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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Frozen Chocolate Treats (Healthy, Vegan & No Bake)

I discovered coconut oil recently. I saw it when I was grabbing some olive oil at the market and it was totally an impulse buy. I am sure glad I bought some, because I'm kind of in love with it. On the back on the jar, it says something like "chefs know, athletes know, and the beautiful people know that natural plant based coconut oil can be a very good thing."

And now I know too and I feel super cool that I am "in the know." Haha. I was playing around on Pinterest a few days ago and I came across a website with tons of healthy recipes that use coconut oil in them. This recipe for homemade icy square chocolates from DAMY Health stood out to me. I thought it sounded like it could be pretty darn good. So I tried it, and it is better than pretty darn good. And it is raw and vegan and healthy, so that makes me feel even better when I bite into the delicious chocolate treat. Don't get me wrong, just because something is healthy and vegan does not mean it is void of calories. Each piece has about 120 calories. But that is not so bad, and if you want a treat under 100 calories, you can make them in mini muffin tins. They are best when they are kept cold in the freezer. I brought them to a friend's house last night to serve after dinner. My friend, who has good taste in chocolate, was also blown away by how good the vegan frozen chocolate treats are. You will be to. Go ahead and make them. What are you waiting for?

Recipe for Frozen Chocolate Treats (Healthy, Vegan & No Bake)

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of coconut oil (at room temperature)
1/4 cup of raw cocoa powder (or regular cocoa powder)
1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp. of sweetened flaked coconut, plus more for sprinkling (leave this out if you want it to be sugar free)
2 tsp. of cacao nibs (optional)
3 Tbsp. of raw almonds

DIRECTIONS:
Put all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Run the processor for a minute or more, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth. Generously butter (okay, so if you use butter it is no longer vegan, but that's what I did since I'm not a vegan) or spray with oil (this would make it vegan) the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin. Use a cookie dough scoop to scoop up a little less than a tablespoon of the mixture and let it spread over the bottom of each muffin cup. Continue adding the mixture into the rest of the muffin cups. Then sprinkle the tops with a little coconut or chopped almonds, if desired. Put the muffin tin in the freezer and freeze for a couple hours. Use a knife to gently loosen each at the sides and pop out of the cups. Place them in an airtight container and store in the freezer until ready to eat.

Use mini muffin tins if you want to make this an under 100 calorie treat!

Makes 12. Approximately 120 calories in each piece. 

ORIGINAL RECIPE FROM DAMY HEALTH 

3 comments:

  1. This sounds amazing! I've been wanting to try cocunut oil and now I have an excuse to get some and try it! :)

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  2. The combination of flavors excited me. I made some and after trying one I decided that this is one of my favorite treats :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Megan! I'm glad you liked them. They are definitely one of my fave treats now too - but it is hard for me to just eat one or two. Haha :0)

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