Healthy {to die for} Chocolate Fudge

I like chocolate. Like...LIKE chocolate. Like, feed it to me by the spoonful. So that's what I did. 

I have about 2.4 million allergies (ok, not quite that many...) so it's VERY difficult for me to find desserts that TASTE like dessert, that I can eat. 

So, I bring you...

Healthy superfood chocolate fudge. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp nut or seed butter of choice (separates)

1 scoop chocolate Shakeology 

2 tbsp cacao nibs (or dark chocolate chips)

1 tbsp milk of choice 

Directions: in a microwave safe bowl, warm the 1/4 nut/seed butter, so it's stirs easily. Add in the 1 scoop Shakeology. It WILL be thick, but just keep stirring! In a small dish, combine the cacao nibs and the milk. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir, until you have a chocolate sauce. Add the chocolate sauce to your nut/seed butter + Shakeology mix, and stir, stir, stir! Once well combined, lightly stir in the additional 2 tbsp nut/seed butter, until you have a swirl effect. Spread out the mixture on a silicone baking sheet or waxed paper, and freeze for about 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer, cut in to squares, and store in the freezer in an air tight container. 

Voila!

Coconut Flour Brownies || Allergen Free ~ Gluten Free ~ Sugar Free ~ Grain Free

Hi... *waves*. I'm Anna, and I have a million allergies and intolerances. You too? Nice to meet you! Even if you don't, I think you'll love these fudgey LOW CALORIE (yes, I said it) brownies. My toddler ate 2. Ok, 3. And I was fine with that ;-)

Note: these aren't your run-of-the-mill box brownies. These are fudge-like in texture and have a great coconut-chocolate flavor! But if you're used to "box brownies", you might not like these ;-)

Ok, I'll get on with the recipe, already :-)

Ingredients: 

1 cup coconut flour (spooned in to a measuring cup - don't scoop right from the bag or pack it down)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup + 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Stevia to taste

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or milk of choice)

4 tbsp ground flax seed + 1/2 cup water (stir and set aside for 3-5 minutes)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 350*. In a small bowl, combine the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine & set aside. In a small sauce pan, combine the applesauce, cocoa powder, and stevia. I used raw stevia, and about 2 tbsp worth. Heat the sauce pan on low until the mixture becomes warm and the cocoa powder melts with applesauce and gets runny. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine coconut milk, flax/water mixture, and vanilla. Stir. Add in the wet ingredients from the sauce pan to the milk mix.  Whisk thoroughly, then whisk in the flour/soda/salt. Do not over mix. Grease an 8x8 pan (for thick brownies) or a larger pan for thinner brownies (I used a 12" round pan) and spread your batter evenly throughout the pan. Top with a few chocolate chips or nuts, if desired! Cook for 30-35 minutes. The brownies will seem undercooked! Let them sit out until room temperature, and place in the frig until cool. They have a delicious, fudge-like texture! Cut in to 12 servings. 

Coconut Flour Brownies ~ Allergen Free, Grain free.

Hi... *waves*. I'm Anna, and I have a million allergies and intolerances. You too? Nice to meet you! Even if you don't, I think you'll love these fudgey LOW CALORIE (yes, I said it) brownies. My toddler ate 2. Ok, 3. And I was fine with that ;-)

Note: these aren't your run-of-the-mill box brownies. These are fudge-like in texture and have a great coconut-chocolate flavor! But if you're used to "box brownies", you might not like these ;-)

Ok, I'll get on with the recipe, already :-)

Ingredients: 

1 cup coconut flour (spooned in to a measuring cup - don't scoop right from the bag or pack it down)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup + 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Stevia to taste

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or milk of choice)

4 tbsp ground flax seed + 1/2 cup water (stir and set aside for 3-5 minutes)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 350*. In a small bowl, combine the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine & set aside. In a small sauce pan, combine the applesauce, cocoa powder, and stevia. I used raw stevia, and about 2 tbsp worth. Heat the sauce pan on low until the mixture becomes warm and the cocoa powder melts with applesauce and gets runny. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine coconut milk, flax/water mixture, and vanilla. Stir. Add in the wet ingredients from the sauce pan to the milk mix.  Whisk thoroughly, then whisk in the flour/soda/salt. Do not over mix. Grease an 8x8 pan (for thick brownies) or a larger pan for thinner brownies (I used a 12" round pan) and spread your batter evenly throughout the pan. Top with a few chocolate chips or nuts, if desired! Cook for 30-35 minutes. The brownies will seem undercooked! Let them sit out until room temperature, and place in the frig until cool. They have a delicious, fudge-like texture! Cut in to 12 servings. 

