dessert

Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait

/ ktbuchs87

Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully LivedValentine’s Day needs chocolate.  It’s just a fact of life.  I mean every day needs chocolate, but Valentine’s Day needs the fancy chocolate.  Enter this dessert.

Valentine’s Day is on Sunday this year which is just weird.  I don’t know why, but it is.  If you’ve completely forgotten about Valentine’s, don’t worry because this dessert can be whipped up super fast and it tastes super indulgent.

Can you believe I was actually going to post a pizza recipe today?  I know, what was I thinking?  I mean pizza is good and deserves its time in the spotlight, but not right now.  Today, it’s going to be all about the chocolate.  Even better, it’s going to be about healthy chocolate.  I used an old trick to make the chocolate pudding part of this recipe and while it might seem weird and totally gross, go with me on this one.  Avocados make the chocolate pudding layer rich, thick, creamy, and full of good for you fat and nutrients.Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully Lived

What better way to tell that special someone you love them?! I love you, now enjoy some good fat chocolate.  Music to my ears.  Guys, if you want to impress your lady (or yourself, I won’t judge) make this parfait.   You don’t need to do anything fancy, just blend each layer and put it in a glass. Voila! Done.

I hope you have a great weekend and your Valentine’s Day is full of love and chocolate! 🙂

Chocolate Cheesecake Pudding ParfaitChocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 batch of my cream cheese frosting (sub in almond milk for the water)
  • 1 large avocado, very ripe (you want a soft avocado so it blends nice and smooth)
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2-3 tbsp maple syrup, honey, agave or any liquid sweetener
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of sea salt
  • dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs, optional for sprinkling
  1. Blend up the cream cheese frosting and place in the fridge while you make the chocolate pudding
  2. Place the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend until completely smooth.  Taste to see if you need more sweetener.
  3. Chill the pudding for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Place into a glass in layers and then sprinkle with chocolate chips or cacao nibs right before serving.Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully Lived

Last Minute Christmas

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Two more sleeps!  Two more sleeps!  We are almost to the big day and I hope you are as excited as I am!

I do have to admit, though, I was a little grinchy earlier.  I know, I know but I was getting bogged down under my Christmas to-do list on top of my regular to-do list and it felt like they were both growing no matter how hard I was working.  Everything was starting to make me grouchy and less than Christmas-y. Last Minute Christmas | Life Healthfully Lived

Then I took these pictures for last minute Christmas recipes, and I started to feel that Christmas spirit again.  I may have also been watching Elf and other Christmas movies to help put me in the mood.  Either way, I’m glad I snapped myself out of it.  I know this time of year can be stressful, especially if you’re the one planning everything.  You want everyone else to feel the cheer of the season while you’re slowly going crazy with baking cookies, planning feasts, wrapping presents, and making hot chocolate.

While I can’t do everything on your list, I can help out with a few last minute recipes.  Both these recipes take minimal effort and can be made beforehand and then brought out when your guests arrive.  One is sweet and one is savory and both are delicious.  So if you need a quick dessert or appetizer, try one of these out.

And remember, Christmas comes without ribbons, it comes without tags.  It comes without packages, boxes or bags.  Christmas doesn’t come from a store.  Christmas means just a little bit more….

Creamy Cranberry DipLast Minute Christmas | Life Healthfully Lived

  1. Make both the cranberry sauce and no mozzarella, mozzarella.  You can do this a few days before you plan on serving the dip.  Just store them in the fridge.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375.  Oil a small glass casserole dish or another oven safe dish with a little olive oil.  Pour in the mozzarella and bake for 10 minutes.
  3. Pull out the mozzarella and pour the cranberry sauce on top.  Place the dish back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and serve warm with whatever dipping device you have.

Christmas BlondiesLast Minute Christmas | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and skins removed (don’t skip this last step!)
  • 1/4 cup oat bran
  • 2/3 cup date sugar
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract Last Minute Christmas | Life Healthfully Lived
  1. Preheat oven to 350 and oil a brownie pan with a little coconut oil.
  2. Place all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
  3. Pour the batter into the dish, scooping out the last bits with a spatula.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.  Pull out the pan and check the middle.  If it is still gooey, bake for another 10 minutes.
  4. Let the blondies cool on a rack completely before cutting and serving.  You can also sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top.  It is Christmas after all!

