Its almost Easter and I’m sure that some of you are dreading being surrounded by hot cross buns and Easter eggs! Its one thing being able to stay strong and keep on track with your diet and nutrition on an average day but at Easter we are bombarded by temptation at every turn!
I have been in the kitchen cooking healthy treats this weekend and have therefore decided to write this blog to help you get through the bank holiday weekend without too much of a set back to your health and fitness goals!
A word of warning, although these are healthier options they are still to be consumed as a treat and ‘in moderation’ if you are wanting to stay on track with your nutrition goals over the bank holiday weekend!
Spiced apple cookies!
These cookies are not only delicious but they are also really simple to make, it’s just a case of mixing all the ingredients together and letting them cook for about 15 mins. They are made out of nut butter, apples, honey and lots of different spices. Although they are much healthier and cleaner than your average cookie they are still high in fat and natural sugar so keep these as a treat and eat in moderation!
- 1 cup unsweetened almond butter
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- half an apple, diced
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp fresh ginger
- Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees.
- Mix the almond butter, honey, egg, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the apple, spices, and ginger and stir well.
- Spoon batter onto a baking sheet. Leave a space of about 1 1/2 inches between each one as they may spread a little.
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until slightly set.
- Remove cookies and allow to cool on pan for about 5-10 minutes. Then finish cooling on a cooling rack.
Salted caramel and chocolate coconut cookies!
These sound way too naughty to be healthy but the caramel is made out of fruit sugar and coconut milk and the chocolate I used was 85% dark chocolate so not as bad you may have originally thought. The main ingredient is shredded coconut and as I couldn’t find large flaked coconut as per the recipe I used flaked almonds instead and this worked really well! The almond or cashew butter is completely optional but I added this and it tasted lush! Again, this is a treat so something you should have in moderation but it’s certainly better than most of the Easter treats that maybe tempting you at the moment!
The recipe is so easy to make and requires no baking at all, once the caramel is made you simply mix all the ingredients and allow to cool! I put them in the fridge and they were ready within an hour!
- ½ cup of fruit sugar
- Coconut oil
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ Teaspoon sea salt
- 2½ cups finely shredded coconut
- 1 cup big flake coconut (I used flaked almonds instead)
- ⅔ cup dark chocolate chunks or chocolate chips (I used 85% dark chocolate)
- ½ cup almond or cashew butter
- Mix the coconut sugar, coconut oil, and coconut milk in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil for 2-3 minutes until the caramel thickens, stirring constantly to keep the caramel from sticking.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and add the vanilla, sea salt, coconut and cashew nut butter. Stir all the ingredients together before adding the chocolate chunks!
- Spoon the mixture onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper – there is no need to cook these, you just need to let it cool for a couple of hours – to speed up the process I put them in the fridge and they were ready within the hour!
Avocado Chocolate Mousse
This is a great option if you’re craving something sweet, don’t want to cheat and are short on time! It doesn’t require any cooking! All you need is a ripe avocado, a teaspoon of honey, a teaspoon of almond or cashew nut butter and a teaspoon of cocoa powder! Mash the avocado before mixing with all the other ingredients! This doesn’t look like the most appetising desert but it’s quick, it will curb your craving for something sweet and it’s full of good fats!
I hope you all have a lush bank holiday weekend! I will look forward to seeing you all soon!
Bon Appetit!