I Can't Believe I Just Ate That. Now What?

So you ate Christmas dinner. Then a piece of pie. And egg nog. Then a piece of cheesecake. And dang it, you already blew your diet, so why have another piece?

Wrong.

We’ve all had those days where we stuff our face and then think, “Oh my gosh, what did I just do?” If you’re like me, you beat yourself up about it, and get so frustrated with yourself that you dip in to a slump and eat more because you’re upset.

Be kind to yourself, emotionally and physically. I tend to beat myself up for so long if I “mess up” with my nutrition. Several years ago I struggled with an undiagnosed eating disorder. I would slip up on my “diet” and would punish myself by further restricting calories throughout the day and running and exercising that much harder and longer. It was terrible. I was unhappy with myself and hated my body, even though I put so much work in to it. I was 95 pounds at my lowest, and my tiny 5’5” frame was frail. Believe me when I say that I understand. I’ve been there. Give yourself grace on this journey. We’re not perfect, and we’re not meant to be.

With that said, here are a few steps on what to do if you do binge eat.

1.     Put down the fork. Walk away. Think and say to yourself, “I will not have any more (insert food here).” Walking away and verbal acknowledgement is the hardest part!

2.     Drink a glass of water.

3.     If it’s evening time, go to bed. If it’s the middle of the day, find a distraction: go for a walk, run an errand, vacuum, etc. Do something that physically removes from the location and gets your mind off of the food.

4.     The day after you binge eat, wake up, drink a glass of water, and do 45-60 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio activity.

5.     Throughout the day, eat lots of greens & drink lots of water! Try eating a vegetarian diet for the day, as meat is more difficult for the body to breakdown. We want to flush as much of the gunk out of your system as possible.

6.     Stop eating an hour earlier than normal, in the evening, and go to bed an hour earlier. This gives your body that time to play catch up J

…and no matter what, LOVE YOURSELF.

Ooey-Gooey {healthy} Brownies.

Delicious chocolatey-ness, just WAITING for you to dive in and indulge, if you can even call it that. Because they're HEALTHY. Say "hello" to fiber. And chocolate. And vegetables. And chocolate. And fruit. And chocolate.

This recipe is for a triple batch. I never make a single batch of anything! Make more. Store them in the freezer. Make them less often. Unless you like to lick the spoon, like this guy. In that case, make them often. Very often!

Let's get to it! In a food processor or blender (if you're making them in the blender, make one third of this recipe), combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth:

3 can of black beans, drained and rinsed. 

2.25 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup oatmeal flour or brown rice flour 

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2.5 cups grated zucchini 

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 

1/3 cup xylitol 

Blend until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips. Bake at 360 degrees for about 20-25 minutes in a greased 9x13 pan. Refrigerate and cut. Enjoy! 

CHEWY Gluten free • Vegan • No Sugar Added • OATMEAL COOKIES

Um, yum. I may or may not have eaten 2 of these. Plus batter. Hey, they're healthy! And it was lunch time. Nothin' better for lunch than a few cookies! And protein, of course, in the form of a turkey burger patty. With mustard. And salsa. Cause I'm weird like that.

Anyways, I'll cut to the chase. You're not here to listen to me blab about lunch. You. Want. Cookies. And I don't blame ya. So, here goes...

Indredients!

1 cup Bob's Gluten Free Old Fashioned Oatmeal

1 1/2 cups oatmeal flour (I put about 3 cups of oatmeal in my blender & blended until it became a powder)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract (Costco's Kirkland brand is GF)

1 cup shredded zucchini 

1 cup puréed carrots

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (or 2 eggs )

1/3 cup xylitol

Chocolate chips, if desired

Any other add-ins! Craisins, raisins, nuts, seeds...

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, combine oatmeal, oatmeal flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. In a larger  bowl, combine the vanilla, zucchini, puréed carrots (wanna cheat? Buy organic puréed carrot baby food. It works great!), flaxseed, and xylitol. Mix well with hand beaters. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips and other desired add-ins. Bake on greased cookie sheet for about 8 minutes. Makes about 15 cookies...but that also depends on how much batter you eat!