Zucchini Chocolate Bars (paleo)

I am not the biggest fan of the Paleo Diet… Since I don’t like meat, it’s hard for me to thrive on a diet of meat, veggies and nuts. Just not my cup-o-tea. What I do like from this lifestyle (I hate the term “diet.” In order for anything to become a success in your life, I think there needs to be a lifestyle change) is the cutting out of processed sugars, flours, and all-together, processed crap. I think that is valuable and should be adapted into most lifestyles, and something I am working on myself.

What I am a big fan of is zucchini and chocolate. When I saw these flourless zucchini brownies from Delighted Momma, I knew I wanted to try them. Every ingredient in the bars is simple and something I have on hand. I adapted the recipe a bit, but kept them pretty true to the original recipe.

Zucchini Chocolate Bars (adapted from this recipe)

• 1/3 C almond butter
• 1/3 C peanut butter
• 1/3 C pumpkin
• 1/3 C honey
• 1.5 C finely chopped zucchini
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 1 C dark chocolate chips

Do this: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan; mix all ingredients well and pour into greased pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

**These DO have a VERY zucchini-y taste… Not sure my thoughts on that… I think adding cocoa to the recipe would help… I’ll keep working on this recipe, trying to improve it!

Workout motivation of a different nature

I’ve posted on workout motivation before… But this is a whole different kind of motivation. In order to eat these tasty treats, I feel the need to workout first.

Today, I was lazy enough to skip the gym all together and just search delish food blogs, instead.

Please vote in the poll for one of these recipes and I’ll make the winner this month! That especially means my friends that read this blog!

Enjoy.

Oreo Cheesecake Cake from Erin’s Food Files

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes c/o Food Snots

Strawberry Shortcake Sushi created by Take a Megabite

Pizza Bites from Annie’s Eats

 

Banana Bread Scones w/ Brown Sugar Glaze via The Kitchn

Hot Corn Dip created by Gina Marie’s Kitchen

Chicken, Bacon, and Cream Cheese Taquitos from Mommy I’m Hungry

protein brownie cake for one!

I am obsessed with these little cakes! This recipe started when I found this recipe from Raspberry & Coconut and has changed over the past few weeks that I’ve been making it! I have also found that I can eat half as part of my breakfast and put the rest in the fridge for another time. One day I’ll try and make a whole cake stemming from this recipe, but for now these individual ones are perfect!

The recipe below includes banana which so far has been my favorite, as opposed to applesauce or pumpkin.

Protein Brownie Cake for One

• 1 T coconut flour (I have not tried subbing any other flour)
• 2 T whey isolate (chocolate flavor; I have also used regular, not isolate, powder)
• 2 T unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 3 T coffee (you can use water or milk instead)
• 3 T banana puree (I use older bananas – you could also use baby food, pumpkin puree, or applesauce!)
• 3 T egg whites

Spray microwavable dish with nonstick spray; microwave for 2 minutes and then flip the cake and microwave for another 1 minute.

Eat and enjoy! I like mine for breakfast with tons of strawberries on top or for a snack with a scoop of ice cream or yogurt!

Friday Favorites

Just a bit of a weekly recap of some things you should take a look at, that I have been enjoying the past few days!

First – check out Worthy Heart for some great inspirational quotes/art!

This chocolate protein cake recipe has seen my microwave multiple times this week. Get on it.

This recipe made it’s debut in my kitchen last night and I’m obsessed [by the way – I sub’d 3 T applesauce for 3 T coconut oil].

If you haven’t heard, Jimmy Fallon and I need to be best buds. He is hilarious – down right and he has a great head of hair. Wednesday night he did a hilarious sketch of his usual Celebrity Whispers. Probably my favorite one so far. This one’s pretty good, too.

I finally found the bedding I want… But then I realized it’s about 1 million dollars. Not in my budget, buddy.

I’ve been wanting to try foam rolling for awhile now but never purchased a roller. The friend I stayed with for my recent marathon had one and another friend brought one. Let’s just say I still want one.

The last book (series) I read was the Hunger Games. This book by Shellie Warren is quite different. It is way better (for other reasons – obviously the Hunger Games is fantastic) and so convicting and challenging. I recommend it to men and women alike.

Finally, this scripture has been speaking volumes to me this week. God made a covenant with Israel – a covenant of peace. And in Isaiah 54:10 he promises it will not be removed, no matter what. What promise!

Friday Favorites: Food Edition

Today’s favorites are some of my favorite food-related things from this week!

Enjoy!

Article: A Biblical Theology of Food

Recipe: Ice Cream Cupcakes

Recipe: Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

Article: Your Grandma was Right: All Things in Moderation

Recipe: Banana Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Singles

Photos: Mini Food Art

Quote

Friday Favorites

Posts this week:

• Let it go
• April challenge
• Easy roasted brussels sprouts
• Turkey meatloaf muffins
• Marathon training: another race, another metaphor

Three cookie recipes I made yesterday:

• Martha Stewart’s Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies – [B-] These were okay… They turned out much more flat than I had hoped and were a bit too buttery/salty for my taste.
• No Bake Cookies – [A+] your standard no bake recipe and turned out great!
• The Banana Chocolate Chip cookies I love so much

Have a good weekend! What some final four (go OSU!) and eat some good food! Check out these things I liked this week:

Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake from Six Sisters’ Stuff

This fantastic sofa and decor from the portfolio of Lucyina Moodie

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches created by the Chef in Training

I love this reminder from Muffin Top-Less

Be yourself! 

