Peanut Butter and Chocolate Apple Bites

Swimsuit season is right around the corner people! I've definitely procrastinated so its time to hit the gym hard (like the PTFTriathalon) and eat extra healthy. But is it just me or does everything I look at turn into one giant chocolate fountain or candy bar? It's a problem I'm working on.  So to fix that I try to incorporate a little sweets into my diet even when I'm trying to eat healthy so that I don't binge eat later...learned that the hard way :)

In browsing for some sweet treats to make I came across these peanut butter chocolate apple bites. They had me at peanut, so I just had to make them. They are so delicious and hit the spot. Take my advice and make sure you have all these ingredients in your pantry at all times so you will always have a healthy alternative for your sugar cravings.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Apple Bites
makes 16 wedges 
PREP: 5 minutes           COOK: 30 seconds            READY IN: 6 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 2 apples, cored and cut into wedges
• 1/4 cup low fat peanut butter
• 1/8 cup rolled oats or granola of your choice
• 2 tablespoons semi sweet or dark chocolate, melted (optional)

DIRECTIONS

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1. Core and cut apples in to 8 wedges each. 
2. Cover each apple with a small amount of peanut butter.
3. Top with oats or granola then drizzle with small amount of chocolate. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 wedge  43 calories  3g fat   5g carbs    1g protein    2g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from www.thecomfortofcooking.com

Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread

I told you in my post last week that when you make zucchini pasta, you need to save the centers that don't work for pasta so that you can turn them into some fabulously delicious zucchini bread. And here, my friends, I bring you the absolutely perfect recipe for using that leftover zucchini! (You could probably even use some of the leftover carrot if you're making pasta with them together!) Just throw those zucchini centers into the grater of your food processor (or grate them yourself, but be warned they'll be pretty moist since the seedy center has tons of water), and you'll come up with perfectly grated zucchini to add to this amazing bread.

This bread is not too sweet (with only 7 grams of sugar per serving, it only has 1/4 cup of honey plus the natural sweetness of the banana), but it is perfectly chocolatey, perfectly moist, and perfectly healthy (okay, maybe not as healthy as those veggie noodles you just made - but hey, if you just had veggie noodles you've earned a little indulgence!) This bread would be perfect as a healthy treat, or even as a yummy addition to breakfast.

Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread
2 Loaves or 24 Muffins
PREP: 20 minutes           COOK: 45-50 minutes            READY IN: 75 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional) 
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray two 8-inch loaf pans, or 24 muffin cups (or you can do 1 loaf pan and 12 muffin cups) with cooking spray.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients (flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in a large bowl. 
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the mashed banana, oil, eggs, honey, vanilla and almond extract. Fold in the grated zucchini, followed by the chocolate chips.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tins, filling about halfway. Bake loaves for 45-50 minutes (muffins for 25-30 minutes). Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or if you lightly press a finger the indent doesn't remain. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1/12th of loaf or 1 muffin    113 calories   4.3 g fat   17.9 g carbs    2.1 g protein    7.0 g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Weelicious.

Sugar-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Happy Friday and Happy Last Day of February!

Thanks for joining me this month in my Healthy Habits Challenge to Eat Less Sugar! I've technically made it to the end of my own sugar-free challenge that started January 1. While you might be thinking that I should totally celebrate this weekend and go out and eat tons of the treats I've been staying away from since January, I honestly have felt so good about the changes I've been making I plan to keep it up longer. I'll probably give myself a bit more leniency, but I definitely plan to stay 100% away from super-sugary foods like candy. Mostly because I know I have such a weakness that it is a slippery slope for me - but also because I figure there is so little good in them, if I'm going to indulge I might as well look for high-quality indulgences! But, though I won't be spending the weekend eating the bag of cinnamon bears that my mom sent me for Valentine's Day, it's entirely likely that I'll make up another batch of these lovelies! These scrumptious darlings are fantastic not only because you can make them as sugar-free (read: guilt-free) as you like, but they have the healthy bonuses of real peanut butter - not that faux-whatever that is inside packaged PB cups. Not that I can denigrate Reese's too much, because I won't deny that they are a favorite of mine.  No longer, though - I am committed to bigger and better things!

So, let's raise our "cups" to making a healthy habit out of eating less sugar! And, as they say in Spanish ... "Salud! To your health!"

*I should explain that when I say you can make them as sugar-free as you like, I mean that you can sweeten up or down both the chocolate and the peanut butter filling depending on your preferences. The chocolate cup is definitely intended to be a dark chocolate so that the sugar content is lower. I try to stick with 72% or darker, and ideally 85% or darker. If you want to sweeten the chocolate a little more without added sugar, you can add Stevia. Same goes for the peanut butter filling: you can put it in au natural with no added sweetener, or you can sweeten it up a bit with either a touch of Stevia (don't overdo it or you get the aftertaste) or even a bit of honey. 

