Helping Others by Helping Myself: Sweet Treats

I think I saw my first sighting of Halloween candy at the end of July! WHAT?! Each year stores seem to be enticing people earlier and earlier to buy it. I mean who the heck would be able to keep those bags of candy in tact until Halloween?! I am a reformed candy addict. No joke, it was a serious problem. I am pretty sure when the cute trick-o-treaters came to the door I did the whole, "One for you, one for me" thing. Yikes! A favorite of mine was Reese's Peanut Butter cups because it unites two of my favorite foods-peanut butter and chocolate. I've really recognized what sugar does to my body as I have depleted the amount that I intake. It messed with my head making me want unhealthy foods more and more. BUT, I am human and enjoy indulging here and there, so I experimented with Nestle's dark chocolate chips (53% cacao) and Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter.

Recipes with minimal ingredients are the best!!

INGREDIENTS: Makes 12 PB cup treats

* 1 cup of Nestle's dark chocolate chips

* Natural peanut butter (I used about a tsp. per cup)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Put oven burner on the lowest temperature and place pot of chocolate chips on it. As soon as the chips start to melt, remove from heat and continue to stir until completed melted.

2. Put baking cups into a cupcake tin.

3. Take a spoon and add chocolate to baking cups. Try for a thin layer that covers the entire bottom of the baking cup.

4. Add peanut butter to the center.

5. Put in freezer. I kept mine in there while we ran a quick errand-about 40 min.

Enjoy one every once in a while for a treat that won't take you away from your goals! Be careful not to eat too many at once. :) I may have tested a couple too many. ;) I put mine in the freezer to store in a container; however, you may even want to individually wrap in plastic wrap to make it a little more difficult to eat more than one at a time. :)

Since I have embraced this healthy lifestyle in November, I have come to understand more and more that I don't have to say "NO" to foods all the time. Autumn Calabrese's 21 Day Fix eating plan has reminded me that treats and food like pizza, which I love, can be incorporated with planning and portion control. The plan is so flexible and real!! It talks about how to plan for certain meals when out, including wine, and gives examples of sweet treats to incorporate when you are feeling like you need that. I believe that being completely restricted from certain foods tends to cause people to want it more. Keeping my plate "clean" 80% of the time is always the goal!! I've become accustomed to eating certain "red" , "green", "purple" , "yellow", " blue", and "orange" foods each day. I feel full, satisfied, and nourished.

This is a great month to try the program since it is on promotion. When I speak to people about their goals, this is the go-to plan I always suggest because of the length of time (3 weeks) to see and feel changes as well as the easy to follow meal plan.

You want to eat sweet treats like these and other great food while working out 30 minutes a day?

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It is important to treat yourself every once in a while. Completely restricting oneself from certain foods isn't what it is about. It is great when that treat is not only delicious, but healthy! I found this recipe for chocolate chip cookies a while back. As the BBQ and picnic season is upon, this is a nice dessert option to bring.