The Most Inconsistant Blogger Award Goes to....

...ME!

I once again apologize for being so MIA. I'll make it up to everyone with two words:

Clean Chocolate.

I have a serious love for chocolate. I've always been that person who craves chocolate after dinner (ok let's be honest I crave it all the time, but can usually hold out until after dinner).

There aren't a ton of clean chocolates out there that I've liked. Plus they are very expensive.

So a few months ago I came across a few pinterest recipes for clean/paleo friendly chocolate. I've tried a few recipes and they were ok. I finally played around in the kitchen and came up with this.

Clean Eating Candy

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil (at least partially melted, if not all the way)
1/2 cup pure cocoa (I use Hershey's)
1/2 cup ground almonds (or you can try cashews or peanuts) OR1/2 cup almond or peanut butter
1/4 cup raw honey (not the processed stuff)
1 tsp pure almond extract (optional)
1 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (optional)

Mix all ingredients in food processor or blender.
It will be stiff and awkward (much like my junior prom date). The mixture is not supposed to be runny or it will not work!

Press the ingredients into a mold. You can use several different things for the mold: ice cube trays, fancy silicon ice cube trays (they are super cheap at Target or Amazon), or even cupcake liners. You will need to use your finger or spoon to press it in there since it's not a runny mixture.

Place in refrigerator until they harden (a few hours). I usually just make them and then let them sit overnight. Then you just gently pop them out of the mold and store them in the fridge in a ziplock bag.

I use these heart shaped silicon molds I got at Target on clearance. This recipe makes 28 using these which is the perfect post dinner treat. They are rich enough where one or two is plenty.

Here is a breakdown of the nutrition facts based on how I made them with almonds.
 1 piece: 60 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram protein, 1 gram sodium, 4 carbs, 1 gram sugar

So definitely not a diet buster, but at the same time remember just because it's clean doesn't mean you can eat the whole batch :)

You can make these into peanut butter cups (just layer chocolate and peanut butter in the cupcake liners), peanut clusters, chocolate coconut ball....the possibilities are endless :)

We make a batch every Sunday and Jeff and I enjoy them all week. He actually didn't like them the first time that I made them, but now he loves them too. I love that I am able to eat chocolate everyday and not feel guilty at all. That's a great feeling :)

I haven't been weighing myself lately, because I'm trying to focus on how I feel and not just the number on the scale. I've been a lot less stressed since making this switch. I can tell I'm losing weight, because my clothes are starting to get much looser and I can see muscles forming in my legs and arms. I'll weigh myself in a few weeks to see where I'm at before I start p90X, but until then I'm staying off of the scale.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!