Chocolate Coconut Dream Bites

I just made these smooth, chocolatey treats up one day, and they were delicious! And since they have healthy fats in them and little sugar, they are still a fat burning treat. Caution though–they don’t hold up well to heat, so keep them in the fridge or freezer until right before serving.

I just made these up one day, and they were delicious! And since they have healthy fats in them and little sugar, they are still a fat burning treat. Caution though–they don’t hold up well to heat, so keep them in the fridge or freezer until right before serving.

Servings: 1 dozen
Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes

  • 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter
  • 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup natural powdered cocoa or 1 whole 70% dark chocolate bar

In small to medium saucepan, add butter and coconut oil. Turn on medium-low heat and as the fats melt, stir in cocoa powder until mixed. Add in honey and sugar and continue to mix until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth and thickens with a shiny appearance. (Be careful to not overheat or scorch the cocoa.)

Remove pan from heat and add salt, vanilla and mix. Then add the shredded coconut and mix until all coconut is covered (the mix will become thick, similar to stiff cookie dough, as the coconut absorbs the moisture).

Use a melon scoop or rounded measuring spoon to scoop out mounds and place on parchment paper. Roll in flaked coconut or cocoa if desired. Let them sit to cool and set up. Can be placed in refrigerator to firm up more quickly.

Gluten Free, Nut Free, Trail Cookies with Chocolove Chocolate Chips

Trail cookies

I know, I am anti-sugar, but it is Christmas and I need to bring some cookies to parties. So, I modified this longtime family favorite recipe from my mom. I am allergic to nuts and gluten, and I try to avoid refined flours, even if they are gluten free. Ground flaxseed works great as a flour substitute for some items, and it adds a delicious nutty, chewy texture to the cookies as well. These cookies have raw sunflower seeds in them to replace the nuts, and delicious chocolate chips from Boulder’s own Chocolove chocolate company. The chips have a little extra cocoa butter in them, making them smooth and creamy and absolutely yummy! The cookies turned out great and they were ‘crowd-tested’. Enjoy!

Gluten Free, Nut Free Trail Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup grass-fed/pasture-raised butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup organic, raw sugar

2 eggs

1 cup ground flax seed (Bob’s Red Mill sells this)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cups slow cooking oats*

2 cups gluten free brown rice krispies

1/2 cup or more dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup coconut, optional (I am allergic, so I left this out)

Directions

Heat oven to 350. Beat together butter and sugar, add in eggs and vanilla. Add flax seed, flour, salt and baking powder and soda. Mix well. Add oats and chocolate chips. Blend. Add in rice krispies and mix. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Since GF cookies can be fragile, cool a couple of minutes on cookie sheets before moving to a cooling rack. Enjoy! Makes a LOT!

A Votre Sante!

cat

Save the Colorado picCatherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, (studying MSN/PH) is an international health, wellness and longevity expert. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing, she has spent the last 30 years studying sustainable diets, health and nutrition all over the world. She also has 4 books including the worldwide best-seller,  “The Fat Burning Kitchen,” “The Top 101 Foods That Fight Aging”, and “The Superfoods Diabetes Reversal Diet”,  and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

Her mission is to help create a healthier planet and healthier people.

                             Cat’s Global Green Kitchen

 

Mouth Watering, Healthy Chocolate Fudge

Enjoy small squares of this delicious healthy fudge for dessert and for small snacks throughout the day. This is about as good as it gets for a healthy yet delicious treat!

This recipe is from my good friend, fitness and nutrition expert, Mike Geary, author of The Truth About Six Pack Abs, and co-author along with me, of The Fat Burning Kitchen:

It’s a HEALTHY and DELICIOUS way to make chocolate fudge.

Ingredients
3/4 cup organic coconut milk (NOT the watered down “light” version which just replaces some of the healthy coconut fat with water…use the real full-fat version)
1 bar (3-5 oz) extra dark chocolate (at least 70-80% cacao)
4-5 tablespoons of your favorite nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, macadamia butter, etc)
3/4 cup raisins, dried cherries, or cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup whole raw walnuts or other nuts
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
2 Tbsp whole oats or oat bran
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
A little stevia powder to sweeten

Note–Don’t be afraid of the fats in the coconut milk… coconut fat contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) that are more easily burned for energy and also contain a special fat called Lauric Acid, which is extremely healthy and supports the immune system.

Start by adding the coconut milk (cans of organic coconut milk are available at most health food stores and possibly even your grocery store) and vanilla extract to a small saucepan on VERY low heat. Break up the extra dark chocolate bar into chunks and add into pot. Add the nut butter and the stevia, and continuously stir until it all melts together into a smooth mixture.

Then add the dried fruit, walnuts, flax seeds and bran and stir until fully blended. Spoon/pour the fudge mixture onto some waxed paper in a dish and place in the fridge until it cools and solidifies together.

Store in a closed container in fridge to prevent it from drying out.

Enjoy small squares of this delicious healthy fudge for dessert and for small snacks throughout the day. This is about as good as it gets for a healthy yet delicious treat!

Even though this is a healthier dessert idea that’s lower in sugar and higher in nutrition than most sweet treats, keep in mind that there are still quite a few calories in it, so keep your portions reasonable.

You may want to forward this delicious and healthy chocolate fudge recipe to your friends and family… they will thank you!

