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chocolate

GF, Vegan & Raw/ Healthy Eating/ Sweets

Sugar Free Raw Chocolate Brownie Bites

RAW-CHOCOLATE-BROWNIE-BITES

{A recipe from our Raw Foods Contributing Author, Teniel Moore.}

Oh how I love the combination of chocolate, nuts and peanut butter. To me, its like a match made in heaven, so this super fast brownie bite seemed the perfect thing to whip up when I was feeling like a quick sweet treat.

This slice is super rich and not meant to be overly sweet.  It is perfect for those wanting to cut back on sugar or who are on a candida diet.

If you love this combination as much as I do, I’m sure you are going to enjoy this one!

 

Sugar Free Raw Chocolate Brownie Bites

1/2 cup melted Organic Coconut Oil

1/4 cup Natural Peanut Butter (homemade is even better)

1/2 cup raw Cacao Powder

generous dash of  Himalayan Pink Salt

3/4 cup  organic walnuts, slightly crushed, but still chunky

Stevia to taste – around 6 drops, but taste as you go

 

Mix all the ingredients together and press into a small slice container lined with wax paper.

Pop into the freezer for at least 30 minutes to an hour if you can wait that long.  Slice into small squares.

Option:  Replace the stevia with some coconut nectar to make a sweeter version.

 

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Raw Foods Contributor
4th of July/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes

BERRY CHOCOLATE 4TH OF JULY CUPCAKES 1

Blueberries, strawberries, and chocolate are 3 must-haves in our family for the 4th of July weekend, and these Chocolate Berry 4th Of July Cupcakes have all 3!

Yesterday our dear friends from Chicago–who we are to this day amazed that they are still here on this earth— stopped in to visit on their way to a family event. It was a brief overnight visit, but boy, did we pack in a whole bunch of beautiful life moments in those 15 hours!

We both have 3 children, around the same age (teens and preteens) so it was a lively and eventful visit.  We started the evening out with pre-dinner cocktails for the adults.  They were delicious Amerretto Sours –I will be posting the recipe soon.  We then got to work visiting & making dinner together.  We had these amazing cupcakes as a dessert, and they were perfect as it was July 2nd..my dear friend Sharon’s birthday!


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I was sure I had birthday candles on hand, but as we all gathered to sing, I couldn’t find them. Not even one.  We had to make do with what I could find in the moment, and of course my friend Sharon was a great sport about pretending to blow out a cheesy plastic candle.

SHARONP-BDAY

Isn’t she just full of life? Doesn’t she look great?  Despite our sweet birthday treat, she embraces a healthy lifestyle & is New Nostalgia’s new Health and Wellness Contributor.  I can just hear her laugh while looking at these pics and miss her already.  She is a ball of fun and we have had many, many laughs together.  She is a friend of my heart and we have had many tears together, too.  She is the one who came to take care of me the week after my mastectomy, and was everything I needed during that fragile time & more.  I was so happy to celebrate the woman she is yesterday, even if it was with a plastic candle!

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We finished up our dessert and headed out to my in- laws pool house for an evening swim.  We stopped at my favorite local coffee shop and Sharon’s husband Porter treated us all to yummy beverages…lattes & toddy’s for the adults, granites for the kids.

After swimming we headed back home and made a fire to make apple s’mores.  We sat out by the fire and our friends shared pictures of their recent family mission trip to Uganda.  It was amazing to see what they did as a family there!  We then went inside and watched a few old movies of our 15 year old girl meeting their 15 year old boy when they were just 6 months old.  Needless to say, we laughed A LOT!

We got the kids settled down, the hubbies started dozing on the couches and Sharon and I girl talked.  The hubs eventually went to bed but not us girls!  Oh no, we stayed up gabbing until 2:45 am!

We woke up and I set up a ‘make your own waffle’ bar. It was a hit and I will write about it soon. The teens went for a run together while we packed up the car.  They were on the road by 9:30 am.  A quick but super fun and meaningful trip.

Back to the cupcakes, they were really delicious.  I cannot take credit for them, as my little baker girl, Avery, made them.  We found a simple chocolate cupcake & white frosting recipe online, and she whipped them up, frosted them, cut up all the fruit and decorated them.  She amazes me–she is quite talented for 11 years old!

