Valentines Day Healthy Option

Happy Valentines Day!  Today has been a busy one so I just thought I'd stop in briefly to share a few things with you!

MY WORKOUT:  Today's workout was a sweaty kick-boxing session- right from my living room! I used this workout.  I burned 450 calories on my Nike Fuel Band so I know it was a good one!

V-DAY SEXY DESSERT: Next, I wanted to share a healthy dessert option for valentines day that I whipped up for Bryan and I to enjoy later tonight.  The key ingredient may surprise you...  It's avocados!  Yup, I made a dark chocolate pudding with avocados.  It has all the flavor of a deliciously indulgent dessert without all the bad ingredients.  I tried it and it is amazingly delicious, you can't even tell there's avocados in it! ;-)

Secret Ingredient Dark Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients:
1 ripe Medium Sized Avocado
1/2c Pure Maple syrup
1/2c Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's dark)
1/4c Almond Milk (can use any kind of milk)
1tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1tsp Pure Almond Extract
3-5oz Dark Chocolate Chips or Candy Bar Shavings (plus more for garnish)
Whipped Cream (optional garnish)

Mix all the ingredients in a food processor and refrigerate at least 1 hour prior to serving.
Top with whipped cream or powdered sugar (as show below) Enjoy!

 

Question:

 

Have you ever tried avocados in pudding before?

Do you like Chocolate?

 

 

 

 

 



Valentines Day Cookies!

Saturday, Bryan and I celebrated our Valentines Day early with an all-day event!  We met some friends for bfast at Panera Bread at 9am.  Then headed out to .............(beware, this is totally random!)...the ZOO!  It was such a beautiful day to spend walking around outside!

We even saw a slouth!  (haha, the are so cute! and Kristen Bell would be proud)

After 4 hours of bird shows, sight seeing, and animal viewing, we went to our favorite spot for lunch- Howley's Diner.  Its an upscale local trendy diner in the heart of west palm beach that has been around for over a century.  We love that place and are NEVER disappointed!

Source

I ordered the egg white omelet, fresh fruit cup, and fresh baked rye toast with apple pie jam.  Bryan ordered his usual Philly Cheesesteak Sub with Sweet potato fries (and offered me two delicious bites!)

Today, I decided to do some Valentines baking for tomorrow night.  Bryan is taking me to dinner at Cheesecake Factory and I decided to out together a little care package for him ;-)

I found a few recipes for vegan, gluten-free sugar cookies so I combined a few inspirations and came up with the following delicious recipe:

Butterscotch Iced Gluten-free Sugar Cookies!

VALENTINE COOKIES

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,161,134173-234202,00.html Content Copyright © 2012 Cooks.com - All rights reserved. 3/4 cup oat flour 1/4 + 1/8 cup organic sugar 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup oil 1/4 cup banana Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat wet ingredients with an electric mixer until mixture is light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients. Chill 1 hour Roll dough, cut into heart shapes, no more than 1/2-inch thick. Decorate as desired by following one of the tips below or by using a tooth-pick, fork or other kitchen tool to create a design. Bake 15-16 minutes or until edges turn brown. Cool 5 minutes and remove. Decorating tips: (via cooks.com) You can create a design on top of the cookies using white or colored candy sprinkles. Or you could crimp the edges of heart, making a design using the tines of fork, or a knife, spatula or spoon. Sprinkle baked cookies with powdered sugar. If you are an experienced baker, you may want to paint a design with a simple egg-yolk paint. Separate an egg; put the egg yolk in a small bowl and mix with 1/2 teaspoon water and enough red food coloring to make the desired sired shade of red. Using a clean paint brush, paint a design on cookie using the colored yolk. Or place a small doily on cookie and, using a clean, stiff brush, work the egg paint through the cutouts and create a lacy effect. Remember that this is all done before the cookies are baked.

Best Salad Combo!

After working all weekend at a conference in Fort Lauderdale, I was so glad to have a lazy day today. After a leisurely morning at church, Bryan and I were craving healthy food so we went to Publix to see what we could find. We ended up getting a Kashi Roasted Vegetable pizza and adding pineapple and chicken at home before baking it. It was Delicious!

And then theres my favorite salad combo.

The best salad combo in the world:

Spinach
Chopped Fresh Peaches
Avocado slices
Sea Salted Almonds
Goat Cheese
Spritz of Lime

After a huge salad and our semi-homemade pizza we watched a bit of the Heat/Celtics game and fell asleep on the couch. I love lazy Sundays. We are going to squeeze in a quick gym session later tonight I hope.

Can't wait for Valentines Day tomorrow! No excuses, I am going for a run in the morning no doubt, gotta have room for all the chocolate ;-)

Question:
Do you normally get something for your significant other on Valentines Day? If so, what do you get them?

This year I think I am going to surprise Bryan at work with something- something chocolate dipped, involving balloons, and thoughtful, hope he likes it! :)