Check out Mike’s presentation below with great tips to lose belly fat and get a flat stomach:

The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Till next time, stay healthy, lean and full of energy!

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN,is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

                     Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.
           Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.


Paleo Chocolate Lava Cake, an Anti-Aging Treat

In one of my favorite restaurants, I found a devilishly delightful…

chocolate lava cake

In one of my favorite Boulder restaurants, The Kitchen Upstairs, I have found a deliciously devilish treat that I have indulged in a time…or two…or three–well, who’s counting?  In fact, it’s gotten hard to walk into that place without salivating, thinking about the little “Pot au Chocolait” that they serve. While it appears to look like a cake on the outside, it is actually a flourless orgasmic blend of rich chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar and milk. Inside it is a molten delight of gooey, warm, joy. These little rascals are easy to whip up, quick to bake, and bring sheer ecstacy to most everyone who bites into them.

So I set forth on a quest to find a similarly delightful recipe and I think I have found it. Before you indulge in this guilty pleasure, let me lighten that guilt just a tad by telling you a few of the healthy, antiaging benefits of chocolate.

One of the biggest and most important reasons to make chocolate a part of your diet on a regular basis is because of the heavy-hitting antioxidants it contains. In fact, scientific research is has compiled evidence that links chocolate to over forty health and antiaging benefits.

These powerful antioxidant polyphenols in chocolate are so valuable, becasue they contain the ability to stop free radical-mediated oxidation. This helps to decrease your risk of all those chronic aging diseases like heart disease, cancer, strokes, Alzheimer’s and more, by directly interfering with one of the major preventable causes.

And interesting tidbit from the ACS’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry states that naturally-occurring polyphenols in cocoa, the fundamental component in chocolate, actually boost levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol, while at the same time reducing the danger of so-called “bad” variety – LDL – by preventing its oxidation. Supporting evidence from the Cleveland Clinic study noted:

“Antioxidants are believed to help the body’s cells resist damage caused by free radicals that are formed by normal bodily processes, such as breathing, and from environmental contaminants, like cigarette smoke. If your body does not have enough antioxidants to combat the amount of oxidation that occurs, it can become damaged by free radicals. For example, an increase in oxidation can cause low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as ‘bad’ cholesterol, to form plaque on the artery walls.”

Chocoholics are truly addicted–and we like it!

If you get a mood boost when you bite into chocolate, it is not all in your head–well, actually, it is all in your head.

There’s a chemical called anandamide, which is a neurotransmitter produced in the brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and depression. This chemical is activated when you eat chocolate. Derived from an ancient Sanskrit word for “bliss”, it is an accurate description for the feeling that many chocoholics pursue in their love of chocolate.

Daniele Piomelli, a food scientist from the University of California, Irvine, explains it this way:

Anandamide is …synthesized in areas of the brain that are important in memory and higher thought processes and in areas that control movement. That implies that anandamide’s function is not just to produce bliss.

There’s also evidence that this compound has the ability to help “sweeten” up your love life as well. Natural stimulants in chocolate produce a boost in both physical and brain energy, primarily from caffeine and theobromine. In fact, one clinical study showed positive effects on cognition and mood, as well as lowered blood pressure. And, everyone knows chocolate contains caffeine, a stimulant that can help heighten physical energy and alertness, but studies also show that it can inhibit inflammation in the brain and fights aging.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces 70% bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I use the really tasty chocolate you find in gourmet dark chocolate bars)
  • 12 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter seven 4-ounce ramekins.

  2. Using microwave or a bowl set over pan of simmering water, melt chocolate with butter, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

  3. While chocolate is melting, whip eggs, sugar, and salt using mixer fitted with whip attachment on medium-high speed until mixture is lightened and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

  4. Reduce speed to low and mix in chocolate mixture until combined. Spoon into cups and place on baking sheet. Bake until edges are set but center is underdone and still the consistency of pudding, about 10-12 minutes. Avoid over-baking. Let cool 3 minutes and serve with (optional) whipped cream, fresh cream and a touch of powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

     

World’s Greatest Gluten Free Brownies

Sometimes it can be tough coming up with good gluten free substitutes for your favorite treats. I have had this recipe for gluten free brownies for years, and I have not found a better one.


Sometimes it can be tough coming up with good gluten free substitutes for your favorite treats.

I have had this recipe for gluten free brownies for years, and I have not found a better one.

However, I do prefer to make most of my gluten free stuff from scratch.


That way I can add the best ingredients–which makes a big difference.

I use good quality chocolate and real organic (grass fed) butter in these for the best results.

This brownie recipe draws rave reviews from those on a gluten free diet and even those who are not on a gluten free diet.

Try it and share some this weekend! Enjoy, guilt free. It’s ok to splurge once in a while!

Ingredients

1 80% cacao chocolate bar or 1 cup Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup organic grass fed butter

2/3 c. brown rice flour

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup raw sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. real vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 pecan, walnuts, or macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely


Directions

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat till melted.

Cool a bit. Remove and beat in sugar, eggs, and dry ingredients.

Pour into 8″ x 8″ glass dish and let stand for about 20-30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Cool before cutting, If desired, dust with confectioner’s sugar.

 

Enjoy!

Have a safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Till next time, stay healthy, lean and energetic!

 

 

 

Look for Great Gluten Free, Healthy  Superfood Recipes in The Flat Belly Kitchen Series Gluten Free Cookbook

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.  

 

Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.