Piece of fabulocity at Peacefood Cafe

When searching far and wide for nutritious, low glycemix index cookies, cakes and other treats during pregnancy and otherwise, one needs to look no further than Peacefood Cafe, a little piece of fabulocity on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Their menu consists of strictly dairy- and animal- free dishes, including some decadent alternatives to burgers and fries such as their fried seitan (high protein meat replacement made of wheat) sandwich and chick pea fries spiced with an Indian flair. But I am drawn back relentlessly for one thing and one thing only: the chocolate chip cookie sandwich. What may sound like a savory dish with a sweet component thrown in is actually a 3-layer desert: two cookies made with spelt flour and agave, and dairy-free chocolate chips, with a generous helping of divine pudding-like frosting in the center. And it never fails: every time I buy this irristible treat in the afternoon on the way to picking up my preschooler, I promise myself that I will take just one or two bites, then share the rest with my husband after dinner. And it never fails: the cookie is gone, baby, gone, within minutes. I am left standing on the corner of Amsterdam and 82nd feeling guilty and gluttonous (but not too much so keeping in mind I consumed no butter, cane sugar or refined wheat flour) but satiated beyond belief and grinning quietly to myself. To make matters more complicated, the pastry chef sometimes throws a curve ball by offering a gluten-free version of the "sandwich" made with chick pea and coconut flour and a pearl-colored frosting tinted with mint oil. And I thought I was innovative with my use of soy flour in baking. The gluten-free version is divine in its own right and highly nutritious to boot - chick peas contain B vitamins, iron and protein, and coconut flour contains vitamin C, iron, and calcium, and contains more fiber than wheat flour.