Sunbutter Raisin Drop Cookies, Back Pain, and Disinfection Byproducts

Sweet & gooey sunbutter raisin cookies, as well as the dangers of tap water DBPs, and a way to fight back & neck pain.

Dec 30, 2024

Happy Holidays! I caught a cold last week during holiday celebrations with family, so I decided to take the week off and recover. I’m so glad I did as I feel so refreshed after the holidays which can be so draining! I’m feeling great so let’s get back to it!

📰 In This Issue

🌱 The Recipe - Sunbutter Raisin Drop Cookies

These 12-15 minute treats are super gooey and chewy with a nice crispy outside made with simple raisins, oats, (sunflower) seed butter, flax, cinnamon, and vanilla.

They are so healthy, addictive, and easy to make with barely any clean-up (a frying pan, a bowl, and a spoon). You’ll love these as a warming and comforting treat to help you relax into winter.

🌱 Boil Your Tap Water (Maybe w/ Lemon)

Chlorine in water is great as a disinfectant to keep us safe from diseases, but it can react with organic material in water and create dangerous DBP (Disinfection Byproducts) that can increase the “risk of bladder cancer,” “particularly in men” as well as “increased risk of colorectal cancers” and another controlled study called it a “significant risk factor for [colorectal cancers].” Just filtering water might not be enough.

🌱 Back & Neck Pain

Did you know back pain is an NCD (Non-communicable Disease) and the leading cause of disability worldwide?

I suffered from terrible neck and back pain for years that got worse and worse. Possibly from years working in kitchens, with computers (programming), and street-style skateboarding while growing up.

About a year ago I did a bunch of peer-reviewed research on science-backed ways, and reasons, for fixing back and neck pain. Now I do one thing and never have had any back or neck pain since: daily shoulder shrugs.

I know it’s not food but I know how horrible the pain can be, and that back pain is “a major public health issue” with 619 million affected worldwide, so I decided to share my story and findings.

🍲 The Recipe: Sunbutter Raisin Drop Cookies

These delicious drop cookies have a wonderfully crispy exterior and a soft and gooey inside that is perfect for a quick winter treat.

Science-Backed Ingredients
The ingredients in this dish have “shown to help reduce/lower cholesterol”. Protect against cancers like “breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and esophageal cancers.” Might also “[combat] neurodegenerative disease[s]” like dementia and alzheimer’s, as well as possibly fight “chronic kidney disease.” And even “decrease body fat and body weight in adults with obesity,” improve microbiome and more!
(Let me know if you want summaries like this for each new recipe.)

Featured image: Sunbutter Raisin Cookie Drops overview on a plaid plate

The recipes were originally posted on PlantBasedProof.com and you can find the full recipe and tips there

no dairy, no eggs, no wheat, no nuts, no tree nuts, no shellfish, no seafood, no soy, no coconut, no salt added, no oil added, and no sugar added. Sesame free.

Sunbutter Raisin Drop (Stovetop Cookies)

Sunbutter Raisin Cookie Drop's gooey inside

Full Sunbutter Raisin Drop Cookies

🔪 The Recipe: Sunbutter Raisin Drop Cookies
⏲️ Estimated Time: About 12-15 minutes.
🍽️ Servings: Around 6-8 thick cookies (~$0.38 USD ea.)
💵 Cost to make: Around $2.26 USD / $3.25 CAD / €2.17
🕹️ Difficulty: Easy

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 
1/6rd of the recipe (about 1 cookie)
Nutrition Facts:
🔥 124.5 Calories (6.2% DV, based on 2,000 calories)
🧈 6.1g Fat (9.4% DV of 65g)
- 🥓 Saturated Fat: 0.5g
- 🚫 Trans Fat: 0.0g
- 🌰 Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g
- 🥑 Monounsaturated Fat: 4.2g
🥚 Cholesterol: 0.0mg (0.0% DV of 200mg)
🧂 37.3mg Sodium (1.6% DV of 2,300mg)
🌾 15.9g Carbs (0.7% DV of 400g)
🥬 1.6g Fiber (5.7% DV of 28g)
- 🍬 Sugars: 9.3g (18.7% DV of 50g)
💪 2.8g Protein (5.5% DV of 50g)
🍌 177.8mg Potassium (3.8% DV of 4,700mg)
🦴 18.2mg Calcium (1.4% DV of 1,300mg)
🔩 0.8mg Iron (4.6% DV of 18mg)

🚱 Boil Your Tap Water (Maybe w/ Lemon): Disinfectant Byproducts & Cancer

This study says that continuous boiling for “5 min substantially reduced the cytotoxicity of chlorinated and chloraminated water samples by 52.6% and 21.3%, respectively.” and adding lemon to water (7.0 g/L) then boiling the water “substantially decreased the concentrations of halo-DBPs and the cytotoxicity of tap water.”