Sugar-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
12 SERVINGS 
PREP: 15 minutes           REFRIGERATE: 20-30 minutes            READY IN: 45 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 6-8 ounces dark chocolate pieces (72% or higher, unsweetened baking chocolate can be used but will need some type of sweetener)
• 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
• 4 tablespoons natural peanut butter (with a drop or two of liquid stevia or 1/2 tablespoon honey, if desired)

DIRECTIONS

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1. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate pieces and butter/coconut oil. Melt by cooking in the microwave for 1 minute, then stir, followed by 30-second intervals of cooking with stirring in between until the chocolate is smooth. 
2. Using paper candy wrappers or a miniature muffin tin (greased beforehand), spoon in a thin layer of chocolate to each spot and spread slightly up the sides. Place the tin in the refrigerator or freezer to allow the layer to harden. 
3. Once you have a layer of chocolate in the bottom of each container, place approximately 1 teaspoon of peanut butter in each, followed by another layer of chocolate over the top. (You can also sprinkle the top with coarse salt for salted peanut butter cups.) Again, place the tray in the fridge or freezer to allow the chocolate to harden.

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 piece    119 calories   8.8 g fat   7.4 g carbs    2.5 g protein    4.2 g sugar   

Enjoy!

How to Host a Gourmet Caramel Apple Party

Those who love Halloween are passionate about one of two things: the Scary or the Sweet. I happen to fall in the latter category, and my sweet tooth goes wild this time of year. One of our traditions at our house in the fall is to make "gourmet caramel apples"- fashioned after the decadently coated creations that we discovered at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory while living in Colorado. We discovered that we could fairly easily re-create the exquisite treats with some of our own favorite candies, cookies, and chocolate toppings. Some friends got wind of our tradition a few years back, as well as the fact that they and my husband had a shared obsession with Mel Brooks films, and we decided it would be a perfect Halloween get-together to dip caramel apples and watch Young Frankenstein. Thus, our Halloween Caramel Apple Party was born. 

Here's how it works: We invite two or three couples over, instructing each that we will provide caramels and apples for dipping if they will bring a favorite topping or two. We then spend the evening chatting as we crush, melt, and dip, after which we sit down and watch a "light" Halloween film while munching on the fruits (no pun intended) of our labors. We're not big into the super-spooky Halloween flicks, and our film selections have ranged from Young Frankenstein, to Little Shop of Horrors, to Arsenic and Old Lace. Our original crew of apple dippers and Mel Brooks fans have moved on to other life endeavors, but we've tried to keep up the tradition by choosing a few new couples to invite each year. It's a fun and simple excuse to spend an evening with friends, and a Halloween tradition that we've come to look forward to.

A very important note: The best part of discovering caramel apples at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory was learning to imitate the way they cut the apples for you. This will revolutionize the way you think about caramel apples! No more sticky mess in your teeth as you try to take ineffective bites out of your apple. To truly enjoy a caramel apple - especially one that's coated in all sorts of chocolate candy goodness, you simply must cut it up. Simply take a large knife, and make four cuts around the core of the apple. You're basically cutting a tic-tac-toe into the apple, with the apple core in the center square (see the picture below). This leaves you with 8 scrumptious slices of apple that are easy to bite, and which each give you the perfect blend of all the wonderful layers of gourmet caramel apple deliciousness!

Gourmet Caramel Apples

4-5 SERVINGS (We typically double the batch and make about 2 apples per couple, so there's a few to share and at least one to take home)

PREP: 15 minutes           COOK: 3-5 minutes in the microwave 

READY IN: 20-90 minutes (depending on how distracted you get with chatting as you make them!)

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 4-5 medium to large apples (crispy and tart varieties, such as Fuji, Granny Smith, or Gala are best)
• 1 (14 oz.) bag of caramel candies
• 2 tablespoons water
• Wooden sticks (these often come with the caramels in the fall, or you can get them in the craft store)
• An assortment of candies, cookies, chocolate, and nuts for dipping and drizzling. Some of our favorites are:
• Crushed oreo cookies
• Crushed graham crackers or vanilla wafers
• Crushed pretzel pieces
• Other crushed candy bar pieces, such as m&ms, Reese's, Crunch, Butterfinger, Heath, etc.
• Nuts - crushed almond pieces, crushed peanut pieces, pecan or walnut pieces
• Cinnamon and sugar 
• White chocolate and dark or milk chocolate chips (for melting and drizzling)