I love my job, but if I could get paychecks without working I totally would.

There’s a website that has some funny pictures on it, and sometimes they put up funny facebook comments. This one had me laughing so much! Haha I don’t know why I thought it was so funny!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Oatmeal Cookies

I may have just created a cookie I like more than my old friend, chocolate chip.

Wait, wait, wait. Impossible!

But these come close.

The other day I was in the bulk section, just trying to get a c o u p l e chocolate covered peanuts in my bag of trail mix… And it’s a dispenser where you pull down a handle so inevitably I got WAY more peanuts in my bag than I wanted… I think they make these dispensers like that on purpose. You can’t even pour some back in the bin. So, I just bought all of them and decided to make a cookie out of ’em.

Just try them, okay?

Chocolate Covered Peanut Oatmeal Cookies [my recipe]

• 1 stick butter (1/2 C), softened
• 2/3 C packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 C flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 2 C rolled oats
• 1 C chopped chocolate covered peanuts

Do this: preheat that oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter, sugar and egg; add vanilla. In separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Stir in oats and then add chocolate covered peanuts!

Bake for about 12 minutes!

Pumpkin Biscotti

I’ve been wanting to make biscotti and scones for awhile now. Not long ago I made some delish blackberry scones.

Today I tried the biscotti.

I used a recipe from Simply Recipes dot com. I did substitute Splenda for sugar, and whole wheat flour for white.

Here’s my adapted version of the recipe:

Pumpkin Biscotti

• 2.5 C flour
• 1 C sugar substitute
• pinch salt
• pinch ginger
• pinch cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Do this: Preheat oven to 350. in a large bowl sift together all dry ingredients (flour through baking powder); combine well. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin and vanilla until combined. Add wet ingredients into dry and mix. Dough will [definitely] be crumbly. Knead the dough with your hand and form a log. Place onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes; drop oven temp to 300.

Cut biscotti into about 1 inch pieces and put back in oven for an additional 15-20 minutes. If you wish the biscotti to be hard, let set out over night – I recommend this; otherwise they are soft and a bit chewy, not really like biscotti!

Drizzle with chocolate, if you so desire!

Enjoy!

Overnight Oat Cookies

Overnight Oat Cookies [My original recipe]

This is one of my favorite recipes I have ever created. There is NO added sugar, NO butter/fat, and NO dairy. You can substitute the egg for a flax egg if you wish and make the recipe vegan (also depending on your protein powder of choice).

The cookies are tasty and guilt-free! So eat up and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C steel-cut oats
• 1/2 C + 2 T non-dairy milk, divided (1/2 C and 2 T)
• 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
• 2 T chia seeds
• 1/2 C water
• 3/4 C whole wheat flour
• 1/4 C wheat bran
• 1/4 C protein powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1 egg
• optional: nuts, chocolate chips, raisins or other dried fruit

Prepare the oats:

• 1/2 C steel-cut oats
• 2 T non-dairy milk (or regular milk is fine)
• 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
• 2 T chia seeds

Do this: combine all ingredients and place in covered container overnight

Cook the oats (next day):

• Start by placing overnight oats with 1/2 C non-dairy (or regular) milk and 1/2 C water in microwavable bowl and cook for about 6 minutes in microwave, stirring every couple minutes.

While oats are cooking, combine:

• 3/4 C whole wheat flour
• 1/4 C wheat bran
• 1/4 C protein powder (I used chocolate)
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• in separate bowl combine any add-ins: chocolate chips, nuts, raisins (I used 1/4 C of all 3)*

Once oats are finished cooking combine dry ingredients and oats along with 1 egg. Stir quickly so egg does not cook.

*chocolate chips will melt during the combining process with oats.

Bake for ~10-12 minutes or until firm.

cold day run and cookies

Saturday night I got in bed and thought to myself, “tomorrow I will sleep in as long as my body allows!!”

Wouldn’t you know my body allowed me to sleep until around 7am. I stayed in bed for awhile and then made myself one awesome breakfast before getting ready to head to Caribou Coffee to study a bit, sip some green tea, and then get my day going!

waffle, cinnamon syrup, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries; coffee

I ran around, did some stuff and returned home to eat a really random lunch…

TJ's roasted red pepper soup, broccoli and carrots, 1/2 pita pocket and a Cutie. Very orange. Very odd.

Then… I headed outside in the cold to attempt a run. I’ve never run in the cold like this – nor did I ever think I’d try. But I was challenged yesterday to run a full marathon at the end of April and I figured I better just start suckin’ it up when the sun’s out and r-u-n. Other motivation included a hot bowl of chocolate oatmeal and baking something sweet upon return. I’ll run fast for those two things!

 

I actually enjoyed the run… I can’t decide if I enjoy the cold or warm weather for running more… It wasn’t so bad, like I expected!

 

The rest of the day I just did a lot of studying, eating those cookies, pizza, and more studying.

 

I did get to hang out with a few friends for about an hour later in the evening. That was a much needed break. Fellowship with friends is always a good change of pace!