Last Minute Christmas | Life Healthfully Lived

Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars

/ ktbuchs87

Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully LivedWhew!  Yes that is a long name, but I had to get everything in there so you can understand just how awesome these things are.  I was really shocked when I came up with this recipe.  I had been experimenting with making caramel out of dates and after the caramel pieces that I had planned didn’t turn out as I had hoped, I thought about making a no-bake cookie bar.

These aren’t totally no bake, you do have to cook the cookie base, but that takes less than 15 minutes.  The rest you just stir together, pour, and swirl!  Which makes this perfect if you realize at the last second you said you would bring a dessert to that Christmas party you’re going to.Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully Lived

I have a few other Christmas-y recipes and posts coming your way next week before the big day, so be on the lookout for those.  I plan to spend the majority of my weekend in the kitchen.  The only time that I will be out and about is to go see the new Star Wars movie with my husband.  I have been getting a countdown for about two weeks now, so I think the man is excited.  To be honest, I am too.  While I might not be as passionate about Star Wars as he is, I really do enjoy the movies.

So if you’re going to see the movie this weekend, enjoy!  Then come home and make some hot chocolate and eat these salted caramel chocolate swirl cookie bars!  If the empire, hot chocolate, and cookie bars don’t put you in the Christmas spirit… you may have already crossed over into the dark side.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie BarsSalted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully Lived

Cookie Base- slightly adapted from this recipe by Plated with Style

  • 3/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup solid coconut oil (if your oil is liquid-y, put it in the freezer for a few minutes)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350.  In a blender or food processor, pulse all of the ingredients together until you have one dough ball.
  2. Grease an 8 x 8 pan with a little more coconut oil.  Don’t skip this step or you will end up with crumbled mess.
  3. Take the dough ball and press it onto the bottom and a little up the sides of the pan.  You can use a cup if you’re having a hard time rolling the dough out. Make sure you have a fairly even layer.
  4. Bake for about 9 minutes or until it is golden brown.  Remove from oven and let it cool before you pour the rest of the layers in.

Salted Caramel

  • 10 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked in hot water for at least 20 minutes (preferably overnight if you remember)
  • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 6 tbsp liquid coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp almond butter (could use cashew or peanut butter)
  • 1/4 tsp salt (a touch more if your nut butter isn’t salted)
  1. While the cookie layer is baking, make the caramel and chocolate layers.
  2. Make sure that your dates have been either soaking overnight or in boiling hot water.  You want to be able to remove the skins easily.
  3. Once your dates are done soaking, slip the skins off.  Most of them will slide right off, a few might give you a little fight.  As long as you get most of the skin off you should be just fine.
  4. Put the dates and the coconut oil into a blender and blend until you have a smooth and creamy paste.  You may have to scrape down the sides a few times before everything comes together.
  5. In a bowl, combine the date paste and the rest of the ingredients.  Mix until everything comes together.

Chocolate SwirlSalted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 4 oz dark chocolate (I used 100% chocolate)
  • 2 tbsp liquid coconut oil
  • 1-2 tbsp maple syrup (if you used 100% chocolate like I did)
  1. In a medium bowl, grate the dark chocolate so you have little shreds.
  2. Add the coconut oil and maple syrup and stir.
  3. In the microwave or a double boiler, melt the chocolate until it is all melted and smooth.

Putting It All Together

  1. Once the cookie layer has cooled, pour in the salted caramel and smooth evenly over everything.
  2. Pour in the chocolate swirl over the top.  Using a chopstick, toothpick, or butter knife, swirl the chocolate throughout the caramel layer.
  3. Place the pan in the freezer for at least 30 minutes so the caramel and chocolate harden.
  4. To serve, Run a butter knife under hot water for a little bit and slice the bars, wiping the knife clean each time.

Ok, I know you’re panicking at this point because this does NOT look like a simple recipe.  Trust me, this comes together a lot faster than it seems.  I finished making this in about 30 to 40-ish minutes.  And  once you taste these bars, you’ll forget about this super long list.Salted Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cookie Bars | Life Healthfully Lived

Have a great weekend friends and may the force be with you!

