Category Archives: Dessert
Saturday Night + Dark Chocolate Avocado Cookies
My Saturday evening was a low-key night at home. Sometimes, when the weekend comes around I am ready to dress up and go out with friends. Other times I’m so ready to spend time at home in comfy clothes and messy hair. Last night was one of the latter. It was a perfect compilation of making a healthy veggie-filled dinner, sipping on Sprout’s coffee, listening to new music (Echosmith’s album obsession), watching the latest Grey’s Anatomy episode, reading some of 50 Shades of Grey (more on that further down) and spontaneously creating a vegan-ish, gluten-free, and (most importantly) super-chocolately dessert.
Last weekend was full of craziness; next weekend I have all sorts of fun plans. So I really didn’t mind a casual Saturday night at home this weekend. It was so relaxing :)
Before last night, I hadn’t watched any television shows (including the news or Sports Center *gasp*) in over two weeks. Too busy playing catch-up from missing a week of school due to my internship! But now that I’m getting back on schedule, I had the series finale of Parenthood and the return of Grey’s Anatomy waiting for me in my Hulu queue.
In between though, I was struck with inspiration to raid my kitchen cupboards and create something for dessert that was still semi-healthy. Also….Sprout’s had avocados on sale this week so I bought 5. Then all 5 proceeded to ripen at the same exact time. This is my alternative to guacamole:
That adorable mug is from one of my best friends, Miss Chelsea! It is too perfect for me. (Chelsea and I are no strangers to baking with avocados, either!)
Chocolate Avocado Cookies:
Makes 20 soft cookies
- “meat” of 1 very ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup stevia (or substitute regular sugar)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup Chobani Greek yogurt (0% fat, plain flavor)
- 1 egg
- 1 tps. vanilla
- 1 Tbs. instant coffee granules
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup oat flour (ground oats)
- splash of almond milk (approx. 3 Tbs)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the avocado, stevia, and sugar with a mixer until smooth.
3. Add in the yogurt, egg, and vanilla.
4. In a small bowl, combine oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and coffee granules. Add this dry mixture to the wet mixture. Stir to combine.
5. Add in almond milk as needed to thin out the batter.
6. Use a spoon to place batter on baking sheets. **Note: this batter will not flatten out or expand, so the “shape” it goes on the pan is the shape it will come out in.
7. Top cookie dough with chocolate chips. Bake for 10 minutes, and allow to cool before enjoying with a steaming mug of delicious coffee or a cold glass of milk. Sharing is highly recommended.
The recipe really was just an experiment, and thank goodness it turned out. My roommate and I polished off that place seconds after this photo was captured ;)
Now on to my reading material…. I love to read. My book shelves at home are completely filled with novels I’ve read but can’t bare to get rid of, mostly fiction. When I received a book for Christmas that I had already read, I decided to exchange it for 50 Shades of Grey and finally see what all of the hype is about.
Guys…… the writing style and the conversations between the characters are so weak, it ruins my interest in the plot! I know this book has millions of fans and maybe it improves? I wanted to finish reading the book before the movie comes out next week but honestly, I’d rather just read some blog posts instead :)
What’s your ideal Saturday night?
Kelly’s Famous Energy Bites
You don’t know how tempted I was to call these “Boss Lady Balls.” But then I reconsidered, unsure of what kind of audience a title like that would attract ;)
Kelly (AKA my mom…) whips this recipe up at least once a month now, and I asked her for the measurements so I could share with you! They are so versatile, you really just need a rough guide to start with. Then let you’re creativity take over. (My favorite version includes dried tart cherries and dried apricots, though she has made some butterscotch chip balls that are melt-in-yo-mouth drool-worthy).
There’s nothing too earth-shattering in these. They are simple to throw together and they require no baking (AKA you can make them in your dorm room!) But they are such a hit! Everyone we share them with asks for the recipe to make their own.
The Recipe:
(Makes 40-ish bites)
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup dried fruit
- 1/3 cup crushed pecans
- 2 tsp vanilla
Combine ingredients and roll onto parchment paper in 1″ balls. Pop them into the freezer and try not to eat the whole batch in one day.
I’m dying to recreate these on my own pretty soon, using pumpkin to replace some of the peanut butter, and smashed banana to replace some of the honey. I’m thinking they’d be pretty great with some crushed pistachios or even a little bit of toasted coconut.
OH THE POSSIBILITES :)
It has the texture of raw cookie dough. Probably the reason why it’s so dang delicious. It feels wrong ;)
And now I’ve shared TWO dessert-y recipes in a row, so I guess we’re due for a little fitness post next, huh?
How Was Your Weekend?
Throwback Thursday – Blog Post Style
This morning I loved waking up to Instagram posts of baby pictures, parents’ wedding pictures, embarrassing elementary poses. It must be Thursday! (side note: does it constitute a “throwback” if it happened less than a month ago…?)
After over 2 years of blogging, I have an archive of 250 blog posts. Most of which are bound to go unnoticed by new-to-the-blog readers, and lay under the radar in the giant info-overload that is the internet. Instead of leaving them in the cobwebs, I wanted to pull some back into the frontlines for a second life. Starting this week, I’m bringing #TBT to SLMC! Thursday’s will now include a favorite forgotten workout, recipe, or recap post. :)
This was originally posted on September 17, 2012 during the first few weeks of sophomore year (when the blog was still a baby, awww…). Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of NEW goodies to share in the coming days too. In the meantime….THIS FROZEN YOGURT. Omg.
Enjoy!
SUMMER’S ENDING, MAKE FROZEN YOGURT
(September 2012)
“It’s already the middle of September, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte is already back at Starbucks. I guess that means summer is wrapping up, huh? Well it hasn’t completely started cooling down yet, so I think we can get away with one more batch of frozen yogurt before switching pumpkin-and-apple-flavor-everything.
This weekend has been the most productive couple of days… There was the first home football game of the season, a complete shut out by our boys! My suitemates switched up roommates, (lots of heavy furniture moving involved) and now I have a wonderful new roomie! The Price is Right Live show was a fun and different way to start a Saturday night, but I sadly walked away empty handed. Then there was my first strength training workout, my first James Bond movie (a homework assignment- I would rather be watching old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy) and a ridiculous amount of homework plus some other fun stuff here and there. I wasn’t ready for this Monday morning alarm clock but here I am, hair curled and all, ready to share a super-healthy-super-sweet-summer-dessert : )
You will need:
1 1/2 Cups Vanilla non-fat Greek Yogurt
1 Cup fresh strawberries, diced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar *could substitute 1/4 cup with stevia
1 dark chocolate bar, broken into pieces
6 graham crackers, broken not crushed
*An ice cream maker
1. Heat diced strawberries, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until they start to soften. Drain and refrigerate until cool.
2. Once the strawberries are cold, stir in the greek yogurt.
3. Pour yogurt mixture into the ice cream maker and allow to mix together in the machine for 20 minutes.
4. By hand, mix in the graham cracker and chocolate pieces; place the whole bowl in the freezer for at least 60 minutes before serving.
If you like greek frozen yogurt, you may also want to try: Peach n’ Pecan Greek Frozen Yogurt
Now we can welcome autumn. Onto all things cinnamon & spice.”
:)
