Healthy "Paleo" Peanut Butter Cups

i was supposed to go to my cpr/first aid class (for my sports med internship) today, but google maps decided it would be a good day to trick me and take me to some super sketch area that was a good 30 minutes away from where i needed to be. i was completely lost in this random sketch place and realized i wasn't going to make it to my class in time, so i proceeded to have a total meltdown. after calling my madre and trying to figure out what to do, i ended up driving home and eating lots of these peanut butter cups. they really do make you feel better, i swear.

and as i was eating my little peanut butter cups, i managed to find another cpr/first aid class this saturday and get my work schedule switched around for the weekend, so all was well in the world again. lesson learned: don't trust google maps. like, ever. lesson #2 learned: chocolate and peanut butter fix everything.

i also realized today that these so called paleo peanut butter cups aren't exactly paleo. because peanut butter isn't paleo. major faileo. oh well, good thing i don't eat paleo! and i just said paleo like 5,000 times. i should probably shut up soon. 

except if you really are one of those hardcore paleo peeps, you might want to know that almond butter works just as well in this recipe. they're still just as (if not more) delicious!

oh and one more thing: if you make these, all of your life's problems will be temporarily solved. promise. 

Healthy "Paleo" Peanut Butter Cups

by Julianna Foster

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Keywords: dessert snack gluten-free paleo vegetarian

6053371

Ingredients (12 mini cups)

For the Chocolate Shell

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp coconut flour

For the Filling

• 1/3 cup all natural unsalted peanut or almond butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Melt the coconut oil in a small bowl, then whisk in cocoa powder, coconut sugar, and coconut flour.

Spray a mini muffin tin with coconut oil, then pour about a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into each cup. Place pan in freezer.

While the bottom layer is freezing for about 5 minutes, mix together peanut butter (or almond butter), honey, coconut sugar, and salt in a separate small bowl.

Take pan out of freezer, and spoon peanut butter mixture into each cup. Flatten out the mixture with the back of a spoon, then pour about a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture over the peanut butter mixture.

Place pan back in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

To take the cups out of the pan, simply turn it upside down on a clean countertop.

Store these cups in the freezer and serve immediately (the coconut oil will melt quickly at room temperature).

Enjoy!

Powered by Recipage

Products I'm Loving

happy almost-friday, everyone! i'm so excited for the weekend because i actually have a day off- i think i might finally get myself to the beach or go see a movie. anyone have any fun plans for the weekend?

today i thought i'd share with you some random products (mostly foodie finds) that i've been loving lately. i always love reading these types of posts, especially since usually i find out about something i hadn't seen before!

**this post isn't sponsored - just my own opinions and love for these products**

this coconut milk creamer is to die for. i've been having it every morning in my coffee! it stirs right in and gives my coffee a little bit of sweetness. 

guys, i am OBSESSED with these clif bars. i seriously can't get enough of them and broke down and bought a whole box of them at whole foods today. i've never bought a whole box of any sort of bar there before, that's how much i love these. the ingredients list is short and sweet (dates, almonds, unsweetened chocolate, coconut, coconut oil, and sea salt), and they taste like a brownie. and not in that 'healthy brownie' kind of way, either- they're soft, fudgy, and oh so good. go buy some. you won't regret it.

i absolutely love this juice, but most of the time it's way to expensive to even consider buying. then a few weeks ago i discovered this huge 64oz bottle of it for only $5.99 at costco! (side note: my dad calls it barf juice because it looks so gross, haha) i love having about half a cup in the morning when i wake up. the whole bottle lasts me about two weeks!

i've been trying to get better about foam rolling and stretching lately and this little guy has been a lot of help. it's a trigger point roller and hurts a ton but you feel a lot better after you use it. i also tried out a theracane at the PT office today and absolutely loved it - it's basically a more intense sensation than a lacrosse ball or a myofascial release ball, and it feels even better afterward. i'm considering buying one since they're not too crazy expensive and would help a lot with getting knots out of my upper back. 

so remember how i went on that paleo rant the other day? you know, that all sugar is still sugar and that i wasn't about to go out and buy fancy ingredients to make a recipe paleo. well, not even a day later and i went to costco with my dad and saw this huge bag of coconut sugar for $9.99 and couldn't resist buying it. the bag is so huge it's going to last me forever, and it was a pretty decent price too. so far i've been loving it! i had some on a sweet potato yesterday and in my oatmeal this morning, and it reminds me of brown sugar. i can't wait to bake with it!

along with the aforementioned sweet potato, last night i had the best post-WOD feast. i thought it was worth mentioning because it was so good. trader joe's turkey burgers are my favorite - no weird ingredients and they taste fantastic. i also love their fresh brussels sprouts and coconut oil spray! 