These cupcakes were moist and are made from ingredients most can find in their cupboards.

The frosting was a perfect pairing, and the touch of fruit added color and a great fruity & festive finish.  I will be keeping this recipe as a simple go-to chocolate cupcake recipe, and pulling it out on all types of occasions, not just the 4th of July!

Enjoy!

Berry Chocolate 4th of July Cupcakes

{recipe source}

10 Tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (we used wheat flour)

White Frosting (recipe below)

Chopped strawberries & fresh blueberries

 

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with a mixer for 1 minute.

Stir in eggs and vanilla and beat.

Slowly add in cocoa powder and baking powder and mix until just combined.

While still mixing, alternate adding milk and flour into bowl until blended.

Evenly distribute batter into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Top with white frosting (recipe below) and fresh berries.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

 

White Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter with a mixer at medium-high speed until creamy.  Gradually beat in sugar until smooth.  Beat in vanilla and 2 tablespoons milk, adding additional milk if necessary for desired consistency.

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Holidays/Parties/ Homemade Gifts/ RECIPES

Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries

One of my most popular posts here at New Nostalgia is How to Hull a Strawberry Using a Straw.  In that post I asked for readers to share their favorite way to eat strawberries, and I got one of the best tips for making the Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries from a sweet reader.

 Ilyana sent an email and told me that she makes Chocolate Covered Strawberries by melting Dove chocolates.  She said “these are the best chocolate covered strawberries I have ever tasted and friends and family agree.  They’re a fav.”

Easiest Chocolate Covered Strawberries 

(a no recipe, recipe)

1. Wash and FULLY DRY berries before dipping.

2. Bring the berries to room temperature

3. Unwrap a bag of Dove milk chocolates and place in a quart Pyrex measure cup.

4. Melt in the microwave about 10 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted.  It melts pretty quickly and stays melted long enough to dip at least a large cookie sheet of large berries.

5. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet then into the fridge to set.

Yum! (or in Ilyana’s words–Crazy Good!)

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Tips:

~Do not get even a drop of water in the chocolate or it will seize up.

~Keep the green stems on and use them to hold on to the strawberry while dipping.  The green makes for a very pretty strawberry.

~When dipping, turn the strawberry into a circle, until the entire bottom is covered.

~You can also use this recipe to dip graham crackers, bananas or pretzels.

~This would also be a great Valentines Day recipe.

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I am going to make these this weekend for Easter as a family treat. We are going to go to our Saturday evening church service, which is a first for our family. We are going on Saturday to avoid Sunday morning crowds and have time to drive an hour on Sunday to be with extended family.  I thought Chocolate Covered Strawberries would be the perfect Easter treat to come home to.

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RECIPES/ Sponsored/ Sweets

Salted Caramel Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Dribble & Drizzle Mix

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of REESE’S® Brand for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

REESES
College basketball is a pretty big deal around our house.  It is a great excuse to hang out, get loud and eat sweets, like this amazing Salted Caramel Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Dribble & Drizzel Mix.  How’s THAT for a name?
For most of our home games, my Todd is gifted with tickets to the game from his Dad.  Todd has been going to home games most of his life.  He now takes our oldest daughter, Teagan, who has also become quite the college basketball fan.  For many of the games they meet up with Grandpa and uncles and cousins to eat out before the game, then go to the game as a family.
For away games that are shown on TV, I can always count on having our basement come alive with sports fans– my husband being the biggest one.  He is one of the quietest, most introverted people you will ever meet, but when a college basketball game comes on, boy…he is LOUD!  I am usually upstairs chuckling to myself whenever I hear him hooting’ and hollering.  I love hearing my quiet man come alive.
I  also love using our home for game viewing, as it gives me an excuse to get in the kitchen and make something sweet.  Todd’s all-time favorite flavors are chocolate and peanut butter, so most of the desserts I make when I am stepping away from more healthful desserts, have that perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter.
My all time favorite flavors are salted caramel and chocolate, so this Salted Caramel Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Dribble & Drizzle hit the spot for both Todd and I. It is sinfully delicious.  It will be my go-to snack mix, as it is a real crowd pleaser, easy to make, and makes a lot.
It was so very good that I am entering it in the REESE’S® Baking Bracket Challenge and I am asking YOU to vote for me!  I was asked to compete with 32 other amazing Game Day Recipes. These recipes were put together with Mom’s in mind, to help create some chocolate peanut butter family fun on game day!
 
