Healthy Sweet Treats

Hello Everyone! I hope your holiday season is off to a good start. I know this can be a crazy time of year and hope that you are enjoying some aspects of it as well!

I recently taught a class at Athleta where I shared a few of my favorite Healthy Holiday Treats and wanted to make sure you had these recipes too.

Today you will learn how to recreate some of your favorite desserts without refined sugar, white flour or wheat products. These are my absolute favorite ‘healthy’ desserts and I hope they become yours too!

The Best 5 Ingredient Fudge

This recipe is not only delicious and decadent but it's also good for you and super simple! It only takes five minutes to prepare and you only need five ingredients!

Ingredients

• 1 cup coconut oil

• 1 cup almond butter (you can also use unsalted crunchy peanut butter)

• 2 cups raw cacao

• 1 cup dates (pitted)

1 to 2 pinches of unrefined sea salt

Instructions

Soak your dates in hot water for about 20 minutes to make them soft and sticky.
Carefully melt your coconut oil on very low heat.
Place all your ingredients, except the almond butter, in your high speed blender and blend until soft and well combined.
Add the almond butter at the end to keep the crunch.
Spread evenly in a tin or container.
Place in the fridge for about one hour.

Dates

Dates naturally taste very sweet and thus are a great way to sweeten desserts. Dates contain vitamin B6, vitamin A, potassium and calcium. Use dates in puddings, bars and date balls with nuts and coconut.

No Bake Coconut Snowballs

Simple to make and oh so much fun, these no bake cookies are enjoyable to make with children as they roll them up, sprinkle with coconut, and pop them into the refrigerator. For an extra special treat, dip them into chocolate for a sweeter delight.

makes 15 cookies

1 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

3 tsp coconut oil

3 tbls maple syrup

2 tbls unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

organic dark chocolate

1. Place 1 cup shredded coconut and 3 tsp coconut oil into the bowl of a food processor. Process on high speed, scraping down the sides every once in a while, until it reaches a butter consistency.

2. Add the maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla extract, and salt and process on high speed until all of the ingredients have combined.

3. Add 3/4 cup of additional shredded coconut and process on high speed until all of the ingredients have combined and formed a batter.

4. Shape the coconut mixture into 1” balls and coat with the additional shredded coconut. Refrigerate for at last an hour or up to a week.

5. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Snowballs

1. If you’d like to make these extra special, omit the final coating of shredded coconut in step 4 above. Allow the shaped coconut balls to firm up in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.

2. Once the coconut balls have firmed up, melt the dark chocolate in a small saucepan over medium heat. This should only take a minute or two.

3. Once the chocolate is melted, dip the coconut balls into he melted chocolate and sprinkle them with the shredded coconut. Allow the chocolate to harden by placing the coconut balls back into the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is made from boiled-down maple tree sap and contains many minerals. 40 gallons of sap are needed to make one gallon of maple syrup. It adds a pleasant flavor to foods and is great for baking. Be sure to buy 100% pure maple syrup and not maple-flavored corn syrup. Grade B is stronger in flavor and said to have more minerals than Grade A.

AMAZING Chocolate Avocado Torte
Don’t knock this till you try it. It is loaded with chocolaty goodness. No one will know that the creamy mousse has avocado in it. Enjoy!

Ingredients (8-12 servings)

No Bake Crust

• 2 cups pecans

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

• 1 cup medjool dates, pitted and soaked until soft – about 15 minutes

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

• 2 cups avocado flesh (approx. 3 small avocados), pitted and scooped out

• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

• 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (or other nut butter)

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted if clumpy

• dash of sea salt

Instructions

Crust: Oil a 7-10 inch springform pan and line it with a circle of parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the pecans until crumbly. Be careful not to over process them, as you still want them a bit chunky. Now add in the rest of the crust ingredients and pulse until just mixed. Scoop mixture onto prepared pan and press down firmly and evenly with slightly wet fingers or a spatula. Pop into freezer to set while making the mousse.

Chocolate mousse: Place all mousse ingredients into food processor. Process until smooth.

Remove crust from freezer and scoop this mousse on top of crust. Smooth out as much as possible and then place in the freezer for 2 hours to firm.

Once firm, remove from freezer and allow to sit on the counter for about 5-10 minutes before serving chilled. Place leftover torte in the freezer wrapped and placed in a seal container.

Note that this torte should be served chilled as it gets soft at room temperature.

Healthy Bittersweet Caramel Bites
Vegan, gluten-free, and addicting.
Makes 18 bites

Ingredients
Date Caramel

• 200 grams pitted soft Medjool dates (about 11 large)

• 1/2 tbsp SunButter (or nut butter of choice)

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• pinch of fine grain sea salt

Dipping Chocolate
scant 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips ( I used Sunspire 65% Cacao Bittersweet Chips)
1 tsp coconut oil
Garnish
chia seeds or sea salt ( optional)

Instructions
1. Note: You want to use very soft Medjool dates. If yours are firm, soak in water to soften before using. Be sure to drain well.] Process pitted dates in food processor until a sticky paste forms. Now, add in the Sunbutter, vanilla extract and a pinch of fine grain sea salt. Process until combined. The mixture will be SUPER sticky, but this is a good thing!
2. Scoop out the sticky mixture into a bowl and freeze for about 10 minutes. Chilling it makes the caramel easier to shape into balls. After chilling, lightly wet your fingers and shape caramel into small balls to make about 18 balls total.
3. Place balls back into the freezer for another 10 minutes on a parchment lined plate. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips along with 1 teaspoon coconut oil in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Be sure not to burn chocolate.
4. Remove balls from freezer and dunk each ball into the melted chocolate, one at a time. Roll around to coat. Tap off excess chocolate and place back onto parchment-lined plate. Sprinkle with chia seeds or scant amount of sea salt. Repeat for the rest.
5. Freeze again for at least 20 minutes until set. Bites taste best straight from the freezer and will soften (but will not melt) at room temperature.

Pop on and let me know if you try any of these healthy sweet treats!

In Health and Happiness