If Sweet Potatoes and Waffles Had A Baby...

So basically, two of my favorite foods have gotten together, gotten a little frisky, and created an incredibly delicious love child... which I will now share with you. 

Friends, I give you... the SWEET POTATO WAFFLE. :D

Here's what you'll need:

• 4TBSP melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Here's how you'll make the "batter":

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

2. Slice the potatoes in half, wrap in foil, and bake for 50 minutes until fork tender. 

3. Allow potatoes to cool, then remove flesh and discard the skins. 

4. Add the potatoes to the rest of the wet ingredients and just combine all. 

5. In a separate small bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. 

6. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until they are fully combined. 

7. Follow your waffle maker's instructions and work in batches (roughly 1/4 cup of batter per waffle). 

8. Enjoy the SHIT out of these badboys. :)

So... how do you feel about doughnuts??

So by now, you know that I love dessert. I mean, I FREAKING LOVE DESSERT. If I could "shout it from the rooftops," so to speak, I'd do it on a daily.

I haven't had a doughnut in so long... simply because these days I'd rather spend the calories on something a little more nutritionally dense. However, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that sometimes these delectable treats don't pop up in a dream or two.

With that said, I thought it might be worth my time to scour the internets and find a "skinny" doughnut recipe worthy enough to share with my friends... and I hit the mother load with this one!

Ready for it?!
It's a Skinny Vanilla Bean Doughnut. <insert drool here>

So how do you make this delectable little devil?

Ingredients:

Donuts:

1 C. Whole Wheat White Flour

1/4 C. Sugar/Sweetener/Honey (I used half sugar and half sweetener.)

1 Tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 Large Egg

1/4 C. Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt

2 Tbsp. Fat Free Milk

1 1/2 Tbsp. Light Butter, Softened

1 Tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste

Vanilla Bean Glaze:

1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp. Fat Free Milk

1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste (or vanilla extract... but the paste is better!)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and lightly spray a doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• Combine the first four dry ingredients (flour, sugar/sweetener, baking powder, and cinnamon) into a large bowl until well blended. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining wet ingredients until smooth and creamy. 
• Add the wet ingredients in with the dry and combine until everything is fully incorporated.
• Spoon the dough into the prepared doughnut pan, dividing evenly among the sections.
• Place the pan into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the doughnuts are cooked through. (The doughnuts will not turn golden brown, but should 'spring back' to the touch when done.)
• In the mean time, whisk the ingredients for the glaze together in a small bowl and set aside.
• Once done, remove the doughnuts from the oven and allow to cool.
• Dip the doughnuts face-down into the glaze and set on a wire rack until set. Maybe 5 minutes or so.

Nutritional Information:

Servings: 8 • Size: 1 Doughnut • Calories: 118.6 • Fat: 1.2 g • Carbs: 23.5 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 3.4 g • Sugar: 11.1 g • Sodium: 89.8 mg

Valentine's Day Special... Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Doughettes!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup almond butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup instant oats
• 3 tbsp mini-chocolate chips

Mix the almond butter, honey, vanilla extract and salt in a bowl. Pour in the oats and chocolate chips. Stir until everything is all mixed. Shape the mix into a giant dough ball. Cover your dough and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Afterwards, use a tablespoon to portion it out and roll into little mini balls. 

Enjoy!!

Valentine's Day Shake Recipes!! :D

If you are looking to shake up your shake, check these ideas out... they are literally TO DIE! All of these call for Shakeology, but you can substitute a high quality protein powder of your choice. I definitely recommend Shakeology, however, because it's nutritional value is incredible, and by far the best on the market. You don't want to feed your body junk, believe me. I've tried. It doesn't work.

Enjoy!! :)

1. Strawberry Valentine

Be mine! This strawberry smoothie is sweet and pink, just like a Valentine.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk
1 scoop Greenberry Shakeology (or protein powder of your choice)
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
½ cup ice

Place almond milk, Shakeology, strawberries, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

2. Double Berry

This delicious smoothie has the flavor of sweet raspberries and strawberries, plus 12 grams of fiber per serving!

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop Strawberry Shakeology (or protein powder of your choice)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup ice

Place almond milk, Shakeology, raspberries, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

3. Neapolitan with Strawberries

Strawberry, Chocolate, and Vanilla Shakeology blend perfectly to taste like Neapolitan ice cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/3 scoop Strawberry Shakeology (or protein powder of your choice)

1/3 scoop Vanilla Shakeology

1/3 scoop Chocolate Shakeology

1 cup ice

Place almond milk, Shakeology, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

4. Choco-cherry licious

Frozen black cherries are already pitted, so there’s no muss or fuss to add delicious cherry flavor in your shake! Look for unsweetened cherries to keep this smoothie healthy.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology (or protein powder of your choice)

½ cup frozen unsweetened black cherries, pitted

½ cup ice

Place almond milk, Shakeology, cherries, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

5. Strawberry Sea Salt

A little bit salty, a little bit sweet, and totally delicious.

Ingredients:

1 cup nonfat milk

1 scoop Strawberry Shakeology (or protein powder of your choice)

1 dash sea salt

1 cup ice

Place milk, Shakeology, salt, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

6. Tirimisu

“Tiramisu” is the Italian word for “pick-me-up,” but in dessert form it’s more like  something to weigh you down. Try this tiramisu-flavored smoothie instead!

Ingredients:
1 cup brewed coffee, chilled
1 scoop Vanilla Shakeology
1 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese (or part-skim ricotta cheese)
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. pure rum extract
½ cup ice

Place coffee, Shakeology, cheese, cocoa powder, extract, and ice in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.

Chocolate Mocha Mousse!!

Craving chocolate? This creamy mocha mousse tastes decadent, but it is good for you and loaded with protein.

Ingredients:
4 oz soft tofu
1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp. all-natural almond butter
1 medium strawberry, sliced

Preparation:
1. Place tofu, Shakeology, almond milk, and almond butter in blender and pulse until smooth.
2. Place mousse in a medium serving bowl; garnish with strawberry if desired.

Healthy Banana Pancakes!

Dude. Breakfast just got a whole lot more awesome.

Banana Oat Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup oats
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c milk of choice
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon ( more to taste)
• Optional: chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Process oats in food processor until they become a flour consistency. (This may take a bit of time, but if you don’t process to a flour, pancakes will be gritty.)

2. Add in banana and egg. Process until a smooth texture.

3. Add in milk, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Process until combined.

4. Warm up the griddle and use whatever oil, butter or ghee to grease it up and then spoon batter to form pancakes. Add walnuts or pecans if desired. Wait until edges bubble and flip.

Enjoy!! :)

Pomegranate Chocolately Goodness!!

Pomegranates are so delicious... and they are an often over-looked superfood. Add in chocolate and you've got a proverbial GOLDMINE.

So how do you make this treasure? 

You'll need:

• 2/3 cup of raw cacao
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1-2 pomegranates, de-seeded
• 1 tsp sea salt

Add the first 3 ingredients to a bowl and mix well until you have a uniform consistency. Pour mixture into a parchment or Saran wrap lined pan. Pour pomegranate seeds evenly across the chocolate and push them down gently. Sprinkle with sea salt. Place chocolate bark in the freezer for 20 minutes. Break apart carefully with the pomegranate side facing down so you don't squirt yourself with juice! Store in the freezer in an airtight container. :)

You can also make them in cupcake tins, if you want easy individual portions.