If you vote for me, your name will be entered in a daily $100 Walmart gift card drawing.  Winner of the REESE’S® Baking Bracket Challenge receives $2,500!  That my friends, would go a long way in helping us pay off a few medical bills, so please vote for me!!
On to this awesome recipe.  All of the ingredients can be found at Walmart.
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Salted Caramel Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Dribble & Drizzle Mix
8 cups chocolate Chex cereal
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces Candy
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup caramel bits (found by the chocolate chips in the baking aisle–or chop up regular caramels)
1-3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup milk chocolate baking chips
1/2 cup white chocolate baking chips
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1. Into large microwavable bowl, measure cereal; set aside.  Line cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil.
2. In a 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on high 1-2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth.  Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour caramel mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.  Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute.  Spread on cookie sheet.  Cool 10 minutes.  Break into bite-sized pieces.
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3. Make sure Chex mixture is cool to the touch (so candy doesn’t melt.) Evenly sprinkle mini peanut butter cup candy and miniature marshmallows over Chex mixture.
4. In a small microwavable bowl, microwave caramel baking bits and cream uncovered on high about 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle over snack.
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5. Microwave the milk chocolate baking chips next, starting with 20-seconds and stirring, then at 20 second intervals until the mixture is completely smooth (microwave temps vary, so watch the chocolate and stir frequently until it’s of drizzling consistency.)  Drizzle over the snack mixture.  Then microwave the white baking chips in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.  Add heavy cream if needed for drizzle consistency. Drizzle that over the snack mixture. Quickly sprinkle coarse salt over all while candy drizzles are still wet.
6. Refrigerate until set.  Break apart and store in tightly covered container.
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Enjoy!
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Again, don’t forget to vote for my recipe by visiting the REESE’S® Baking Bracket Challenge!

Visit Sponsor's Site

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Healthy Eating/ Organizing/ RECIPES/ Sweets

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Freezer Slice

I will be making this recipe for years and years to come.  Yes, it is that good. It is the perfect chocolatey peanut butter treat!  It is healthy, easy to make, everyone loves it, and it keeps forever in the freezer.

It starts with nuts, and we all know how good nuts are for us.  They are full of protein and all of those good oils that help with digestion and make your skin shine!

There is no processed sugar in these, but they satisfy a sweet tooth and are plenty sweet thanks to the dates, raisins and honey that are in them.  The coconut oil adds a bit of sweetness, too.

Start with processing the nuts in a high speed blender or a food processor until crumbly.  I have a little one who does not like nuts, so I went pretty powdery with my nuts to keep her happy.  She devoured these and kept asking for more!

Add dates, keep processing until they are in small pieces & mixed well.

Add the rest of your ingredients.  Process until consistency can be rolled into a ball…a messy ball.  Keep scraping the sides of your blender or processor to help blend.

Make sure you lick that spoon!

Press mixture into a lined pan. I used my fingers but then smoothed my prints out with the back of a spoon to make it pretty for all of you!

Mix up the icing.

Are you drooling yet?  This is the best part.  Mmmmmm.

Top bars with icing.  Use a bit of water to thin if too thick.  If too thin, don’t worry, it will firm up in the freezer.

Slice it up and hide it in the freezer.  If you share it will be gone in minutes.

The texture of this slice is so satisfying.  It is chewy even when frozen, easy to bite into.  The frosting melts so creamy in your mouth.  I love that they are cold, too, which really adds to the satisfaction!

{Don’t Forget To Pin It!}

Chocolate Peanut Butter Freezer Slice

 
6-8 Fresh medjool dates
¼ cup of raisins
1 cup of nuts (they can be mixed nuts or not. I like to use macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts or walnuts)
pinch of good quality salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup of honey
2 Tsp of water
 
Icing
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp coconut oil (melted) (no substitutes)
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
 

Directions
~Place your nuts into your food processor or high speed blender and process until crumbly.

