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Keto Chocolate Avocado Pudding {Paleo, Vegan}
This rich, decadent, smooth Keto Chocolate Avocado Pudding has become a favorite treat around our house. It’s decadent, creamy and so so easy. Ready in just a few minutes, with just 5-ingredients!
You all know from following me, I am not a big treats and sweets gal. I just don’t crave sweets these days and I generally prefer to avoid the keto-fied treats loaded with suspect sweeteners. I generally just stick to my daily dark chocolate. A square or two of 85-100% dark chocolate and I am a very happy girl. Chocolate truly is my love language.
Hubby is a little bit different than me. The man grew up on sweets. The really sweet sweets! They are his comfort food, so I am always looking for ways to please both our palates.
This Keto Chocolate Avocado Pudding is a creamy, whipped mousse-like dessert that comes together quickly and it really hits the spot. The best part, as like most recipes you’ll find here on Tasty Yummies, SO many fun flavor options. Add in a little nut butter and some sea salt and it’s delightful. Bump up the coconut flavor with shredded coconut, toasted coconut flakes or maybe a little coconut extract. Mint Chocolate pudding is nice, add a little mint extract and/or fresh mint leaves. Try adding some cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne for a spicy Mexican Chocolate pudding. Lastly a little espresso powder is also really really nice. Read the rest of this entry »
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Keto Chocolate Muffins {gluten-free, paleo}
These Keto Chocolate Muffins are a simple, low carb, sweet treat that are so easy to make and loaded with rich chocolatey flavor. This low carb chocolate muffin recipe comes with alternative sweetener options as well, so if you aren’t doing the super low carb thing or if you just want to make these Keto Chocolate Muffins ASAP with pantry staples you already have on hand you can get on in right away.
These Keto Chocolate Muffins are little bit different of a recipe for me. I am not big on baking or sweets and I am also not generally one for using alternative sweeteners, not that there is anything wrong with some of them, necessarily, but it’s just not my scene. Most of the time, if and when I am going to have a little something sweet, I will use a very small amount of maple syrup or honey or a little coconut sugar. We’re talking a small amount, because it’s totally fine and I will be fine and honey and a little sugar won’t kill me.
When I developed this particular Keto Chocolate Muffins recipe, however, I wanted to make a low carb muffin recipe that would be versatile for my different readers and their different needs. I know for many folks eating keto or a low carb diet, they find themselves there due to diabetes or a metabolic condition of some sort where tracking their blood sugar becomes of high importance, so they do have to be more mindful and aware then those of us just choosing this lifestyle to feel good. Having several people in my life, close to me, that are diabetic, I love creating recipes that I know they can enjoy, too and I can feel good knowing they aren’t shoving those super scary artificial sweeteners into their bodies (splenda and the like).
These Keto Chocolate Muffins can be made several different ways. To be fully low carb and low glycemic, I tested the recipe with this Monkfruit Maple Flavored Syrup, which I have found is a nice replacement for baking recipes that use maple syrup or honey. There is a very subtle maple flavor, however, so you are aware, but I find that flavor pairs so nicely with these muffins. It’s not too distinguishable in this recipe, but in other recipes it can be more prevalent.
By using the monkfruit, these Keto Chocolate Muffins (by my calculations) clock in just over 5 net carbs per muffin! Not too shabby. Read the rest of this entry »
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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Fudgesicles {dairy-free, paleo-friendly}
I am an official ambassador for Dole Fresh Fruit and Fresh Vegetables. Dole provided me with compensation for my time. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are mine.
These Chocolate Covered Strawberry Fudgesicles are a fun and tasty way to encourage the kiddos to get more fruits and veggies. I would like to just go ahead and get this right out of the way – I added a veggie to your dessert and I am not sorry. I am going to just need for you to trust me on this one, until you make them yourself. I have never steered you wrong, have I?
