Peanut Butter Oreo Cream Pops

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Introducing… my first homemade popsicle batch! Can you believe it took me this long? Blame it on my boyfriend again, but he’s been the one putting boxes of lime popsicles in the cart whenever we go to the grocery store, and I’ve become hooked. Portland has been super warm (off and on) the last few weeks, and in this 3rd floor apartment, it’s usually somewhere between 70-90 degrees. When you’ve got the fans rolling and all else fails, you turn to the popsicle.

Just like cupcakes, donuts and macarons, these foodie trends always come in waves. And I honestly think this is the current one (if not one that has been going on for quite some time and I’m just now catching on…). Lately I’ve been seeing this book popping up everywhere and once I took the time to scan through it, I found the recipes to sound mind-blowing delicious. Avocado, cantaloupe, lime pie, and mexican chocolate ice pops? Count me in. Needless to say, I recently ended up ordering that book. And this book. And this one. All-out popsicle obsession, ya’ll. You’re either in, or you’re out.

I also ordered some standard and more accommodating popsicle molds while I was at it, but originally went for these Tovolo re-usable stick molds. I love the modern but 50′s retro look they have, and the fact that you never have to purchase wooden sticks for them. But they only accomodate about 6 molds and for this first batch I ended up with a bit more leftover batter which could have made at least 2 more pops. No biggie, I just wanted some additional back-ups just incase, and for whenever I desire to have multiple flavors available.

Anywho, these 4-ingredient Peanut Butter Oreo Cream Pops are AH-MAZING! They were super simple to make and are healthy, delicious, tangy, creamy, chocolatey, and satisfying to the sweet tooth. Who doesn’t love peanut butter and chocolate together? Or rather chocolate wafer oreos, for that matter? I used some Nancy’s honey yogurt plus some vanilla soymilk, and voila. You have delicious popsicles! These are a hit!

Peanut Butter Oreo Cream Pops

From: Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:

16 chocolate wafers, divided
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (I used natural Jif)
2 cups honey plain yogurt (I used Nancy’s)
1 cup vanilla soymilk

Directions:

Combine 10 (reserve 6) of the chocolate wafers with the peanut butter, yogurt and soymilk in a blender. Process until smooth and the wafers have turned the mixture chocolatey brown.
Turn off the blender and add in the remaining 6 wafers but crunching them up into big chunks with your hands as you add them to the batter.
Pour the batter evenly into popsicle molds and freeze for at least 4-6 hours or until firm (overnight recommended). To unmold, run outside of mold under warm water for several seconds and gently pull handle. Enjoy!

(Makes 6-8 popsicles)

Sweet Potato Carob Chip Brownies

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I wouldn’t be giving fair credit if I didn’t say this recipe idea wasn’t mine. A few weekends ago after eating breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning, I mentioned to my boyfriend I wanted to bake something but I didn’t really have any ideas (unusual, right?). So, naturally, like a good boyfriend does, he suggested brownies. I’ve already perfected the right brownie recipe so why try to reinvent the wheel when you don’t have to? I kind of poo-poo’ed the idea until… “What about sweet potato brownies?”. Genius, right?

So, thanks to Google having a million paleo/gluten-free sweet potato brownie recipes (I’m serious, that’s literally all I could find… not complaining though), this is what I came up with. They turned out super moist, chocolate-y and just a hint of the sweet potato starch. And the best thing is they’re actually really healthy. There’s no wheat flour or butter, just coconut flour and oil. Plus you’ve got some cinnamon, carob chips, raw honey, and cinnamon to make it oh so delicioso. Not one square brownie was wasted.

Sweet Potato Carob Chip Brownies

From: Crossfit Lando’s Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato
3 eggs, whisked
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup raw honey
1/2 cup carob chips
3 tablespoons coconut flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

Directions:

Bake the sweet potato. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, use a fork to puncture holes all around it, then throw in the oven for 40-50 minutes.
Once your sweet potato is soft and cooked through, peel off the skin and mash it up in a bowl. And turn your oven down to 350 degrees.
Now add the wet ingredients: coconut oil, honey, vanilla, and whisked eggs to the bowl and mix together.
Then add your dry ingredients: coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and carob chips.
Mix well.
Pour into an 8×8 glass baking dish coated with oil.
Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Let rest to cool a bit. Cut into squares!

Cardamom Rose Strawberry Souffle Cheesecake

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Chocolate Chia PB&J Smoothie

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Portland’s summer weather has finally arrived (at least officially in my book), and it was around 85 degrees out today. Living on the third floor of an old vintage apartment building, the ventilation and heat is a bit of an issue from time to time, so whenever I’m in that conundrum, I turn to my handy dandy blender to try to cool off of course!

I felt inspired to use some of the ingredients I had just purchased at the grocery store today to start making some healthier breakfasts and drinks, such as chia seeds, spirulina, cacao nibs, peanut butter powder, dates, and fresh strawberries in the mix. And this is what I got: a Chocolate Chia PB&J Smoothie.

It may sound a little bit strange, but I assure you it’s totally delicious. Tart, chocolatey, chunky (from the cacao nib, date and chia seeds), sweet and smooth. This makes two servings so make sure you got a special someone around to share it with, or just halve the recipe. I was really glad how this turned out on the first try, and was excited that it made exact proportions to fill up two mason jars! It’s the little things… here’s a little description on some of the “super foods” that made it into this wholesome, nutritious shake:

-Chia seeds: According to The Green Smoothie Bible, chia seeds are regarded to have the highest amount of omega-3 essential fatty acids, essential for the functions of the nervous system, brain, skin and joints. It’s also considered a complete amino acid, helping to form skin and muscle tissue. They’re also high in protein and fiber! And here’s my favorite one: tryptophan–a key amino acid responsible for helping to induce sleep, relaxation, and to regulate mood and thyroid metabolism. When added to liquids or smoothies, they thicken and take on a gelatinous consistency. (Hence why you can also apparently make jam out of them.) Oh, and by the way, if that freaks you out, at least know that they’re tasteless.

-Spirulina: AKA micro-algae, boost immunity and has antibacterial/antifungal/antiviral properties. They help improve mental capabilities, detoxify the body, fight cancer and are anti-inflammatory. Also considered the easiest of all other micro-algaes (ie. chlorella, AFA, MMP) to digest. In addition to chia seeds, spirulina also contains essential fatty acids (mostly omega-6),

-Cacao nibs: Cacao contains hundreds of nutrients, phytochemicals (chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants), and antioxidants. In its raw form, cacao has one of the highest antioxidant values of any plant in the world (similar to the acai berry)! It’s also low in fat, high in fiber, and is rich in more of those awesome omega-6′s. Mostly rich with magnesium and iron, it is great for bone and cardiovascular health. And apparently the reason cacao makes us feel so good is that it contains substances such as PEA (phenylethylamine), a “love chemical”, as well as tryptophan. Convinced to eat more cacao now?

-PB2: I have been wanting to try this peanut butter powder out for years now and finally took the plunge today. It’s basically a dry form of peanut butter that you add to liquids and it retains the same flavor as regular PB but is low fat and high in fiber. I was super excited to try it out in this smoothie today since I regularly add peanut butter to practically all of my smoothies. You get the flavor, but miss some of the creamy, crunchy (if that’s how you roll) goodness. I liked it, for sure, I just need to experiment with it a bit longer!

As you can see, it contains lots of healthy, yummy goodness. Enough with the talking, let’s get to the recipe!