guys, my brother was the one to discover this cereal. not me, the foodie that loves grocery shopping. my brother. the guy who could survive off of honey bunches of oats, burgers, and pizza. he bought healthy food. excuse me while i go freak out. say whaaat? i'm glad he's finally getting on the healthier food bandwagon now that he's living in an apartment on his own, but i'm still shocked. can't believe the day finally came! ;) anyway, this cereal is super good - i love the chewy little pieces of apple and raisins and am really glad my bro brought some home for me so that i could try it! 

i've also been loving this chipotle-esque corn salsa from trader joe's lately. i could eat chipotle every day (my wallet would not be able to handle that, though! haha) so i figured i'd try my hand at making a burrito bowl at home. i just cooked up some turkey meat with taco seasoning, topped it with some black beans, this corn salsa, and guac - perfection. 

i've been loving the target brand of athletic tape lately. i bought some when i ripped my hands for the first time (it was the day that i finally got kipping pull-ups), and then watched a bunch of videos on how to tape my hands. and then, of course i forgot my tape at home for a WOD with a bunch of pull-ups in it and ripped my hands in two places again this week. needless to say this tape has been my lifesaver for all of my WODs recently since my hands still aren't in the greatest shape. 

i also bought some almondmilk ice cream at whole foods today since it was on sale (i also got a huge bag of sweet potato chips for $1, score!) and i'm going to try it tonight - i'm really excited to see if it's any good. 

what products have you been loving lately?

Paleo Brownies

Hi guys! i hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a good start to this week! i had the best weekend last weekend, i got to see luke bryan and thompson square with my family (unfortunately we missed florida georgia line due to traffic) and they were absolutely amazing. and i bought luke bryan's album yesterday, and AAAAH sooo good. i'm obsessed.

i also survived my Spartan Race last Saturday and lived to tell the tale! i have to say, it was the best $200 i have ever spent, and some of the best 3 hours and 50 minutes of my life! i can't wait to tell you all about it - but it's going to be a couple days since i'm waiting for the race photos to be released before i publish my post.

until then, maybe some brownies will make it up to you? i made these last week and DANG they're good. not going to lie, i kind of thought that they might turn out to be disgusting. but they were delicious!

also, you're probably starting to see a theme with all of these "paleo-ish" recipes. the thing is, i love experimenting with different foods and i also like eating less processed foods (like white flour). a lot of paleo recipes do just that - i get to experiment with baking, my tummy is happier without the white flour, and i still get my treat fix.

BUT, i am also not about to go out and buy a bunch of fancy ingredients just to make a recipe paleo when i don't eat 100% paleo. so when i first made these brownies i made them with 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup sugar and they turned out wonderfully! and then i saw this huge bag of coconut sugar for $9.99 at costco and my whole not buying fancy ingredients philosophy sorta went out the window. cause i mean, costco makes you buy everything you ever might possibly need, ya know?

i still think that sugar is sugar, regardless where it comes from. but i really like coconuts. so coconut sugar it is. very, very cheap coconut sugar, actually.

anyways, with that paleo tangent out of the way, here's the recipe!

Paleo Brownies

by Julianna Foster

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 30 min

6051859

Ingredients (16 brownies)

• 3 oz melted dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix chocolate, oil, almond butter, eggs, vanilla, and sugar in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl mix the rest of the ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Pour batter into an 8x8 pan greased with coconut oil.

Bake for 30 minutes, let cool & cut into squares. Enjoy!

Powered by Recipage

country music: yay or nay? 
best part of last weekend for ya?

Paleo-ish Pumpkin Muffins

hey guys! i just wanted to pop in and share this delicious recipe with you today. i've been experimenting baking with almond flour and coconut flour lately, and these muffins were one of my best successes. they were such a hit in my house that in less than 24 hours, only 3 of them are left! even my mom, the queen of baked goods, loved them.

you can easily make this recipe paleo by swapping out the brown sugar & almond milk with pure maple syrup - i just didn't have any on hand. i do have to say the best way to defeat the purpose of this paleo baked good is to eat one warm with a scoop of sunflower butter and vanilla ice cream, though!

Paleo-ish Pumpkin Muffins

by Julianna Foster

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 25 min

6051310

Ingredients (12 muffins)

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (replace with pure maple syrup to make this paleo)
• 1/8 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (omit this if you use maple syrup)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a muffin pan with coconut oil spray (you can find it at Trader Joe's).

Mix flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and brown sugar together in a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients (almond milk, pumpkin, eggs, oil, vanilla).

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Scoop batter into muffin pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Powered by Recipage