~Add your dates and raisins and process again. 
~Now add your salt, cocoa, honey and peanut butter.
~ Process till it starts to come together. If the mix is too dry add a little water a bit at a time till the mix sticks together when pressed into a ball. 
~Press this mix into a small lined container. 
 
Directions For Icing 
Mix cocoa, melted coconut oil, honey, vanilla & a pinch of salt to bring out the flavor. Add water if too thick, if too thin, don’t worry, it will firm up in the freezer.

 

Pour or spread the icing onto the raw chocolate slice. Pop back into the freezer till the icing firms up, then slice and enjoy. This slice keeps great in the freezer if it lasts that long.

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This post was inspired by our amazing Raw Foods Contributor Teniel Moore from Addicted To Raw. She wrote about a similar chocolate slice minus the peanut butter and high raw.



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RECIPES/ Sweets

Teddy Graham Bear Treats Tucked In A Chocolatey Bed and Covered in Fluff

 

The non-profit my husband works for has been so very loving during this time of surgery & healing. The staff brought us meals for a week!  I cannot tell you how amazing it is to have people love us in this way.  I did not have to worry about cooking or feeding my family.  A HUGE gift.

My friend Melanie brought a great dinner of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, bread sticks, salad & these cute little bear cups.  They made me smile so much and I immediately thought they looked like little bears tucked in bed.  She included a note that said “Kick back, relax & feel better soon.”

This started an argument between my hubs and I.  He said they were bears in a bubble bath.  I said they were bears tucked in bed, with a fluffy down comforter.  My 10 year old Avery just grinned as we argued and was delighted when she discovered under the fluffy “covers” was  oowy gooey caramel.

I had to message Melanie to see who was right, and darn it…Todd was.  The original recipe called these  Teddy Bears in a Bubble Bath.

I’ve changed the name, because I love my fluffy white comforter & my bed.

These are as delicious as they are cute.   The perfect little treat to take to someone who might be stuck in bed for awhile.

Teddy Graham Bear Treats Tucked In A Chocolatey Bed and Covered In Fluff

Ingredients
  1. 24 miniature cupcake liners
  2. 1 (18.25 oz.) box of chocolate cake mix
  3. 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  4. 1 egg, lightly beaten
  5. 24 Rolo candies, unwrapped
  6. 72 miniature marshmallows
  7. 24 plain or chocolate chip Teddy Grahams
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your miniature cupcake tin with the liners and spray with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, melted butter and beaten egg. Stir until completely mixed together; it will be texture of playdough.
  3. Roll batter into 24 balls and place one ball in each cupcake liner. Gently press one Rolo candy into the center of each dough ball.
  4. Bake on center rack of oven for 10 minutes. Remove tin from oven and evenly place 1 Teddy Graham and 3 miniature marshmallows on top of each cupcake, pressing lightly to adhere to top.
  5. Return to oven for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes in tin before removing to wire rack to continue cooling. 

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GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Raw Chocolate Hedgehog Balls

Raw chocolate hedgehog balls
 

 These delicious little balls of goodness not only taste great they are fast and super easy to make.

Its one of those recipes I often throw together at the last minute for unexpected visitors or to take to a friends
house.
All you need is a food processor and a few whole food ingredients.

Ingredient list for raw chocolate hedgehog balls
Raw Chocolate Hedgehog Balls
4 Fresh dates
1 teaspoon raw honey
Pinch of pink salt
1/3 cup each of macadamia nuts, walnuts & sunflower seeds
1 heaped teaspoon of peanut butter (home made is better) just straight peanuts
1 teaspoon of raw cacao powder
1 heaped teaspoon of crunchy buckwheat
Throw your dates in the blender first and blend with the other dry ingredients. Then add the wet ingredients, nuts and seeds.
I like to keep the nuts and seeds still quite chunky in these hedgehog balls. I love the crunchy texture. So do not over blend if you have a 
powerful food processor. Mine is very old and not the best chopper and dicer so it works in my favour for this recipe. 
The mix should come together and be easy to roll into small balls. Add some water if the mix is not coming together for you.
Store in the fridge. They won’t last long.

Teniel Moore writer of Raw Foods
Raw Foods Contributor

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