Peanutbutter Cups - A healthier version!

So my Facebook and Instagram news feed went crazy when I posted a picture of a home made Peanutbutter cup that I made. I was inspired by the popular brand available in America. However, I wanted to make one that was healthier, tastier and all round better for you.

As always I didn't follow a recipe but just experimented in the kitchen and came up with this. I have had rave reviews from those lucky enough to try them so I'm hoping you will enjoy them too!


Ingredients:
Makes 12-15 cups
300g of Dark Chocolate (ideally 75% plus)
1 dash of Olive Oil or teaspoon of Butter (real NOT margarine) or Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon of Raw, Organic Honey/Mayple Syrup or leave this out for a lower sugar version.
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 dash of Vanilla Essence or some real Vanilla bean
2 Tablespoons of organic nut butter with no sugar (don't use peanut if staying Paleo) 
Sprinkle of Pink Himalaya Rock Salt (you can read all about the benefits of this here)

Method:
Melt the chocolate gently in a pan with the fat of choice (Oil, Butter or Coconut Oil). You can do this in a glass bowl over a pan with some water or directly in the pan. I find the bowl over water works best and you can keep it melted for longer without burning.
Once it is melted add the vanilla, cinnamon and honey and stir well.
Line some muffin tins with paper cases.
Add a thin layer of chocolate to the bottom of each case, you can shake the tray to evenly spread the chocolate.
Allow these to cool and set in the fridge for about 5 minutes. 

 

Please excuse the state of my muffin tins. They are inherited from my mum and about 20 years old. They have served me well over the years!

Meanwhile leave the bowl of melted chocolate over the hot water (but with no heat from the cooker) and begin to make the filling. 
Take 2-3 heaped tablespoons of your nut butter of choice and place in a bowl. 
Add in a dash of olive oil/coconut oil/melted butter.
Add in some freshly ground pink salt (taste as you go as some nut butters come already salted so add according to taste) and mix well. 
Once the chocolate base is relatively set place a teaspoon or so of nut butter mix onto each base. Spread out and flatten down without touching the side.
Using the still warm and melted chocolate mix fill the paper cases until the nut butter is adequately covered. They will be more shallow than the case.
Again shake or tap the tray to flatten out the chocolate. 
Place in the fridge to chill. 
Eat straight from the fridge or at room temperature depending on your preference!

It really is that simple. It takes minutes to make and I often make a double batch and keep some in the fridge for when I'm feeling like a treat (if they last that long!)


Prep Time:
5-10 minutes

Cooking Time:
None! Just leave to harden in the fridge.

Dietary Information:
Paleo (ish!) the higher % chocolate the better with this
Good fats - from the oil and seeds/nuts/coconut
Full of antioxidants from the high chocolate content
Full of natural sweetness from the honey
Vegetarian
Vegan (if you use coconut oil and dairy free chocolate)
Gluten Free
Wheat Free

Storage Instructions:
I keep this in a sealed container and it will last weeks in the fridge - provided you don't eat it all.

For similar chocolate, no bake treats check out my Choocolate Bark recipe here

Enjoy Jeanies and as always feel free to comment, share and send me pics of your creations!

Chocolate Bark - Paleo (ish!)

So last week I made this chocolate bark for a party I was having. It's coming up to the Christmas Season and so I wanted to have nice and tasty nibbles that weren't going to be leaving people feeling stuffed, over indulged or sick.

I have seen chocolate bark on lots of blogs and recipe sites but never actually made it. I didn't follow any recipe for this and, like most of my recipes, just made it up as I went along using items I had in my house!

For once this actually worked out perfectly first time and it was a massive hit at the party! People couldn't get enough of it. In fact I'm having another dinner party this Thursday and I'm making it for dessert again.

Here's how you can make it too:

Ingredients:
400g of Dark Chocolate (ideally 70% plus)
1 dash of Olive Oil or teaspoon of Butter (real NOT margarine) or Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon of Raw, Organic Honey
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
1 dash of Vanilla Essence or some real Vanilla bean
Toppings which can include - Dessicated coconut, dried fruits (no added oil or sugar - I used Figs), chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds), seeds (I used chia seeds), freshly ground sea salt (I used Pink Himalaya Rock Slat)

Method:
Melt the chocolate gently in a pan with the fat of choice (Oil, Butter or Coconut Oil)
Once it is melted add the vanilla, cinnamon and honey and stir well.
Using a flat tray line it with some greaseproof paper.
Spread the chocolate mix evenly on the paper using the back of a spoon or spatula.
Sprinkle on your selected toppings - Fruit, nuts, seeds, salt etc
Allow to cool and place in the fridge to set.
Break into pieces and enjoy!

