen visual acuity chart—which tests how clearly a person can see by having them read letters of decreasing size from a set distance—was associated with a 31% increase in fall risk. Each one-line loss on the contrast sensitivity chart raised the risk by 14%.

These rising percentages suggest that poor vision may make it harder for older adults to detect and avoid existing dangers in their homes. The findings underscore that even small losses in vision may increase risk substantially when environmental hazards are present.

“Identifying and addressing home hazards is crucial,” said coauthor Joshua Ehrlich, MD, MPH, a professor of ophthalmology and a research associate professor at the Institute for Social Research. “Fall prevention should be framed as a partnership between health care and the physical home. In this case, vision care plus targeted home modifications.”

Falls are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Just one fall can be devastating for an older person. Here are some simple concrete actions to take for yourself or older loved ones:

• Get regular eye exams and use the right glasses: Make sure prescriptions are up to date and use glasses as recommended.
   
• Check the bathroom first: Add grab bars near the toilet and in the shower or tub; use nonslip mats in the shower or tub.
   
• Clear walking paths: Remove or tape down loose rugs, move electrical cords out of walkways, and keep hallways and stairs free of clutter.
   
• Fix damaged flooring: Repair torn carpet, broken tiles, or uneven floorboards that could catch a foot, cane, or walker.
   
• Improve lighting: Use bright, even lighting, especially on stairs and in hallways; add night-lights near the bathroom and bedroom.

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Chicken Involtini Recipe, Spotlight on Chicken, A Better Approach to Losing Weight, and Why Workout Plans Go Awry

Want to elevate your next chicken dinner? Chicken involtini, or little bundles, is the delicious answer. Stuffed with spinach and cheese, it ticks all the boxes for flavor. This issue of the newsletter also serves up two studies—one on better ways to get help for losing weight and the other on how to rethink exercise for a better chance at sticking with a plan.

Chicken Involtini

• Chicken Involtini

  These stuffed boneless chicken breasts are browned on the stovetop and then baked in the oven in an olive oil, lemon, and butter sauce. Enjoy on its own or over pasta.

  Ingredients

  • 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 12 ounces fresh baby spinach
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided use
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided use
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 2 pounds in total
  • 8-ounce block Emmenthaler or provolone cheese, sliced into 8 sticks 
  • 1/3 cup whole wheat flour 
  • 1-1/2 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

  Directions

  Step 1

  Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 3 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic. Cook the garlic until it becomes translucent, then add the spinach in bunches. As each bunch wilts, add the next. When completely wilted and tender, transfer to a colander and set the skillet aside. Let the spinach cool for 5 minutes, then squeeze with your hands to remove any excess liquid. Transfer to a large glass bowl and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and the red pepper flakes. 

  Step 2

  Slice each breast horizontally to make eight cutlets. One at a time, place each cutlet between two sheets of parchment paper set on a cutting board, and use a kitchen mallet to pound it to about 1/4” thickness. Season each cutlet with the remaining salt and pepper. 

  Step 3

  Top each cutlet with a layer of spinach, then place a stick of cheese in the center. Starting at the narrow end, roll up each cutlet and secure with a wooden skewer or toothpicks to keep the roll closed.

  Step 4

  Preheat your oven to 375°F. Put the flour in a pie plate and place it next to your stovetop. Wipe out the skillet and reheat it. When hot, add 4 tablespoons olive oil. Roll each bundle in the flour, shake off any excess, and add to the pan, seam side down. Brown on all sides, turning with heat-safe tongs. Deglaze the skillet with the stock, then add the lemon juice and butter. Place the skillet in the oven for 20 minutes or until an instant read thermometer placed in the chicken shows 160°F. 

  Step 5

  Very carefully take the pan out of the oven. If you’d like a thicker sauce, plate the chicken and return the skillet to the stovetop. Bring to a boil and cook down for about 5 minutes. To serve, remove the skewers or toothpicks, drizzle on some sauce, and sprinkle on the parsley.

  Yields 4 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Chicken Breasts

Looking for a lean protein source? A 3-ounce serving of cooked skinless chicken breast delivers between 26 and 30 grams of protein for about 140 calories. You’ll also get B vitamins, particularly niacin and B6, and selenium, an essential trace mineral critical for supporting metabolism, among other functions.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Pounding Chicken

Pounded cutlets cook quickly and evenly because they have a uniform thickness. What’s more, pounding provides a bigger surface for stuffing which also makes rolling them up easier. It’s important to use a surface that can be easily and thoroughly cleaned, even though you’ll be pounding the chicken between sheets of parchment paper.

A meat mallet is a great tool; the flat side can be used on chicken and pork cutlets, and the side with the little spikes helps tenderize tougher cuts of beef. However, you can also make do with a heavy pan or even a rolling pin. Make sure to rotate the cutlet so you apply the force uniformly and not just to one or two spots. Start with moderate force and increase only if necessary to get an even thickness. 

For Your Best Health 

A Better Approach to Losing Weight

For a long time, endocrinologist Leigh Perreault, MD, felt uneasy about how weight management was handled in routine medical care. Too often, patients were sent home with vague advice to eat better and exercise more, even when that clearly was not enough.

