Happy Friday!!!!

Okay friends…. The more you get to know me the more it should come as NO SURPRISE that I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I just don’t see life without them… It’s not gonna happen. In fact, I had a minor panic attack this week when I realized I was completely out of dark chocolate in my whole house and I had $0 left in my grocery budget for January.. It’s a good thing today is the 1st! New month = new food budget.  Okay, back to sugar. One of my sweet friends has a list on her fridge of 60 different names for sugar and you know what, I am almost positive that every time I look at that list it makes me want something sugary more! Yikes! Definitely NOT a healthy list for my fridge. I would just go through my sweets and treats faster than I already do.

What does happen every once in a while is me trying to be just a little more healthy with my sugar. This past week I was able to go to a girls night where we focused on healthier dishes and sides. I love these nights because it gives me a chance to taste test healthier items without having to go through the effort of making a whole healthy item and not enjoying it and wasting it. I am not a super picky person but what I don’t like I just don’t like. I’m also quite stubborn about it- have been since I was little. I was usually the last one at the table, sometimes hours after dinner because you can bet that those peas were NOT going to be eaten. If they were, I was going to swallow them whole with a big swig of milk because the grit of cooked peas in my mouth still makes me cringe. Truthfully, not having to eat what I don’t want to is one of my favorite parts of being an adult! Ha!

So today I am going to share a couple things with you! These are my favorite healthy (well, healthier) dessert recipes! I honestly don’t know enough about the different health diets and food regimens so I cannot tell you if anything I make is vegetarian, vegan, paleo, or anything besides just food. Sorry! Okay, on to the goodness…

Recipe 1: yummy, healthy No Bake cookies! The original recipe I go off of for this is from Mels Kitchen Cafe. She has lots of yummy recipes if you need some ideas! I’ve altered mine just a little bit to suit my likes so check out her site if you want the original recipe.

•  1 cup natural peanut butter (natural Jiff wored great!)
•  1/2 cup coconut oil
•  1/2 cup honey
•  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•  1 cup dark-chocolate chocolate chips
•  2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
•  3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/3 c. sweetened coconut
•  1 cup slivered, raw almonds

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the peanut butter and coconut oil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in the honey and vanilla until combined.
2. Immediately stir in the chocolate chips until melted (if the mixture is too cool to melt them completely, return the saucepan to low heat to help it along without bringing it to a simmer).
3. Add the oats, cocoa powder, coconut, and almonds. Stir until well-combined.
4. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. (Tin-foil works fine, too!) Refrigerate until set.
5. The cookies will keep in a tupperware-type container (layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment) in the refrigerator for a week or more.

A special note with these cookies… Because they are nade with coconut oil they need to be stored in the refrigerator. If you keep them on the counter because of the melting point of coconut oil they tend to get melty and aren’t as yummy as when they are cold.

 

Recipe 2: this little dessert is something my husband and I came up with when we were doing the 21 Day Fix Beach Body program. It’s not 100% approved since the yogurt isn’t plain, lowfat greek yogurt so don’t go telling Autumn on me!! Here is what you need.

• -Greek Gods Honey or Honey Vanilla Yogurt (1 cup).
• -Dark Chocolate Chips (1/4 cup)
• -Unsweetened (or sweetened) Coconut (2 TBSP.)
• -Fresh Raspberries

Get yourself your favorite bowl. Layer everything. Put everything back in the fridge and cupboard so you can’t keep coming back for more. Grab a spoon, your favorite book or Netflix show and enjoy! I’ll warn ya on this one – it is ADDICTING.

 

Now, go enjoy your weekend!