Fudgy Avocado Brownies

So, I know this may sound weird - the idea of making brownies with avocados. But, think about this.

According to authoritynutrition.com, Avocados are full of nutrients.

 Avocados are very nutritious and contain a wide variety of nutrients, including 20 different vitamins and minerals.

Here are some of the most abundant nutrients, in a single 3.5 ounce (100 gram) serving (3):

Vitamin K: 26% of the RDA.
Folate: 20% of the RDA.
Vitamin C: 17% of the RDA.
Potassium: 14% of the RDA.
Vitamin B5: 14% of the RDA.
Vitamin B6: 13% of the RDA.
Vitamin E: 10% of the RDA.
Then it contains small amounts of Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Phosphorous, Vitamin A, B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin) and B3 (Niacin).
This is coming with 160 calories, 2 grams of protein and 15 grams of healthy fats. Although it contains 9 grams of carbs, 7 of those are fiber so there are only 2 “net” carbs, making this a low-carb friendly plant food.

So, when I stumbled upon a brownie recipe with avocados being one of the chief ingredients, it certainly caught my attention. I for one love avocados, but even so, I've never made brownies before using them.

But nevertheless, I tried it.

And I just want to say that I love them! The dark chocolate does create a VERY chocolate-y flavor, along with the cocoa. I also added sweet and low along with the sugar-free maple syrup, for a sweeter flavor. All in all, I love this recipe, and I'll definitely be using it again!

Kudos to Elizabeth's recipe on her Frugal Mom eh blog!

FUDGY AVOCADO BROWNIES WITH AVOCADO FROSTING

Ingredients:

300 g dark chocolate (chopped or chips)
2 tbsp Coconut oil
2-4 hass avocados, pitted and peeled
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup less 1 Tbsp. coconut flour

For the Avocado Frosting:

One medium sized hass avocado, pitted and peeled
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp maple syrup

Healthy + Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies!

So today I tried making a batch of these, except I ran into a couple issues. 

One, I couldn't find oat flour at my grocery store, so I went ahead and used Almond flour. 

Two, I just realized I didn't use the cinnamon, and I also used sugar-free maple syrup to enhance the taste. 

Three, I wasn't sure if they meant just regular salt, but I went ahead and used sea salt. 

And lastly, I added two egg whites for protein. All in all, this recipe is great - it results in very yummy cookies that are very healthy. I'm usually not a fan of dark chocolate, but I liked the rich taste of it with the overall cookie. I'll definitely be using this recipe again! 

I got this recipe from Chelsea's blog Chelsea's Messy Apron. And here's the recipe:

BEST EVER HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 

SAVE PRINT

PREP TIME

10 mins

COOK TIME

10 mins

TOTAL TIME

20 mins

 

Serves: 18 cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 and 1/2 cups oat flour (regular oats blended)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• Optional: coarse sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take regular old fashioned oats or quick oats and blend them until they resemble a flour or powder in a blender or food processor.
2. Combine the vanilla extract, large egg, and brown sugar in a bowl. Melt the coconut oil and let it cool slightly before adding to the bowl. Beat everything together until just combined.
3. Stir in the oat flour (measured after blending NOT before), baking soda, cinnamon (scale this amount to taste preferences), and salt.
4. Stir until just combined and then fold in the dark chocolate chips.
5. Chill the dough for at least one hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Using a cookie scoop (and pack these in the scoop very tightly or they may crumble), scoop out balls of the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press a few more chocolate chips in the tops if desired.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
9. Remove and allow to stay on the baking sheet for another 2 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.
10. Enjoy!

Quick Tips:

1. Any substitutions NOT recommended. Although some "tried and true" substitutions may work in other recipes, I do not guarantee they work in this recipe. Especially substituting out the coconut oil (it is needed for stability in this recipe)
2. Scoop out the dough with a cookie scoop to avoid the coconut oil coming back to room temperature after the chilling. Don't have a cookie scoop? Use your hands, but then re-chill the dough for 15-30 minutes after the balls are rolled.
3. Pack in the cookies TIGHT in the cookie scoop (or your hands) to avoid crumbly cookies.
4. It is recommended you check your baking soda and make sure it is not expired. Old baking soda will cause an off taste in these cookies and may make them very flat.
5. Measure the ingredients exactly. As with most baked goods, loosely measuring may result in cookies that do not work out.
6. If your cookies are turning out a little dryer than you would like, check the following things: are you packing in the oat flour too tightly? Don't pack in the oat flour and perhaps try spooning and leveling the flour into the cup measurers. Are you measuring the coconut oil when solid? Make sure to measure it in a liquid form. What kind of egg are you using? The recipe calls for a large egg, not medium. I use and highly recommend organic eggs. They are always a little larger than "regular" large eggs and have a yellower yolk which tends to add more flavor and moistness to these cookies.
7. Allow the cookies to cool completely or they tend to be crumbly. They are DELICIOUS right out of the oven, but a bit crumbly until they have cooled all the way.

