Dark Chocolate Covered Blueberries

I LOVE sweets, candy really! I had a pretty unhealthy relationship with candy for quite some time. Shakeology has been a life saver for me. One of the MANY reasons I enjoy it daily. I am also an advocate of treating oneself.  I won't ever believe it is necessary to 100% limit a certain food or food group. To me, that in itself is unhealthy because I have personally experienced the affects of completely deleting certain foods from my body. The 21 Day Fix meal plan, that I have been following since February 2014, is all about balance. I eat veggies, fruit, protein, carbs, healthy fats, and oils within the proper portion size, SO going along with this amazingly simple eating philosophy, I believe that treats too can be enjoyed in moderation!!

I typically enjoy pizza with my family every Saturday. Yep, good old pizza, my friends! I still make our family healthier pizza during the month as well, but I enjoy that unhealthier option too. I have been finding my body wanting more sweets lately for my ONE WEEKLY treat meal.  I have been gravitating toward Brookside chocolate covered blueberries and acai. SO easy to down an entire bag...I've done it!!

Looking at the ingredients and seeing the 22 gram of sugar  reminded me that is the exact reason why it is so easy to do! That artificial sugar surely plays trick on your brain eventually leading your belly to feel BLAH! Don't get me wrong! Those things are amazing!! Like seriously good! I just knew I could create the same delicious effect with way less sugar.

I LOVE simple recipes with minimal ingredients and this one meets those requirements.

INGREDIENTS:

*2 cups of blueberries

*1 cup of dark chocolate chips

*1 Tbsp of butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wash the blueberries and dry THOROUGHLY! It is REALLY important that they are completely dry so that it does not affect how the chocolate adheres to them. Place them on a paper towel and cover with another.

2. Prep a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. I sprayed paper with a little olive oil spray to help with sticking.

3. Place DRY blueberries in a large bowl.

4. Heat the chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl. I started at 15-20 second intervals and took it out each time and stirred. The desired effect is that the chocolate is completely melted but still has a thicker consistency. 

5. Pour the chocolate OVER the blueberries and gently mix to cover.

6. Take a spoon and shovel the blueberries out in clusters. It is way easier and FASTER than going one by one and place on the baking sheet. I did clusters of 3.

7. Put in the refrigerator to cool and harden. I made mine in the evening and waited to taste until the next day. :) 

8. Store in a container in your refrigerator.

A nice sweet treat 

FIXERS: fill up a yellow container and enjoy! :)

PS: Unlike the more sugary option I have been having, these bad boys are still around 2 days later! I've only had ONE serving. They satisfy in small quantities!

Happy Eating!

XoXo 

Kynslee

Blender Muffins

So, I pretty much eat the same thing every morning for breakfast, which I LOVE to do. I thrive on consistency. I enjoy some old fashioned or quick oats and some fruit. It's a great way for me to refuel after a sweaty workout!
I ran a FREE group last week with some other coach friends(happening monthly by the way!), and we encourage people to participate and be engaged in order to get the most out of the week. My good friend, Natalie, was really involved and shared a bunch of recipes she was enjoying throughout the week with her family.
It is fun to find recipes and see how they work for YOU! This easy recipe keeps my breakfast that much easier-12 muffins=12 meals with a little side of fruit :) Granted our youngest can't get enough of them, so it is an easy, healthy breakfast option for her as well!

INGREDIENTS: 

*2 cups of oats (quick or old fashioned)

*2 large very ripe bananas

*2 large eggs

* 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

*2-3 Tbsp of honey

*1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

*1/2 tsp of baking soda

*1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

*1/8 tsp of sea salt

*whatever add ins you'd like-no more than 1/2 cup or so- we had dark chocolate chips on hand, but I would love to try them with blueberries as my friend did (nuts perhaps)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Add cupcake liners to your pan. Make sure to lightly grease them with olive oil cooking spray (I forgot that part!)

3. Take all the ingredients, EXCEPT the add-ins and put in blender. Mix until the oats have broken down and the batter is smooth. Our blender ($20) is terrible! Ha! It took a little more effort with it. It is only used for my daily Shakeology usually. :)

4. Put batter in a bowl and mix in add-in ingredients.

5. Fill the cupcake liners, no more than 3/4 of the way.

6. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the "toothpick test" checks out!

This would be such a great option to make when having family over for brunch. You can even have them for an on-the-go breakfast or snack option!

FIXERS: 1 YELLOW :)

Happy Eating!

XoXo

Kynslee

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Cookie Dough Deliciousness

I work at an ice cream shoppe- Honey Hut! They are known for their amazing ice cream treats, so I always get the question, "How do you not eat it all the time?!" I used to leave my Sunday shift with one of their amazing raspberry bars-their divine raspberry ice cream covered in dark chocolate! mmm!! I realized that eating it all the time just wasn't good for me. I enjoy it a couple times a year. :) Have you ever worked in the food industry? Being around it often and scooping it all night long, tends to keep me away from it, BUT this here healthy TREAT really helps the most!!

I eat this EVERY DAY!! (not with the dark chocolate chips as pictured here-this was for my oldest daughter).  This is the way I end each day. It is like eating a dessert that won't pack on the unwanted calories and is made with awesome ingredients. 

INGREDIENTS:

*Non fat plain and/or Greek yogurt 

*cinnamon

*natural PB

**optional-honey

DIRECTIONS:

1. Portion out your yogurt in a bowl. Mine usually consists of one (red Fix container) of plain nonfat yogurt and another of nonfat Greek(not a fan of the thickness of Greek unless I use it as sour cream ;)

2. Add as much cinnamon as you would like. In the FIX world, this is a FREE food!

3. Add NATURAL PB ( I use Target's brand-cheapest I have found!!) 2 tsp. is a proper portion- I suck at this!

4. Add optional honey for added sweetness (no more than a tsp. ) and dark chocolate chips-keep it to no more than 10.

I will fully admit I USE way TOO much PB in it. It is my main nutritional weakness! I LOVE PB!! I've eliminated adding the dark chocolate chips on most days, unless I am using it as a treat, because I went overboard on those for a while. :) 

This just hits the sweet spot! The creaminess of the yogurt mixed with the sweetness of the PB is just an amazing combo!! 

Happy trEating!!

XoXo 

Kynslee