Let’s also discuss the idea of “sneaking” veggies in on kids. Listen, while I am an auntie to many, no, I don’t have my own kids, so I won’t pretend to understand the daily struggle of getting them to eat what you want them to. But I have borne witness to many of these altercations as a sidelined viewer. I do know that vegetables, especially, can be a contentious topic with the littles, that doesn’t always have an amicable resolution. But, while I don’t have my own children, I do work as a nutritional therapist with many adults. I see many, many iterations of various challenging habits and food aversions, lifelong unhealthy patterns, that often stem from childhood and not being led by example, not being taught, empowered and encouraged when it comes to making lasting, healthful choices. Read the rest of this entry »
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How-to Make Homemade Dark Chocolate and the Many Benefits of Dark Chocolate
This homemade dark chocolate is simple to make and very easy to customize and make it exactly the way you want it, from sweeteners to flavorful add-ins. With constant research showing the many health benefits of dark chocolate, this is one indulgence I plan to never give up. A food that is not only good for your soul, but your mind and body as well?! Yes please. In fact new research has even reported that certain bacteria in the stomach gobble the chocolate and ferment it into anti-inflammatory compounds that are good for the heart 1https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140318154725.htm.
Sadly, not all dark chocolate is created equally. So many of the bars at the store contain soy lecithin, a ridiculous amount of refined sugar, vegetable oils, “natural flavors”, corn syrup and other unnecessary ingredients. Conventional chocolate bars filled with lots of additives will not have the same benefits as clean dark chocolate and are likely to do more harm than good! The closer your cocoa is to its natural raw unrefined state, the higher its nutritional value.
References
1. ↑ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140318154725.htm -
Crock-Pot® Hot Chocolate {Dairy-free, Paleo and Vegan}
Disclosure: Post sponsored by Crock-Pot® brand slow cooker & Mirum Shopper, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.
With the first day of winter upon us and Christmas just mere days away, the comforts and coziness of the season are in full force. All the holiday cookies, seasonally-inspired meals, traditional cocktails and so much more. But for me, nothing brings the taste of the season like some rich, creamy, homemade Hot Chocolate.
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Dark Chocolate Rose Water Truffles
I have to be totally honest with you, after I passed the age of giving out Valentines at school (which I always adored), I have always found the fact that Valentine’s Day has become a day generally so focused on giving gifts, to just be a tad bit silly. I grew up with my mom saying to us kids every single year without fail, something along the lines of: “I don’t need one special day or any fancy gifts to show my love to you or your dad, I love you each and every single day of the year”. I have to say, I couldn’t agree more with my mother. I have always felt like the holiday was less about love and more about the greeting card industry, the jewelry stores and florists make out like bandits, and besides Easter, I have to imagine this is the biggest day of the year for chocolatiers. I also have to be real here for a sec, I kinda resent that this day has been somewhat stolen by those in monogamist romantic relationships! If it’s a day about love, then shouldn’t we celebrate ALL love? That of the romantic variety but also plutonic friends, parental, puppy-love (like I’m talking your actual pooch), your favorite co-worker, anyone and everyone that you have love for?
Don’t get it twisted, I don’t at all frown upon a day focused on love, how could I? What kind of V-day scrooge that would make me? It’s far from this. Nothing in this world makes me happier than love and I can only wish and hope that every day, every person has the pleasure of experiencing some love on some level, even if just that sweet look of adoration from their pooch on their morning walk. Love should be celebrated each and every day, so a day that puts it at the forefront, this certainly brings a smile to my face. But I say, collectively, we take that energy so many focus into this one single day and we extend it out throughout the year. Do sweet things for one other, share sweet thoughts with the people you love most, tell them you love them, surprise someone with homemade chocolates – these acts of love are are even better on a random Tuesday, not just on February 14th, one time a year.
When it comes to Valentine’s Day, if you want to give gifts, I am, just as any other holiday, very much in favor of those of the homemade variety. I also love the idea of thoughtful actions in lieu of presents and sweet unexpected somethings like breakfast in bed or a homemade meal, traditions, special outings, picnics etc. The gifts that come from the heart, they will, like cupid’s arrow, cut through with such vigor!
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Dairy-free Mini Cheesecakes
As someone that has maintained a gluten-free lifestyle for over 10 years now, I have sampled my fair share of products, both for my own curiosity and for the purpose of sharing here with you guys, the best and healthiest options in the market place. In my home, I have more than simplified my life and the meals I create, but like anyone else I both have cravings and I also believe in balance.
On a recent morning I found myself really craving a bowl of cereal, a hankering that happens but once or twice a year. I realized I didn’t exactly have a go-to gluten-free cereal that I not only loved but one I could feel OK about eating. With my husband being the only regular cereal eater in our home, everything in the pantry contained gluten. I went on about my business and reached for a smoothie instead.