I found a study that said to boil 15 minutes to remove most of the Disinfectant Byproducts [DBPs] (around ~90% removeal from what I remember), although I can’t find the source (I will update when I find it again).

So boil your water for at least 15 minutes, possibly with lemon, to remove most of the dangerous disinfection byproducts.

Actually, during my research, I found that Erin Brockovich—yes, that Erin Brockovich—has an article on Substack about DBPs and drinking water toxins:

The Brockovich Report

A New Toxin in Our Tap Water?

Water treatment can be a tricky science…

6 months ago · 234 likes · 1 comment · Erin Brockovich and Suzanne Boothby

Erin does a great job explaining the DBPs and I highly recommend you check it out.

🩻 Back & Neck Pain

I had horrible neck and back pain for years, especially after waking up in the morning, and it would be so I could do nothing some days—after a surgery a few years back, my right shoulder and lower back were in constant pain where I couldn’t sleep at night for more than a few hours. I was miserable, in constant pain, and terribly sleep deprived.

Not having the money to spend on expensive professionals I did what most people do. I went to YouTube and did all the muscle threading, flossing, foam rolling, tennis ball, myofascial release, and all that and more! But none of it ever worked, or if it did it wasn’t for very long, and a lot of it just made things even worse.

I did a bunch of research, and now I simply do 1-3 sets of 30 shoulder shrugs, every day, and no more pain or horrible neck or back days since! Here’s how I came to that conclusion.

The Research

I found this randomized control trial a few years ago that concluded “Neck and upper body training can be recommended to improve [health-related quality of life] of females with neck pain if they are motivated for long-term regular exercise,” and some other studies showing the same for both genders like this study.

This more recent meta-study, than the one I originally found, says that it noticed a strong, but unconfirmed, link between the upper trap muscles stiffness and chronic neck pain.

More digging initially helped me to find that shoulder raises are a good no-equipment and low-impact exercise for trapezius muscles that I could still do with extreme neck pain and from anywhere. So I started doing them daily and after about 2 weeks the pain went away and hasn’t been back since.

I know this level of research isn’t as solid as I do with food, but it was enough to give me something to try that has since proved to be priceless to my quality of life and happiness.

If it helps you or if you have other ways that helped you then please share with us all in the comments.

🔜 Coming Soon

Oh wow, so much coming for the new year! I’m working on some brand-new recipes that will blow your WFPB SOS-Free mind! Stay tuned and subscribe.

I’ll be sending out the January Seasonal Produce PDF this week so you can see what’s coming and going out of season next month.

I have a Simmer & Serve Stovetop Pastitsio Lasagna that I will be sharing soon as well. It’s super easy and yummy!

January is usually a great month for soups so I’ll be sharing some of my favorites like: baked potato soup, mushroom soup, and many others which are very quick and easy. I call them Boil & Blend Soups.

I’m also working or more free resources and guides for WFPB SOS-Free living so stay tuned and make sure you’re subscribed.

🔗 PbP Resources

The 5-question reader survey is still open and I’d love to know what you want more of out of this newsletter.

Seasonal Produce - December

The latest Seasonal Produce PDF

The Science-Backed Research Links

Ingredients that Fight Disease - latest additions: Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Raisins.
The Research on Diet and Disease- latest update: Genetics / Epigenetics

Substack Exclusive Mini Health Posts

Cooking Articles, Guides & PDFs

If you think others might find this newsletter useful then please share!

If you have any questions, concerns, complaints, or just want to chat then please feel free to contact me by hitting reply to this email, tapping the button below, or let’s connect on Instagram—I also just joined BlueSky!

Plant Based Pleasures

Discussion about this post