Spicy Salted Dark Chocolate Almond Bark - A Healthier Sweet Treat

Who doesn't love chocolate!!

I am a sucker for dark chocolate myself. This is one of my new weekend cheat treats. Its got everything, sweet, salty, crunchy and also a little bit of spicy heat! (you can always leave out the spice) I got the base of this recipe from a client of mine, not sure where she got it...but this is my spin on it! You really have the option to add in whatever you like with this one I think, and I am definitely going to experiment with different combos and ingredients with this fo sho. I also just bought this no stick baking sheet thingy and was dying to use it, so this recipe came at just the right time! I'm pretty sure parchment would work just fine but this thing rocked.  I cant wait to use it again!

This is seriously addictive. It's almost guilt free....as long as you don't eat the whole batch!

thank me...... or hate me

Enjoy!

Spicy Salted Dark Chocolate Almond Bark

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup raw cocoa powder
1/4 pure maple syrup
1 tsp organic cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper (I just kinda sprinkled a bunch on, so more or less)
handful of raw almonds, chopped
sprinkle of Himalayan salt

Method:

In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil. Slowly stir in cocoa, add maple syrup and stir til combined well. Add in the cinnamon and cayenne and stir. Pour chocolate mixture onto your prepared baking sheet, sprinkle the almonds on top, and then add the salt.

Pop into the freezer and let it set for a few hours. Take it out and break into pieces, and either store in the freezer for a few month or fridge for a few weeks..

 Devour.

Homemade Banana Strawberry Popsicles

Who doesn't love popsicles on a hot summer day!! This post is a little late as summer is officially over- but I'll post anyways! Super easy and way better than any store bought popsicle. Just a few ingredients:

...and you can find the popsicle moulds pretty much anywhere, I found them at Canadian tire and Ikea. I have mini ones and full size. These are also great for teething. We've still got a bunch of these we need to finish so hopefully the weather will continue to be this nice for a few more weeks!!

Healthy Popsicles

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Almond Milk (or milk of choice)
1/2 Cup coconut water
1 ripe organic banana
handful of organic strawberries
1.5 Tbs organic Chia seeds

Method:

put everything in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into popsicle moulds, freeze and enjoy!!

Lennon definitely enjoys these!

Diving into NUT FREE: Nut Free Oat Cookies

Lennon is off to Nursery School for a few weeks while my parents (her full time babysitters) are away on an extended vacation. You don't realize how lucky you are to have FREE full time care until its gone!!

So this means Lennon is off to a public dare care/nursery school for a few days of the week- and this also means I need to figure out some NUT FREE snacks and meals for her.... most of my stuff includes nuts. I like to add them in for the protein and health benefits but have realized not only for this short stint in daycare, but once she goes to school, this is how it will be....

I am lucky my kid does not have an allergy, and I feel for those who do. Being gluten free, I use nuts ALOT. So this is going to be a new road to figure out nut free options. Its mostly the snacks I think, as her lunches are not really nut filled.

This is the first recipe I created. Its taken from a previous recipe, but now its completely nut free. Its also egg free and gluten free.

A healthy take along snack, you could even have these for breakfast with some fruit!

Nut Free Oat Cookies:

Ingredients:

2/3 Cups what free oats
2 ripe organic bananas
2 Tbs Golden flax meal
2 Tbs Organic hemp hearts
1 Tbs Organic chia seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs Pure maple syrup
1/2 Tsp alcohol free vanilla
2 Tbs shredded coconut
Handful of organic raisins, organic pumpkin seeds.....maybe dried blueberries?? put in whatever you like!

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Mash up the bananas in a medium bowl. Add in everything else and blend well. Spoon out the cookies onto the baking sheet, flatten them down a bit. I got 6 palm sized cookies but you can make them smaller as well.

Bake in the middle rack for about 15 mins. Let cool and enjoy!!

Healthy Toddler Snack Cookies: Made with Almond, Sweet Potato & Chickpea's

I updated this recipe from the original baby cookie recipe I created, its now a bit more mature for my toddler LOL. She still thinks these are cookies, and that's still really cool with me! She gets excited to eat them and I have no worries having her eat them as they are still packed with healthy ingredients.


Almond Sweet Potato Chickpea Toddler Snack Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 Cup steamed and mashed organic sweet potato
2 Cups Organic chickpeas
1/4 Cup almond butter (any nut butter will work)
2 tsp organic cinnamon
2 Tbs coconut oil
2 Tbs golden flax meal
1/4 oat flour
2 Tbs Pure maple syrup
1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
Handful of organic slivered Almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place everything but the milk in the food processor and blend, slowly add in the milk and scrape down the sides to make sure everything gets combined. I added some slivered almonds into the batter, just add in a handful and gently stir. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of the doe onto the baking sheet, no need to space out too much as they don't really expand.

Once all the cookies are spooned out, bang down the baking sheet on the counter so the cookies flatten out. I also added more slivered almonds on the tops of the cookies. Optional.

Bake for around 15 mins on the bottom rack. Change to the top rack and bake for another 10-15. Baking time will vary depending on your oven. I just keep checking them, as you don't want the bottom to burn. They should look like this when they are done.

Chewy, delicious and toddler approved!