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.

Glazed Pecans

Pin It So I know this might seem like more of a winter/holiday item, but it's not.  I love having glazed pecans in my salads.  They are also a delicious snack.  My mom has always made these and I always shied away from making my own for fear that it would be a mess to clean up and that they had to be complicated to taste so good.  With only 3 ingredients and 5 minutes total cook time you should be able to make these year round, not just at Christmas.  You don't just have to use pecans either, any nut can be glazed the same way. 
Come back in the next few days to see how I used these up!

Glazed Pecans
1 cup chopped pecans
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp water

1. Place all ingredients in a skillet on medium high heat.
2. Stir continuously until sugar melts and coats nuts.  Cook for about 3 minutes after the sugar melts.
3. Spread nuts onto a piece of wax paper to cool.
**Clean up is a breeze if you wash your pan while it is still warm.  I didn't want to wait to find out what would happen if I let the sugar harden.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread

Pin It I once again had over ripe bananas on my counter and this time Albert actually came to the rescue with a use for them.  He had to go into work early and told his coworkers that I would make them breakfast.  He specifically requested banana nut bread because he knew a few of the guys really liked it.  Luckily he wasn't home when I actually made this loaf because I made a healthy version.  The real test was if the guys noticed anything was amiss and I'm happy to report that I got several rave reviews from the men  and no mention of it tasting healthy.

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour**
1/2 cup whole wheat flour **note-you can up the amount of wheat flour, just make sure you have 2 cups of flour total
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp skim milk
1/2 cup pecans

pecans and brown sugar for topping (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl beat sugar, applesauce and oil.  Add egg substitute and mix to combine.  Add mashed bananas and vanilla and mix until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk, starting and ending with dry mixture.  Mix until just combined.  Stir in pecans.
4. Pour ino a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar an pecans on top, pressing down gently.
5. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. 
6.  Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then let cool on a wire rack completely before cutting and serving.

**Hint- If you plan on having this for breakfast, make the loaf right before you go to bed and let it cool overnight.  You will have a delicious treat waiting for you in the morning :)

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Pin It Another holiday staple for my family.  I love adding these to a cookie tray because you can sprinkle them around to fill in gaps.  I also like to have a smalll bowl of them out at my house during holiday gatherings because they are a great finger food that guests of all ages enjoy.  I usually make a triple batch because they are gobbled up so quickly around here.

Rolo Pretzel Turtles
1 bag Rolo candies, unwrapped
25-30 round pretzels (or any shape small pretzels)
25-30 pecan halves

1. Arrange 10-12 pretzels on a wax paper covered microwave safe plate.
2. Put one Rolo cany in the center of each pretzel.
3. Microwave pretzels and Rolos for 30 seconds, or until Rolos are just melted.
4. Quickly press a pecan on top of each Rolo, flattening it into the pretzel.
5. Repeat with remaining pretzels and Rolos.
5. Allow to cool completely before removing from wax paper.