Teacher Who Slept With High School Student: 'I Didn't Think It Was Legally Wrong'

By far my favorite episode of his! XD "Am I in the Twilight Zone or something?" 

10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

One thing I'd like to bring to focus that she mentioned in this video is eating five meals a day. The misconception is that the less you eat, the more weight you'll lose. But something I've learned is that it doesn't necessarily matter how much you eat, but what you eat. For instance, if you only eat one meal, and it's say, a piece of lasagna - bubbling with carbs and fat (from the pasta and cheese), that'll only slow your metabolism. And make you eat more, since you're probably starving. But if you eat nutritious, un-processed foods throughout the day, this'll support your metabolism as well as satisfy hunger cravings. Though I'm not professional nutritionist, this is just something I've learned from losing weight myself, and I'm glad she made that point in this video.

Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies

So I tried out this recipe yesterday because my sweet tooth has been rather active after helping my dad make chocolate chip cookies on Sunday. My all time favorite cookies are peanut butter, and these will most definitely satisfy anyone's sweet tooth - plus they're actually pretty tasty! I added a bit more peanut butter, though, and my dough came out a bit moist, so putting coconut flour on your fork really helps it not stick for the criss-crossing. Oh, and mine did not raise in the oven, so be mindful that the size you form them will most likely stay while baking!

Anyway, I got the recipe Laura Hickman's blog, which you can find here !

Here's the recipe:

Best Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookie

 

Author:

Laura Hickman

Recipe type:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Serves:24 cookies

Prep time:10 mins

Cook time:15 mins

Total time:25 mins

Print

 

Crispy, dense and satisfying, a low carb peanut butter cookie. Subtract the fiber and they are almost 2 carbs each.

Ingredients

• ½ cup coconut flour
• 1 cup granulated Splenda
• 1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, you choose)
• 3 eggs
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare baking sheet with baking parchment or cooking spray.
3. Mix all ingredient in mixer until well combined and dough has formed.
4. Using a tablespoon measure, make balls of dough and place balls on pan. (They don't need to be far apart, they don’t puff up.)
5. Flatten cookies slightly making a crisscross mark on cookie with a fork.
6. Bake for 15-17 minutes till edges are golden brown.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 cookie Calories: 69 Fat: 5.0 Carbohydrates: 4.6 Sodium: 60 Fiber: 2.8 Protein: 2.9

March's Glam Bag Review

1. Beau Gâchis® Paris - Eyeshadow Brush

I've been needing a smaller eyeshadow brush to blend darker colors along my crease, so I was utterly thrilled when I saw that I received this in the Glam Bag. And it's adequate - I wouldn't say I'm totally in love because it takes a lot of effort to blend, more so than other brushes I have used like this, but it's sufficient enough for me to be pleased with.

2. MAKE UP FOR EVER - Skin Equalizer + Hydrating Primer 

So I had went out and bought a primer JUST before this arrived, so that worked. I've used Make Up Forever products before and always enjoyed them. This primer, though, is AMAZING. I use it more than the one I went out and bought for myself! Some of the time, I don't even have to use a moisturizer because this product not only preps your skin for application and color correctness, it also hydrates (hence the title lol). But yes, 10/10 pleased with this! 

3. NUDESTIX - Lip + Cheek Pencil in Mystic

First off, this is super duper glossy, so it feels great if you've got dried lips. However, I have naturally red-tinted lips, so when I first tried this as a full lip color, I didn't see any color. But I put some powder to neutralize the color of my lips and did see some, but not enough for me to like personally, as a full lip color. I have yet to try it on my cheeks only because I feel like the color will contrast too much with my pale skin, but maybe I'll try it. 

4. Global Beauty Care - Dead Sea Wash Off Mask

So I love using dead sea masks, I've always used another one I had bought from the mall months ago, once every week. It really helps with the redness of my skin. I tried this one, which is slightly different than my other product, it's thinner and spreads easier, and it doesn't feel as nourishing, if this makes sense. But I do like it, and I will continue to use it - it seems to have the same effect as the other one, with my skin's redness, although not nearly as much. But it's sufficient. 

Book List #2

Here are some more books I've read recently! :) 

-Watchmen by Alan Moore

-When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka

-The Halo Trilogy by Alexandra Adornetto

-Defy by Sara B. Larson (I will also read the rest of the series)

-I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb (have -yet to finish this but it's soo good)

-The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon

-The Line of the Sun by Judith Ortiz Cofer