Fudge Ems!

It’s certainly no secret that I’ve been loving my Vitamix. I’ve been searching for recipes to try and also trying to come up with fun little bites too. I’ve been craving little chocolatey bites at night these days, you know, to go with red wine, and I am always looking for ways to make something healthier.

At this point, I’m sure everyone has seen variations on black bean fudge or brownies so I tried my hand at my own variation and I love the way they came out! They’re creamy, chocolatey, and have a little crunch from the cacao nibs. And each square is only 69 calories.. it’s a win-win!

Makes 18 squares

Ingredients
– 1 can reduced sodium black beans; drained and rinsed
– 1/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
– 1/4 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Mighty Maple
– 1/4 cup maple syrup
– 2 tbsp coconut oil
– 2 tbsp brewed coffee [I used pumpkin coconut!]
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 – 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
– Pinch of salt
– 2 tbsp cacao nibs [Can substitute chocolate chips]

Directions
In a high-power blender or food processor, add everything except the cacao nibs. Blend until very smooth and scoop into a bowl. Stir in the cacao nibs until evenly distributed. Line a loaf pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and pour the fudge mixture into the pan. Spread it out evenly and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.

Remove the pan from the freezer and, using the foil or parchment paper, lift the fudge out of the pan. Cut into 18 equal squares and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Store in the freezer. Or eat all of them immediately.. your choice 😉

Nutritional Information
Per square

69 Calories / 4g Fat / 2g Protein / 11g Carbs / 2g Fiber / 4g Sugar

Food for Thought

Have you ever tried making sweets using beans?

Foodie Friday: Pancake Variations

It’s clearly been a week of pancakes. These pancakes are delicious and I love the stats.. you can’t beat 350 cals, 35g protein, and 15g fiber! I’ve had far too much fun playing with the flavor combos [ok, not really too much fun..] so I wanted to share a couple successes.

It all started with the original..

Peanut Butter ‘Cake’ Coconut Flour Pancakes

via Dashing Dish

Makes 6-7 pancakes for 1 serving

Peanut Butter ‘Cake’ Coconut Flour Pancakes – Dashing Dish

Ingredients
– 5 tbsp coconut flour
– 1/4 tsp baking powder
– 2 tsp peanut butter or 2 tbsp peanut flour [I chose peanut flour]
– 1-2 pkts stevia or sweetener of choice [I used 16 drops of liquid stevia]
– Pinch of salt
– 7 egg whites
– 1/4 – 1/2 cup water

Directions
Place a pan over medium heat. In a medium size bowl, mix all ingredients together except the water. As they all come together, slowly add the water a little bit at a time until a thick batter forms. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan per pancake and cook until they become a little bubbly around the edges. Flip the pancakes and cook through.

In between each pancake and atop of the stack, I covered them with more peanut fluff [1 1/2 tbsp peanut flour, ~3 drops liquid stevia, and water] and a little granola.

Next up came the Banana Coconut variety. These look beautious but the flavors need a little work. I’ll report back soon 😉

Banana Coconut Coconut Flour Pancakes

Then I knew it was time to go for pumpkin.

Pumpkin Coconut Flour Pancakes

Pumpkin Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients
– 5 tbsp coconut flour
– 1/4 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 cup pumpkin [NOT pumpkin pie filling!]
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 16 drops of liquid stevia
– Pinch of salt
– 7 egg whites
– 1/4 – 1/2 cup water

I swapped out the peanut butter for pumpkin and added some pumpkin pie spice and it was fabulous! I also topped [and layered] these with pumpkin peanut fluff [1 1/2 tbsp peanut flour, 2 tbsp pumpkin, ~4 drops liquid stevia, pumpkin pie spice, and water] and of course a little granola.

My final flavor of the week involved some of my absolute favorite flavors in the world!

Reese’s Coconut Flour Pancakes

Reese’s Coconut Flour Pancakes

Ingredients
– 5 tbsp coconut flour
– 1/4 tsp baking powder
– 2 tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder
– 16 drops of liquid stevia
– Pinch of salt
– 7 egg whites
– 1/4 – 1/2 cup water

This time, I swapped in the cocoa powder and topped/layered with regular peanut fluff and a sprinkling of granola.

To say this was a good breakfast week would be an understatement! Time to load up on eggs again and get back to work 😉

Food for Thought

What is your favorite flavor combination?

What strange but good combinations can you come up with?

Have you ever had coconut flour pancakes before?

What I Ate Wednesday #21 – The Last Anniversary

*Have you entered my Tropical Traditions coconut oil giveaway yet? It ends tomorrow and a winner is announced on Friday!*

Well, it’s not really the last anniversary, but last Thursday was our last dating anniversary until we get married! We celebrated 9 long wonderful years of dating, and while people really don’t celebrate their dating anniversary after they get married, I think we’re going to have to do something for the big 1-0!

I had some fun with my food so I couldn’t wait to share it with you today! Happy WIAW!

[Breakfast]
In the midst of my dark chocolate cherry protein pancake obsession, but to make it anniversary special, the future hubs and I made sure to cheers each other over a mimosa.

[Snack]
Blueberry greek yogurt. Yet another obsession of mine that I just can’t shake. It’s the perfect bit of sweetness and protein to get me through the morning.

[Lunch]
Salad with roasted pork tenderloin, tons of veggies, roasted red pepper sauce, and a little feta. Hey, I had to get a little fancy..

[Snack]
I’d been jonesing for a banana but seeing as how I was at work, the best I could do was a banana SOYJOY. I popped that baby in the microwave for 10 seconds and was in heaven! To my surprise, it really did satisfy my banana craving!

[Dinner]
A night out at Waterfront Kitchen was in order. We’d never been there but had heard so many good things about this new-ish farm-to-table restaurant in our hood. First question: wine or beer? We opted for beer and went straight to Unibroue! La Fin du Monde is one of our all time faves.

Looking at the menu, we immediately noticed that the dishes were not very complex. We’ve been to restaurants 100 times that have wowed us in their menu descriptions, so the simple preparation of these dishes was a nice change of pace.

As a light appetizer, we shared a warm brussel sprout salad with bacon, onion, and microgreens. It was so tasty and rich! I’m glad we split it.. I don’t know if I could have finished it on my own! What we could finish, however, was our first beer. Onto another Unibroue; next we tried Don de Dieu. This was a new one for us and we loved it, but not as much as La Fin Du Monde.

Nathan order the pork ribeye with wild mushrooms, heirloom peppers, farm fresh kale, and blackberry demi glace. I opted for the monkfish “osso bucco” with stewed cherry tomatoes, onion, sweet potato, and wilted Swiss chard. As I mentioned, the dishes seemed to have a simpler preparation which left it to execution. Spot. On. The dishes were flavorful and perfectly cooked. We couldn’t have asked for more enjoyable bites!

We finished our dinner with some coffee and the dessert special of the night: pumpkin cake with local butter pecan ice cream. Not too heavy and not too sweet; the perfect ending to a wonderful meal. (And a delicious halloween treat!)

Do you see Nathan ready to dive into dessert? 😉 Seems to always happen with dessert!

Food for Thought

Do you prefer to go out to dinner for special occasions or have a romantic meal at home?

We always go out for our anniversary but stay in for Valentine’s Day so we don’t have to deal with all of the craziness!