It really is that simple. It takes minutes to make and I often make a double batch and keep some in the fridge for when I'm feeling like a treat.

I must say it's the combination of the figs and salt in this that really make this. It's almost like salted caramel.


Prep Time:
5-10 minutes

Cooking Time:
None! Just leave to harden in the fridge.

Dietary Information:
Paleo (ish!) the higher % chocolate the better with this
Good fats - from the oil and seeds/nuts/coconut
Full of antioxidants from the high chocolate content
Full of natural sweetness from the fruit and honey
Vegetarian
Vegan (if you use coconut oil and dairy free chocolate)
Gluten Free
Wheat Free

Storage Instructions:
I keep this in a sealed container and it will last weeks in the fridge - provided you don't eat it all.


OK now I need to publish this post fast as I've eaten 4 pieces already writing this as it keeps reminding me of how good it is!

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Change Week 26 - Chocolate

Yes, yes you did. You heard that right. This week's Tuesday's change is to eat chocolate. Now woah there boy, before you get too excited have a good read below.

There are many benefits to dark chocolate and it is often considered a bad food. It is bad when it's milk or white chocolate but anything above 70% can contain the following.

A 100 gram bar of dark chocolate with 70-85% cocoa contains:

• 11 grams of fiber.
• 67% of the RDA for Iron.
• 58% of the RDA for Magnesium.
• 89% of the RDA for Copper.
• 98% of the RDA for Manganese.
• It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium

It is also a powerful source of anti-oxidants which trap nasty free radicals in the body and prevent them from damaging cells and causing illness.

It may also help improve blood flow and lower blood pressure as a result of the flavanols in dark chocolate which stimulate the endothelium, the lining of arteries, to produce Nitric Oxide (NO), which is a gas and causes them to relax.

Other studies have shown it can lower LDL Cholesterol (bad) while helping to increase HDL Cholesterol (good).

It can also help protect your skin from the sun! The flavonols can protect against sun-induced damage by improving blood flow to the skin and increase skin density and hydration.

Finally it can help improve brain function by increasing blood flow to the brain. Cocoa may also significantly improve cognitive function in elderly people with mental impairment. It also improves verbal fluency and several risk factors for disease.

Please refer to this link here to see all the scientific research that lead to these claims.

So here's the fun part. How can you increase the amount of high quality Cocoa in your diet? One easy way is to ditch the regular, sugar filled chocolate bars and replace with 70% cocoa bars or higher. You may feel you need only 1 or 2 squares to get your chocolate hit!

Add some 100% Coco to your plain yogurt or any baking you are doing. I use Green and Blacks 100% Organic Coco and you typically can find this in most large supermarkets.

Also here are some recipes on the blog that contain tasty 100% cocoa.

Click here for Chocolate Pancake Recipe

Click here for Chocolate covered fruit

Click here for Paleo Chocolate Mousse

Click here for Choco Berry Granola

Enjoy! I knew you would all love this one!

Paleo Chicken Kiev

I made these last Friday night as a nice treat dinner. They are so easy to make and taste delicious.

I served them with some oven chips and fresh broccoli and it made for such a nice Friday night dinner with a movie.

You can use chicken, turkey or pork for these. 

Ingredients:

Meat of choice - turkey, chicken or pork.

5 heaped teaspoons of ground almonds/almond flour

1 egg beaten

Pinch of salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon of Paprika

1-2 cloves of freshly grated garlic (per 2 portions of meat)

1 teaspoon of butter (per portion of meat)

Chives or parsley to taste

Method:

Place the almonds, salt, pepper and paprika in a bowl. 

Place the beaten egg in a separate bowl.

Take your meat fillet and either flatten it or slice into the meat in order to stuff it with filling. If it's a flat thin piece of meat you can roll the meat around the filling.

Grate/press the fresh garlic and mix with butter and some chives or parsley.

Place the garlic butter in the centre of the meat.

Dip the meat in the beaten egg, ensuing it is full coated. Then dip in the ground almond and spice mix until all the meat is fully coated.

Place the now coated meat in some loosely wrapped tinfoil and bake in the oven at 170 degrees for 15-20 minutes (depending on the meat) until the meat is fully cooked and coating is crispy.

Enjoy!

Preparation Time:

5-10 minutes

Cooking Time:

15-25 minutes

Dietary Information:

Paleo

Gluten Free

Wheat Free

Sugar Free

Low Carbohydrate

High in lean protein

Good fats - butter and almonds

Omega 3 from the almonds (brain food)

Garlic is antibacterial and antiviral so excellent for fighting colds and flu

Serving suggestions:

Excellent with sweet potatoes, rice, fresh salad or greens. 

Enjoy!