Transform Unhealthy Foods into Nutritious & Delicious Treats: 3 Recipes Included!

TRUTH: No matter how healthy you are treats are still going to be a part of your dietary choices.

TRUTH: Desserts can align with your health and fitness goals so you never feel like you “messed up” and should just throw in the towel.

Allowing sweets to derail you from the healthy lifestyle you’ve worked so hard to develop can be a thing of the past. I know first hand. I used to have a very challenging sugar addiction. I never thought I’d be able to enjoy desserts without overdoing it.

But thanks to some healthy choices, I can now enjoy desserts.

I took small steps toward changing my perception of food. Sometimes I took a break from sweets simply because I needed some space to remind myself that I am in charge of what goes in my body.

As I developed more confidence and trust in my ability to make wise choices around desserts I began to find the joy in them once again.

When this happened creative ideas for healthy treats flooded my mind and I had fun experimenting with new concoctions that centered around my values for healthy eating.

Creating nutritious and delicious treats is easy!

Follow my simple guidelines then try out the recipes below. Once you get the idea you can play around and create your own homemade delicious and nutritious treats like I have!

Healthy Dessert Guidelines:

• Choose a few simple, whole ingredients as your base
• Use small amounts of a natural sweetener or try cutting it in ½
• Add fiber and healthy fats! You’ll feel more satisfied with a smaller portion
• Try adding sea salt, red pepper flakes, or other spices to balance the flavors and ignite your taste buds!

Three of my favorite additions that boost nutrition by adding fiber, healthy fats, and plenty of vitamins and minerals are Ground Flaxseed, Coconut, and Ground Chia Seed.

Here are 3 of my favorite recent concoctions:

Brownie Batter Pudding Cups
Makes: 1 Pudding Cup
Prep: 5 minutes
Chill: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon each:
  Ground Chia seed
  Coconut butter, virgin cold-pressed
  Cacao powder, unsweetened
  Raw honey (I use less)
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut or almond milk
• Sprinkle of sea salt to taste

Steps:

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
2. Transfer to a small ramekin and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Shot in the Dark Chocolate Milkshake
Makes: 1 large or 2 small milkshakes
Prep: 2 minutes
Blend: 60 seconds
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut cream
• 2 Tablespoons Dutch cacao
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Chia Seed
• 1 scoop Chocolate protein powder (or equal to ½ serving size)
• 1/3 -1/2 cup water for desired consistency
• 4-5 ice cubes

Steps:

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender or NutriBullet until smooth.
2. Drink up!

Flax and Oats Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes: 2-3 dozen
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 7-10 minutes
Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups Almond Flour
• ¼ cup ground flax seed
• ¼ cup rolled oats
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ cup almond oil
• ½ cup raw local honey or agave nectar
• 1 T. vanilla
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix dry ingredients together with a fork to remove any clumps.
3. Add wet ingredients and incorporate well.
4. Mix in chocolate chips.
5. Use a rounded tablespoon to form packed-in balls.  Leave the dough in mounds — do not press down.
6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes.

Isn’t life sweet?