There’s something about the sweet and salty combo of salted chocolate that’s just magical. And of course you can’t go wrong with cookie dough. The almond meal and arrowroot combo provides the base of the “dough” without any grains or gluten. The cashew butter adds that extra layer of creaminess to really tie it all together. You can just use more almond meal if you don’t have cashew butter, but I really like the neutral, almost cream cheese like flavor that it gives to the truffle.

Bite sized

One of the things I like about these, in addition to their chocolatey goodness of course, is that they’re in nice individual sized portions. Now I can’t say that I’ve ever stopped at just one, however this does make them easier to serve. It’s also nice for when the little guy wants a treat; one of these can go a long way for a 4 year old.

They do get a little bit melty in our house, which is unreasonably warm, so they’re stored in the fridge or freezer. If your house is cooler than 74 degrees, then feel free to keep them at room temperature. Keeping them really cold also helps them from melting all over your fingers as you’re noshing down on one. Be warned though, that too long in the freezer makes them a little hard to chew.

Make it dairy free

To keep it dairy free, use ghee instead of pastured butter. You could also use coconut oil, but ghee smells like toffee to me and gives a phenomenal, concentrated butter flavor without the milk proteins some are sensitive too. I also use this brand of chocolate chips since they’re dairy, soy and gluten free, as my other half doesn’t handle dairy well.

The post Dark Chocolate Salted Cookie Dough Truffles – Paleo appeared first on The Herbal Spoon.

Easter memories of stuffing my face

Easter was one of my favorite holidays when I was a kid because of the candy. I would get an Easter basket from my parents full of the sugary stuff, and I’d get yet another basket full of candy from my grandparents. We were all so obsessed with the candy, that one year my grandma had to resort to counting each jellybean after the cousins complained some family members were getting more than them.

Although I’m no longer Easter basket greedy, I wouldn’t mind having a bit of candy this year. We’re trying very hard to completely remove refined sugar from our diets though. I’ve had to get creative over the years and we now sweeten almost everything with natural sweeteners, like with these grain free jam thumbprint cookies, or this raspberry chocolate mousse with a secret superfood ingredient.

A healthy version that also tastes great

Fortunately I came up with a way to completely skip the refined sugar from these chocolate peanut butter eggs. Yep, even the chocolaty goodness covering the outside uses a natural sweetener. The chocolate is a play off of my favorite healthy candy bars recipe and is full of healthy fats, antioxidants and minerals.

Typically the peanut butter filling is thickened with powdered sugar, but this version uses the secret power of coconut flour instead. Since coconut flour is super high in fiber, it really absorbs moisture without adding an overpowering coconut flavor.

I’ve shaped these into eggs since it’s Easter time, but feel free to make a Christmas tree version for the Holidays, or heart shaped for Valentine’s day. You don’t have to wait for a holiday to whip a batch up though, they’re that good.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

Ingredients

Peanut butter filling

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup and 2 Tbsps coconut flour
• 1/4 cup raw honey

Chocolate coating

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup cocoa butter wafers
• 1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Using a mixer combine all of the filling ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Let the mixture thicken for 10-15 minutes, then give it a good mix again. It should come together and form a cookie dough like consistency.
2. Meanwhile, on the stove melt the cocoa butter and coconut oil together over the lowest heat possible while stirring constantly.
3. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and raw honey.
4. Pinch off pieces of the filling/dough that are slightly smaller than golf ball size and roll into a ball with your palms. Place the balls on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and flatten with fingers. Use your fingers to shape the top of the ball into a tapered, egg-like shape.
5. Freeze the tray of peanut butter eggs for about 7 minutes, or until very firm.
6. Dip the frozen peanut butter eggs into the chocolate coating, and then place them back onto the lined baking sheet. I just used my fingers and set the egg into the chocolate mixture, flipped it over and then let a bit of the excess drip off before setting it on the tray. I then used my finger to gently cover the area where my finger had left a mark in the top of the chocolate coating.
7. Let the coating firm up for a few minutes, then enjoy eating your chocolate peanut butter eggs!

Do you have any favorite Easter traditions? Looking to start some new ones? Let us know in the comments below!

Linked at: DIY Crush Party

The post Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs – Naturally Sweetened, Gluten and Dairy Free appeared first on The Herbal Spoon.

I absolutely love spinach. I like it in a salad with strawberries and poppy seed dressing, stirred into alfredo pasta or even sautéed with a bit of vinegar and honey. My toddler, not so much. Little green leaves are not appealing to him! I’ve found a way to make breakfast fun and healthy with these nutrient dense green eggs and ham.

What is appealing to him right now is the Cat in The Hat. He’s been watching it on PBS and we’ve been reading it on his potty while he potty trains. He didn’t used to sit still for books, but I’ve found that if he has a stuffed animal of one of the book’s characters, or even a TV show to connect it to, he’s much more engaged. I try to limit TV time, but  Cat in the Hat series   is one of the few shows I’m ok with.

Green Eggs and Ham

I make “green eggs” for breakfast and my little one loves the color. And I love that they’re full of veggies … he just doesn’t know it. The book “Green Eggs and Ham,” makes eating these eggs even more fun for kids.

We like to top the eggs with salsa and cheese, but these are good even without it. And I promise, they don’t taste like spinach! Recipes usually add milk to eggs when they’re scrambled, but there’s enough liquid here with the spinach.

This recipe  works best with a high speed blender, since it will really liquefy the spinach and you won’t be left with any green spinach flecks. I have a refurbished Vitamix that I really like, use every day and it cost  about half of a new one.  A regular blender or even a ninja blender won’t get it as smooth, but it will get the job done and you’ll have yummy green eggs that the kiddos will love!

Share this recipe with someone who could use a fun and healthy breakfast by using the share buttons below!

The post Green Eggs and Ham Without Food Coloring appeared first on The Herbal Spoon.

So I just received my first Conscious Box in the mail last week and I have to say, I absolutely loved it! One product that really stood out was the vampire killer flavored “Brad’s Raw Kale Chips”. I decided that I needed to make my own version of these, and to keep it raw I made some cheesy garlic dehydrated kale chips.

Cheesy garlic dehydrated kale chips

We had some kale that needed to be used and my grandma lent me her dehydrator forever ago and I’d yet to use it so… last night I experimented.

The Brad’s recipe used chickpea miso, which I didn’t have, so I replaced it with nutritional yeast. I think the yeast gives these dehydrated kale chips an even cheesier flavor!   My husband thought they tasted even better than the original chips and I loved the price. The Brad’s brand chips cost $7.49 per ounce. My homemade ones cost much less than that, but price will vary depending on where you get your ingredients.

Sourcing ingredients

I bought the cashews and sunflower seeds in bulk from Whole Foods.  I’ve included the brands I use and recommend in the recipe if you can’t find the ingredients you need locally. I buy a lot of my natural pantry items online though since it’s usually much cheaper than my local store. The cost for making these dehydrated kale chips will vary, but it will still be significantly cheaper than buying the prepackaged ones.

What’s your favorite healthy, crunchy snack to munch on? Let us know in the comments and be sure to share this post with a friend!

The post Cheesy Garlic Dehydrated Kale Chips -raw, vegan and paleo appeared first on The Herbal Spoon.