Cinnamon Rolls without the Belly Rolls this week with Jason

Who doesn’t love cinnamon rolls? I wasn’t picky about them back when I ate whatever crossed my path. It could be homemade and fresh baked, or a stale gas station special wrapped in cellophane. I devoured them all.

In my high school years, I worked the summers and weekends with a landscaping crew. It was hard labor. We would push mow 20 lawns a day, load and unload a dump truck with heavy grass clippings and wet leaves, and build landscaping features that required moving heavy materials by hand. Despite all that walking, pushing, lifting, and carrying for 10 to 12 hours a day in the summer heat, I never lost that flabby layer of stomach fat that I hated so much.

Why? We would stop at a gas station every morning to top off the equipment, and I’d get a breakfast fit for a hummingbird. A giant bottle of full octane Coca-Cola, a bag of chips, and a Little Debbie honey bun or a giant cinnamon roll. And to think that I would wonder why I had the shakes for the rest of the drive to Little Rock.

I was getting enough sugar and simple carbs to last me a year, and no amount of hard labor was going to burn off what I was taking in. My poor pancreas and liver. I’m sorry, guys. I should have known better.

I no longer consider those things food and have zero desire to eat them now, even when I fly and smell a Cinnabon store as I walk to my gate. That doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy the flavors and texture of a cinnamon roll, though. I just have to make it my way, lean and mean.

Is it the same as a fluffy and gooey Cinnabon? No, it is not. However, it is delicious, and will satisfy any cinnamon related craving you might be suffering without ill effect on your health. It’s nice to be able to have the same flavors without destroying any health goals you might have, such as staying alive.

Here’s the damage on the most healthy offering Cinnabon has with their plain jane classic bun: 880 calories, 37 grams fat, 1,150 mg sodium, 129 carbs, and 61 grams of sugar. It might be called a “Classic Roll” but that should be amended to say “Classic way to develop type 2 diabetes” with those numbers. If you hate having feet and eyes that work, it’s a great snack.

When I made these for this article, we accidentally ate the whole batch before I could get a picture of the final product. It’s a good thing that these are healthy.

The icing is made from unsweetened macadamia nut milk. Macadamias are about the healthiest nut that Earth is nice enough to provide for us. Unfortunately, it requires a second mortgage on the house just to buy a small jar of them. So, instead of buying the actual nuts, buying a carton of the milk is a cheaper way to get the goodness.

I like walking and seeing, so I’ll go with my version and forgo the Cinnabon or gas station special. It’s not some big, fluffy dough ball, but it is good. It’s also incredibly simple to make, and takes very little time to put together.

Whip up a batch the next time you feel the need for a cinnamon fix. Your feet will thank you.

Lean and Mean Cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:

4 Egglife Egg white wraps, plain style

8 ounces grass fed cream cheese, softened

4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp powdered monkfruit sweetener

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp grass fed butter, melted

Icing:

2 tbsp powdered monkfruit sweetener (more if needed, depending on consistency

Unsweetened Macadamia Nut milk (add as needed}

Instructions:

Set the cream cheese out to soften, then blend with beaters until smooth. Add the powdered sweetener and blend again. Spread the mixture out on 4 egglife wraps, and then sprinkle the cinnamon all over the cream cheese. Roll the tortillas up and brush with the melted butter, then slice into 1/2 inch thick rolls with a sharp knife. Place in an air fryer and fry for 10 -12 minutes. To make the icing, put the 2 tbsp of sweetener in a bowl, and slowly drizzle in the nut milk. Stir constantly until you get the consistency of icing. You might need to add more sweetener or milk until you get the icing that you prefer. Drizzle the icing over the cooked rolls and enjoy. Store leftovers in the fridge. They are just as good cold as they are warm.