Apple-Banana Muffins

/ ktbuchs87

IApple-Banana Muffins | Life Healthfully Lived like to eat, eat, eat, eeples and baneenees.

If you have no clue what I am talking about, you need to spend more time in pre-school.

Last week I went to the apple orchard with my dad and came home with a whole peck of apples.  I’ve already made a huge batch of my squash apple butter, eaten as many raw as I can, and a tart is in the works.

I also wanted to try making a bread with my apples and I had a few over-ripe bananas sitting on my counter so I thought an apple/banana combo was in order.  Two baked goods in a row on the blog… Lucky you!Apple-Banana Muffins | Life Healthfully Lived

While my baking is getting better, I still run into a few problems now and then.  When I made my first batch of my bread concoction, the flavor and texture were right but it did not hold together very well.  My second time around I tweaked a few things and decided to make them into muffins instead of one loaf.

Success!

I ended up with a yummy fall inspired muffin that also happens to be gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and refined sugar-free.  Pretty impressive if I do say so myself!

Apple-Banana MuffinApple-Banana Muffins | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 3 tbsp date sugar or coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 2 large ripe bananas (the riper they are the sweeter the muffin will be)
  • 1 tbsp molasses or maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp macadamia nut butter or almond butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large apple, shredded (more subtle apple flavor) or small diced
  • 16-18 whole pecans, optional
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with paper liners
  2. Combine all of the wet ingredients and mix well until you have a smooth batter.
  3. Combine all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.  The batter will be a little stiff, that is ok.
  4. Add in the shredded or diced apple and stir to mix everything together
  5. Spoon a little over a tablespoon of the batter into each muffin well and press down just a little.  Press one pecan onto the top of each muffin.
  6. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is slightly brown and batter is set.
  7. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

These are kind of like fall in a muffin wrapper and that isn’t a bad thing. You could also try making this into two mini loaves if you really wanted bread.Apple-Banana Muffins | Life Healthfully Lived

Anyone have fun plans for this weekend?  Adam and I are planning on just hanging around our neighborhood and relaxing.  Oh and if you’re keeping count, only 8 more days until my birthday.  Delicious food presents welcome…

Happy weekend friends!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

RememberCarrot Cake Breakfast Cookie | Life Healthfully Lived those cookies I made for my cream cheese frosting?  Well, you can stop wondering about them.

I know this is the time of year that pumpkin flavored everything is everywhere.  Coffee, cookies, bread, muffins, oatmeal, stew, candles, air fresheners…. You get the idea.  Don’t get me wrong, pumpkin is awesome.  I have a whole shelf in my closet dedicated to my stock of pumpkin.  But it isn’t the only fall produce that deserves some love.

Carrots are a really versatile vegetable.  Kind of like pumpkin, they do well in sweet and savory dishes.  While I do love a good carrot soup or stew, carrot cake is where it’s at for me. Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookie | Life Healthfully Lived

These carrot cake cookies are more of a breakfast type cookie because they aren’t super sweet.  You can make it a little more decadent by turning it into a cream cheese frosting and carrot cake cookie sandwich.  Believe me, it’s delicious.

Leave the frosting off and you have a healthy breakfast cookie that’s lightly sweetened with raisins and a little maple syrup.  A cookie for breakfast?  Now that’s the dream!

Carrot Cake Breakfast CookieCarrot Cake Breakfast Cookie | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 cup regular oats, not instant
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp flax
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Mix the flax seed and water together and set aside.
  2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
  3. In a food processor or blender, combine the raisins and coconut oil until you have a smooth paste.  Add the shredded carrots and pulse a few more times.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the carrot mixture and pulse until everything is mixed together.
  5. Scoop out about a tablespoon or so and slightly flatten them into discs and place on the baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the cookies are slightly brown around the edges.  Let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

That’s it!  Keep them in an airtight container and they should last about a week, longer if you put them in the fridge. Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookie | Life Healthfully Lived

Do you have any fun plans for this weekend?  Adam and I are headed to Brazil (Indiana, not the country) to spend some time with his folks at the covered bridge festival.  It will be nice to spend time with family and just relax!