DIRECTIONS

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1. Prep all your ingredients: Wash and dry your apples, and put crushed toppings into individual bowls. You will also want to prepare some pieces of wax paper (one for each apple) on a plate or tray to set the dipped apples on.
2. Place unwrapped caramel candies and 2 tablespoons water in a medium-sized glass (or other microwave safe) bowl.
3. Heat caramels for 2-3 minutes in microwave, stopping every 30-60 seconds to stir the caramel.
4. Once the caramels are completely melted, take an apple with a wooden stick inserted and place it in the caramel. Using a spoon, scoop the caramel onto the apple until it is covered completely. (If your caramel is still very hot, the caramel will tend to be thinner on the apple. If you want a thicker caramel layer, let the caramel cool just a bit.)
5. Remove the apple from the caramel using the stick and let the caramel set just a bit. Roll in the topping(s) of your choice - it will mostly stick to the warm caramel, but you may need to help it a bit by gently pressing with your hands or the back of a spoon.
6. Now place the apples in the fridge to let the caramel set even more. Meanwhile, prep your chocolate toppings by microwaving chocolate chips for 2-3 minutes (again, stirring every 30-60 seconds). Once the chocolate is melted, an easy way to drizzle it onto your apples is to spoon it into one corner of a quart-sized freezer bag, cut a very small triangle off the corner of the bag, and squeeze the chocolate out onto your apples. This way you can control where and how much chocolate goes onto the apple. 
7. Once again, place the apples into the fridge to help the chocolate set. Then, when you can't stand the wait any longer, cut (make sure you read the very important cutting notes!), serve, and enjoy!

You can let yourself go wild and create any combination of toppings that you want - they will pretty much all be amazing! But some of our favorites are: 

• Oreo pieces with dark and white chocolate
• Chocolate-covered pretzels: Pretzel pieces with dark or milk chocolate
• Nuts (any kind, really) with chocolate
• Apple pie: graham cracker or nilla wafer crumbs with white chocolate and cinnamon/sugar sprinkles

NUTRITION FACTS

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    (I'm not going to even bother with nutrition facts here. Let's just say they're really good ... and that I won't judge if you tell yourself that they're somewhat good for you so that you can justify having another piece! "An apple a day..." right?)

Happy Halloween!
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Recipe Refresh: Date Night Mug Brownies

A familiar scene at our house...
It's Friday night. It has been a long week - work, kids, work, kids, work, kids... Our children are (finally) in bed, and my husband and I are looking at each other, exhausted, wondering if it's even worth trying to piece together some semblance of a date night. I know you know what I'm talking about here. If you have children, I'm sure you've been there too.

This is an all-too-familiar scene at our house, but we recently discovered an antidote to our date night blues. On a recent Friday, while my husband was putting the finishing touches on bedtime with our preschooler, I decided we needed something besides the usual "let's sit together on the couch while we watch something and call it a date." Not having a lot of energy left after a long week, however, I needed something quick, easy, and delectable. These mug brownies were perfect! They're quick (hello, 5 minutes!), they're easy (can you measure a tablespoon and turn on the microwave?), and their warm, fudgy, chocolaty goodness totally hits the spot. Not to mention, this makeover mug brownie is nothing to feel guilty about. At just over 200 calories (vs. more than 500 in the original), this is a dessert to kick back with your feet up and enjoy to the very last scrape (or lick - whichever you prefer to make sure you haven't missed a morsel in the bottom of that mug!) Plus, they're even customizable, so you and your date don't even have to agree on which flavor to make - you can each have it the way you like it.

Our date night was saved, and yours can be too. (Now, if you can only decide which movie to watch...) Here's hoping the kids stay in bed ... Cheers!

Recipe Refresh: Date Night Mug Brownies
1 SERVING (Double for date night) 
PREP: 4 minutes (yes, 4!)     COOK: 30 seconds (yes, seconds!)     
READY IN: 5 minutes (huzzah!)

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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For one serving/mug (Hint: you'll want to make 2 for a successful date night!):

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon flour (white whole wheat or all purpose)
• 1 tablespoons almond flour*
• 1/2 egg white 
• splash of vanilla 
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips (or substitute as desired below)

Customize as you like it:

• For Mexican hot chocolate brownie add (per mug): 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
• For mint brownie add (per mug): 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract and substitute 1/2 tablespoon mint chips + 1/2 tablespoon chocolate chips
• For almond delight brownie add (per mug): 1/8 teaspoon almond extract and sprinkle with almond pieces
• For French vanilla brownie add (per mug): another 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and substitute 1/2 tablespoon white chocolate chips + 1/2 tablespoon chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

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1. Choose two microwaveable mugs or dessert bowls. Place one tablespoon each of applesauce, honey, cocoa powder, flour, almond flour, 1/2 egg white, splash vanilla, pinch of salt, and desired flavorings in each mug. Mix completely.
2. Add chocolate chips, and lightly stir in.
3. Microwave, one mug at a time, for 30-35 seconds (will vary depending on your microwave). Try not to overbake or the texture turns spongey - we like it when the inside is still gooey and fudgy.
4. Serve topped with a scoop of ice cream.

*Simple Tip: 

You can use 2 tablespoons flour in place of 1 tablespoon almond flour with 1 tablespoon flour. We prefer adding the almond meal, because it ends up giving it more of the gooey, fudge-like consistency that we like.

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 brownie    206 calories   6.9 g fat   34.9 g carbs    5.9 g protein    24.9 g sugar   

Original Recipe	Refresh Recipe
535 calories	206 calories
24.8 g fat (15.5 saturated)	6.9 g fat (2.8 saturated)
79.6 g carbohydrates, 50.7 g sugar	34.9 g carbohydrates, 24.9 g sugar

Recipe adapted from Homemade Toast.
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