“There was a moment I put my face in my hands and thought, ‘What am I doing?’ I would write a lot of prescriptions for patients’ diabetes, their blood pressure, their lipids, and all these other conditions,” said Dr. Perreault, a professor of endocrinology, metabolism, and diabetes at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine who practices in Westminster, Colorado, alongside primary care physicians. But she realized that many of those medications addressed symptoms rather than the root problem. “None of these people want to be on these medications, and I thought if I could just help them with their weight, many of these health concerns would probably go away,” she said. That realization set the stage for a new approach that could soon reshape how weight care would be addressed in primary care.

Dr.Perreault and her colleagues created PATHWEIGH, a structured process that helps people and their primary care teams focus directly on weight management. The program introduces dedicated clinic visits where providers can concentrate specifically on weight-related care instead of squeezing it into a standard appointment.

With funding from the National Institutes of Health, PATHWEIGH was rolled out across UCHealth’s 56 primary care clinics throughout Colorado to evaluate its impact. The pilot included 274,182 patients, making it one of the largest randomized trials ever conducted in this area. Results published in Nature Medicine showed that the program reduced population weight gain by 0.58 kg (about one and a quarter pounds) over 18 months and shifted the overall trend from steady gain to weight loss. Experts estimate that rising obesity rates are driven by an average population weight gain of about 0.50 kg or roughly a half pound every year. Stopping that increase and turning it into even modest weight loss could make a meaningful difference in slowing the obesity epidemic. “While it’s not a significant difference on an individual patient level, it’s a huge deal on a population and public health level,” Dr. Perreault said.

The program also made patients more likely to get help for weight issues. Participation increased the chances of receiving weight-related care by 23%. Most of that care involved lifestyle counseling, but prescriptions for anti-obesity medications doubled during the intervention. Unlike many one-size-fits-all weight-loss programs, PATHWEIGH allows treatment to be customized to each patient. It also reduces the discomfort that often surrounds conversations about weight in medical settings.

“With PATHWEIGH, we showed that we absolutely eliminated population weight gain across all of our primary care, which had never been done previously,” Dr. Perreault said. “If you think about weight loss medicine or surgery or a weight loss program, those are all vehicles to weight loss. We built a highway that we could put all the vehicles on, so there’s actually a process for people to receive weight-related care if they want it.

Dr. Perreault said the program’s success has opened the door to wider adoption. Plans are underway to expand PATHWEIGH beyond Colorado. The Obesity Association, which is developing its first standards of care for obesity, is highlighting the program as a recommended care process. Five health systems across seven states are also considering PATHWEIGH as its creators work toward licensing the model.

Fitness Flash

Why Workout Plans Go Awry

You know you should exercise, so you make a solid plan to do it, but then, in the decisive moment, you opt out. And then you choose to forgo your planned daily exercise again and again. Why? It could be related to what scientists call all-or-nothing thinking.

“Most people are tired and overwhelmed, so in the moment of decision, the immediate costs of exercising feel much bigger than the benefits, making it a low-value choice,” said University of Michigan behavioral scientist Michelle Segar, PhD. “This makes doing ‘nothing’ a prudent choice and desirable exit strategy. Decisions to not exercise are often made outside of awareness—so people are likely unaware that choosing to forgo their exercise plans could be related to having an all-or-nothing mindset.” 

She suggests that all-or-nothing thinking is caused by a deeply embedded mindset that leads many people to abandon their exercise plans. “Exercise-related all-or-nothing thinking occurs when a specific exercise plan becomes unworkable,” Dr. Segar explained. “At this moment, when people cannot perfectly adhere to their plan—the ‘all’—they choose not to exercise at all rather than modify the plan.”

While all-or-nothing thinking has been studied in relation to eating and weight, this is the first in-depth research to investigate this phenomenon with exercise, Dr. Segar said. She and her colleagues Jen Taber, John Updegraff, and Alexis McGhee-Dinvaut, all of Kent State University, conducted four focus groups among 27 adults—ages 19 to 79—who tried to exercise but couldn’t stick with it. The study, published in BMC Public Health, uncovered four components that collectively make up an all-or-nothing mindset:

• Having rigid, idealized criteria for exercising. For most participants, their “all” constituted rigid standards that had to be met to exercise “right.” They typically say to themselves, “If I do something for under 15 minutes, I feel like I didn’t even exercise. Even if it were dead-out sprints, it just doesn’t factor into my head like I did anything.”
• Seeking excuses for not exercising. This component reflects participants actively trying to avoid their intended exercise. They said that exercising the right way took a lot of effort, saying, “It’s hard,” “It hurts,” and “It doesn’t feel good to do.”
• Believing exercise was expendable compared to their daily priorities. Participants said things like “When your routine ends up getting crowded with the things that have to be done or should be done, [exercising] is an easy thing to push to the side.”
• Being baffled about why they could not stick with exercise. Participants were unable to reconcile their current inactivity even though they could recall having had previous positive experiences exercising, saying things such as “I don’t understand why I don’t exercise. … I’m an educated woman… why can’t I even make a dent in it?”

“The all-or-nothing mindset creates high costs for exercising,” said Dr. Segar. Here’s her advice to overcome it:

• Don’t be a prisoner to your exercise past. Know that negative exercise experiences in your past can demotivate you now. Acknowledge that fact and then move forward in more positive and realistic ways.
• Don’t blame yourself for not sticking with exercise. Our culture has taught us an exercise formula that sets up most people to fail.
• Choose “good enough” over “perfect.” Nothing has to be perfect, including exercise.

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