Healthy German Chocolate Bites

Pin It I'm all about healthy desserts, but they need to taste delicious, not like cardboard.  These are little bites of heaven.  You would never guess that they only have 6 ingredients and NO SUGAR!  Sounds too good to be true, right?  Don't be fooled.  These taste just like a brownie with nuts and coconut... really!  I literally ate the first entire batch in a day.  I just kept nibbling and pretty soon they were all gone.  These turned out so well I'm going to experiment with some new flavors too. 

Healthy German Chocolate Bites
Original Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie
3/4 cup pitted dates
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecans

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor.  Pulse until ground into fine bits.  It will be crumbly.
2. Roll into balls (or any other shape you want - would make a nice bar shape)
3. I store mine in the fridge so they are less sticky, but you can leave them at room temperature if you want.

Chunky Monkey Cookies

Pin It I'm always looking for healthy desserts because I have a sweet tooth.  I found these cookies on Pinterest and was a little leery about them being too "healthy" to satisfy my sweets craving.  I made a small batch just to try them out and I was pleasantly surprised.  I did add some agave syrup for a little sweetness and some chocolate chips, which makes them not quite as healthy, but still better than a regular cookie.  These cookies are sweet, moist and chocolatey.  Definitely a winner!

Chunky Monkey Cookies
* makes 12 large cookies
Adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp agave syrup (or sugar)
1 cup oats
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash bananas in a bowl.  Add peanut butter, cocoa, vanilla and agave.  Stir to combine.
3. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
4. Allow batter to rest for about 20 minutes to soften the oats.
5. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden when you lift them up.

Faux Ice Cream

Pin It I LOVE ice cream.  I could eat it multiple times a day if my waistline would allow me.  I stumbled upon this gem on Pinterest and then my sister-in-law made some and raved about it so I decided to give it a try.  The main ingredient of this creamy delight: BANANAS!  I have a strong dislike for bananas.  It is a texture issue.  I usually make some sort of muffin or cake out of my over ripe bananas.  However, this "ice cream" has only a mild banana flavor, especially if you mix in extras like peanut butter and cocoa.  You don't need a fancy ice cream maker either.  The only appliance you need is a food processor.  A blender would probably do the trick as well.  While this won't be completely replacing my trips to the local custard stand, this is a good substitute that I don't have to feel guilty about enjoying.

Faux Ice Cream
* 2 large servings
4 ripe (not over ripe) bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 heaping Tbsp peanut butter
2 tsp cocoa powder
mix-ins of your choice

1. Freeze banana slices until firm.  I used a ziplock bag and laid flat so the bananas were in a single layer and they froze in about an hour.
2. Place bananas in a food processor.  Mix until it blends into a creamy, smooth mixture.  This may take several minutes and you will have to stop to scrape down the sides as least once.  It will look like banana pebbles for a while, but be patient and it will turn creamy.
3. Mix in peanut butter and cocoa powder.
4. Stir in any extras you wish.
5. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.  (Or if you are impatient, enjoy immediately)

Note - This does not freeze extremely well.  I recommend making a fresh batch each time you want some.  I thought it had a weird texture when I saved some until the next day.  But this might just be  my texture issue coming through.