Chocolate Avocado Pudding

That time I made pudding out of avocados.

Please save your judgement.

I'd tried a similar version before so when I came across this recipe and knew I had dates needing to be used, it was a no-brainer. Plus, I like healthy non-traditional recipes. And I got to use my nifty high-powered food processor which is always fun!

We had some interesting conversations around it for sure.

"Kati, WHAT is in this cup in here?"

"It's dates I have soaking for a recipe."

*****

Then after I'd made the pudding, Ryan asked:

"Do we have any avocados?"

"No, because I used them in the pudding."

"Oh, NO. I am not eating pudding with avocados."

Wimp. :>

I thought it was yummy and I would totally make it again. You could even add some honey or maple syrup to amp up the sweetness but I enjoyed it as is.

Smooth. Creamy. Chocolaty. And loaded with healthy fat. Try it. You might surprise yourself.

Recipe here.

Valentine's Fare

Strawberries for chocolate dipping.

Aidell's Chicken Apple Sausage with Eggs

Almond Butter Blondies ala PaleOMG

I know you want that blondie recipe. I whipped these up in a mad second this morning because a) I had all the ingredients and b) they looked delicious. Recipe here!

P.S. They are delicious. Happy Valentine's Day!

Wordless Wednesday: Neccessary

#SugarDetox? #Oops #Delicious

Sugarrrrrr!

SUGAR DETOX. Starts tomorrow!

I eat a fairly healthy diet. I've removed gluten due to health issues (more on that later). 

I love fruits and vegetables. But I eat too much sugar. I blame my mother for this! ha. Just kidding mom. She knows I probably inherited my sweet tooth from her. Jim Gaffigan questions the whole sweet tooth theory...

"Oh, you're ordering that for your tooth? How nice. Because it's going straight to your butt."  *paraphrase ;)

While being gluten-free does greatly reduce the number of tempting dessert choices around me, it doesn't eliminate them. But you don't have to eliminate sugar to feel better. Reducing the amount of added sugar in your diet has all sorts of health benefits and I know I feel better when I do.

It's so hard though! You know when the easiest time to talk about quitting sugar is? WHILE YOU'RE STILL EATING SUGAR.

I definitely had some GF chocolate chip cookies over the weekend and ice cream. I just want to do a short sugar "re-set" to see if I notice positive change.

What other foods have added sugar? Barbecue sauce, salad dressing, cereal (my one true love!)

Anyhoo, anybody want to join me? I need encouragement and accountability! I still haven't decided on the exact parameters. I'm thinking of substitutes...

• fruit
• unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon
• frozen bananas blended with chocolate protein powder
• cooked apples with cinnamon and coconut oil

At work, we have a little community basket of chocolates and I love the dark kind. Dark chocolate has health benefits! But I think I'm going to say none for a week at least, and then maybe just 1 if I dearly and desperately need some.

If you want to join me, just comment below! Maybe we'll make up the rules as we go. :>

I baked! ~Cowboy Cookies~

Ever find an exciting new recipe, gather the first few ingredients, start dumping things in a bowl, and then find you're out of (fill-in-the-blank)?

I did that last night. No baking soda! 

BUMMER.

I thought about asking a neighbor for some, ya know, like back in the good ol' days but I decided instead to make Ryan buy some on his way home from work. He sweetly obliged.

*****

These cookies are so good! I really liked them and when my toddler happily scarfs down two as well, I consider it a recipe success. It's not my recipe but I'll gladly share it here. Don't be scared by the avocado. Or the apple cider vinegar. I thought these were even yummier this morning after an overnight stay in the fridge.

(Avocado Coconut) Cowboy Cookies ~ by: What RUNS Lori
Recipe here

Aren't they purty?? (said in a cowboy voice) They are more muffin-like than cookie and I threw a couple in the freezer too to save. *I used cows milk and dark chocolate chips.* I will definitely make these again!

Hey, it's Friday. And I have a feel-good-Friday song for you. You can't listen to this and NOT feel happy.

LISTEN!

=)

Sweet Potato Brownies

I'm a brownie lover.  But I finally realized there are some healthier alternatives to buying a box of Duncan Hines.  Thankfully, food blogs are the best way to find and try out some tasty chocolate recipes!  You usually get pictures and can read through the comments to see what other readers thought and what changes they made to the recipe. 

 

We had baked sweet potatoes with our Sunday lunch and had one left over so I started searching for recipes using Google that used sweet potato and coconut flour.  I finally landed on this one and thought it sounded yummy!

 

I followed the recipe to a tee but used regular old Tom Thumb honey instead of raw. =)  I probably could have cooked them just a tad bit longer because when I went to cut them after cooling a while, they were kinda gooey.  An extra five minutes might have helped.

Wanna see?

The best part ~ Licking the bowl

 

 

These were pretty simple to throw together and I love that the bulk of the recipe is wholesome healthy sweet potato!  I used 60% giradhelli chocolate chips.  These are definitely not as bread or cake like as a brownie but are very moist.  Longer baking time and/or more coconut flour might help but I wouldn't add too much more.  Try these brownies if you're up for something new!  Perfectly sweet tasting and indulgent.

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

I love apple crisp.  But I wanted to make it without the gluten-y flour.  I used this recipe from the Spunky Coconut.  I kept carrying the magic bullet into another room to blend ingredients because my toddler was supposed to be napping.  I'm not kidding  The things I do for dessert food. 

 

It was super yum!  We ate half the dish. 

Yeah...that last one.  Just do it.  Apple crisp is exponentially better with vanilla ice cream.

 

I used regular sugar instead of coconut and used walnuts in place of pecans since I had some already.  Ryan was a fan and Karlyn kept asking for more "ice cream cone."

Happy Fall ya'll.