Hello World!  Hope you’re all well today! We are back to winter; at least,

southeast Texas winter. It’s only going to be mid 60’s today, but it was mid 40’s this morning (COLD) & my heat was on… 🙂   Today I’m going to share a few dark chocolate healthy recipes with you. I also want to talk a bit about procrastination… First the recipes:

Dark Chocolate Recipes:  Sweet Treats With a Positive Impact on Heart Health

Dark chocolate not only tastes great — studies show that it can improve health & lower the risk of heart disease. Here are 3 recipes made with this powerful source of antioxidants

Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

This is a new, healthier twist on an old favorite. The added flax seeds

provide a great source of healthy fat, antioxidants, & fiber (soluble & insoluble). Research has shown that consumption of flax seeds may lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, lung disease, & cancer (specifically prostate, breast, & colon). Flax seeds can also lower your blood cholesterol. These muffins are also vegan-friendly!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour

1 cup wheat bran

1/4 cup flaxseeds

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 pinch each: ground nutmeg, allspice, & ginger

10 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 cup raisins or other dried fruit

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 muffin cups with paper

liners. Whisk flour, bran, rolled oats, flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, allspice, & nutmeg together in a bowl. Mix bananas & coconut oil together in a separate large bowl; stir dry ingredients into banana mixture. Fold in walnuts, dark chocolate chips, & dried fruit into batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full.

Bake muffins in the preheated oven until lightly golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (about 30 minutes)

Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Love the taste of chocolate & peanut butter? These snack bars are a sweet

treat with added protein from Greek yogurt & protein powder. Adding sunflower seeds to this recipe gives you a boost of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids & fiber.

Ingredients:

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup natural peanut butter, heated until melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 fluid ounces pure maple syrup

1 cup vanilla-flavored protein powder

1 dark chocolate bar (2 oz.), chopped

 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13×9-inch baking dish

with non-stick cooking spray. Mix oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, brown sugar, sea salt, & cinnamon together in a large bowl.

Stir yogurt, coconut oil, peanut butter, vanilla, & maple syrup, together in a separate bowl until smooth. Add to oats mixture & stir to coat. Mix protein powder & chocolate into the mixture & spread into the baking dish. Bake in the oven until browned (about 15 minutes). For crispier bars, cut into bars after baking, put on a cookie sheet, & bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Your kids will never know that these cookies are good for them! The cocoa

nibs & walnuts are packed with antioxidants, & the chia & flax seeds provide additional fiber, protein, & omega-3 fatty acids.

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons hot water

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 cups flour

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup cocoa nibs

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with

parchment paper. Beat coconut sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, butter, and coconut oil with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat eggs into creamed butter mixture one at a time. Add vanilla extract & beat until smooth. Stir hot water & baking soda together in a small bowl until baking soda is dissolved. Stir into butter mixture. Add cream of tartar & mix well. Mix flour into butter mixture until dough is smooth. Then fold in chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips, & salt. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Bake until cookies are lightly browned around the edges (about 12 minutes). Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

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These sound good to me. I love dark chocolate! If you make any of these recipes, let me know what you think of them…

Procrastination:  Now I want to ask if anyone else is sometimes plagued with

procrastination (a word that I’d like to remove from the dictionary), especially when stepping out of your comfort zone? I am & I need to break this bad habit now. I’ve been putting off figuring out Pinterest Group Boards because I’ll have to go outside my comfort zone to do so, but if I don’t figure them out now, I don’t know what I’ll do; so I must figure them out. In fact, when I’m done with today’s post, I’m going to Pinterest to figure this out. I’ll let you know how it goes…

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