Healthy Avocado Brownies

 

**** HEALTHY AVOCADO BROWNIES ****

A friend shared with me how to make cleaned-up BROWNIES!!

I made them with my kids a couple nights ago and they were delicious! 

It hits the spot if you need a Friday night treat or something over the weekend and don't want to reverse all your hard work you put in this past week.

You will need:

• 1 large avocado
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cups coconut flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

 How to make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a blender or food processor, combine avocado, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla
3. Whisk in eggs.
4. Add in coconut flour, cocoa powder, sea salt and baking soda and still until well-combined.
5. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with coconut oil and add batter.
6. Place in oven to bake for about 25 minutes
7. Allow to cool for 20 minute before cutting into 16 brownies

You can keep them on the counter in an airtight container at room-temperature for up to 2 days or for a longer shelf-life store in fridge or freezer.

 

 

Shhhhhh maybe try not telling your kids they are "healthy" and see if them like em'

Share this recipe with someone who loves chocolate!

 

For more health tips, fitness motivation and inspiration, please follow me at www.facebook.com/jennweberfitness

 

Thank you so much for following and sharing <3

Chickpea & Squash Salad

 

Chickpea & Squash Salad

You will need:

• 1 Butternut squash
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• salt
• olive oil
• canned chickpeas
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• handful of arugula or spinach leaves
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp honey

To Make:

1. Preheat the oven to 425*
2. Peel a squash and cut into small bite sized pieces.  Place on a baking sheet with paprika, mixed herbs, and a little salt and olive oil.  Bake for 30 minutes, until tender.
3. Place the chickpeas on a separate baking sheet with the chili powder, toss well to coat and bake for 20 minutes, until they're firm but not too crunchy.
4. Mix all the dressing ingredients together, season with a bit of salt and lots of pepper.
5. Once the chickpeas and squash have cooked and cooled, mix them with the arugula or spinach leaves, then pour on the dressing and toss everything together. 

Really delicious and filling salad!!

The Abundant Food List

This year, instead of focusing on what I'm taking out of my diet, I'm going to be focusing on what I get to put into it.  I want to try new foods and new recipes each week. 

I have been reading this book called "You Are What You Eat" and it talks about which foods help to keep you slender, fit, lean and healthy -- Perfect I thought, that's exactly what I want.  To be fit, lean and healthy.

Here is what author Dr. Gillian McKeith said about her list of abundant foods.

"This list outlines the top 100 foods to eat in your everyday life.  If you truly start to eat all of these different foods on a regular basis, I can assure you that you will be doing a grand service to your body, mood and general overall health. When you adopt my diet of abundance, you will feel stronger, sexier, more energized and happier"

So this year, I'm going to try and focus on getting these foods of abundance into my body so I can feel my best, I know this won't be perfect and I will have those nights where we go out to eat and the foods may not be on this list, but it's about balance.  As long as the majority of what I eat come from these sources.   

I'm going to try new recipes that have these foods in them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and my snacks.
I'll be honest, some of these foods I didn't even know what they were.  Or how to cook them.

I will definitely be sharing the recipes that were family friendly so you can share them with your family too.

Want to know what foods to focus on ?   I will be honest, a lot of these I didn't even know how to pronounce or what they were, but I'm curious to try them out and find some meal ideas to incorporate them in it.

Here they are:

Leafy Green Vegetables

• Beet Greens
• Chicory
• Collards
• Dandelion greens
• Endive
• Escarole
• Iceberg lettuce
• Kale
• Loose-leaf lettuce
• Mache
• Mustard greens
• Turnip greens
• Parsley
• Rocket romaine
• Sorrel
• Spinach
• Swiss chard
• Watercress

Raw Nuts

• Almonds
• Brazil Nuts
• Cashews (in moderation)
• Filberts
• Hazelnuts
• Chestnuts
• Pecans
• Pine Nuts
• Pistachios
• Walnuts

Seeds

• Chia
• Flax
• Pumpkin
• Sesame
• Sunflower

Vegetables

• Artichoke
• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Brussels spouts
• Bok Choy
• Chinese Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac
• Celery
• Daikon
• Eggplant
• Green Peas
• Kohlrabi
• Okra
• Onions
• Parsley
• Parsnip
• Pepper
• Potato
• Radish
• Squash
• Tomato
• Turnip
• Watercress
• Yam
• Zucchini

Flours

• Amaranth
• Durum wheat
• Graham
• Oat
• Potato
• Soy
• Sunflower seed
• Tapioca

Grains

• Amaranth
• Barley
• Basmati Rice
• Brown Rice
• Buckwheat
• Bulgur wheat
• Corn
• Kamut
• Millet
• Oats
• Quinoa
• Rye
• Spelt

Beans

• Aduki
• Anaszi
• Black turtle
• Fava
• Garbanzo
• Great Northern
• Lentils
• Lima
• Navy
• Pinto
• Soybeans

Fresh Herbs (for seasoning)

• Basil
• Bay
• Cardamom
• Chervil
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Dill
• Fennel
• Fenugreek
• Ginger
• Marjoram
• Mint
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Saffron
• Tarragon
• Thyme
• Umeboshi plums

Herbal Teas

• Camomile
• Dandelion
• Fennel
• Ginger
• Ginseng
• Hawthorn
• Horsetail
• Lemon Balm
• Licorice
• Melissa
• Nettle
• Pau d'arco
• Peppermint
• Red clover
• Red raspberry
• Rose hips
• Slippery elm
• Spearmint
• Valerian root

Fruit

• Cranberries
• Currants
• Dates
• Gooseberries
• Grapefruit
• Kumquat
• Lemons
• Limes
• Loganberries
• Oranges
• Passion Fruit
• Pineapples
• Pomegranates
• Strawberries
• Tangelos
• Tangerines
• Apples
• Apricots
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Guavas
• Huckleberries
• Kiwi fruits
• Loquats
• Lychees
• Mangos
• Mulberries
• Nectarines
• Papayas
• Peaches
• Pears
• Cactus Fruit
• All dried fruits
• Bananas
• Dates
• Figs
• Melons - banana, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon

Tofu

Tempeh

Fish

That's the list of Abundant foods from the book "You Are What You Eat" by Dr Gillian McKeith. 

Where there some you didn't know of like me ? 
How many would you say you eat in a day or week? 
Would you be willing and open to trying something new once a week to see if you like it? 

Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup

 

This soup is delicious and our kids liked it too with some toast on the side.

Perfect if you have some extra sweet potatoes left over from the holidays.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 14 ounces of coconut milk
• 2 tsp tamari
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

How to make:

1. Peel the sweet potatoes, chop them into bite-size chunks and place them in a steamer.  Steam until soft. (I used my handy Epicure Steamer so this took about 8 minutes to steam potatoes)
2. Put the sweet potatoes in a blender with all the remaining ingredients. Pour in 3/4 cup of water and blend until smooth.  (I just used my bullet and did two batches of blending)
3. Transfer soup to a saucepan and heat gently until it's nice and warm

Please let me know if you tried this and if you love it.

 

Feel free to share with others if you think they would enjoy this too!