Guilt-free Sweet Treats

The evil sweet tooth. Isn’t it the worst? I have always had the biggest sweet tooth- like seriously, if ice cream was good for you I would eat it for every meal. I love it. But, I realized that I couldn’t let my sweet tooth get the best of me every single night. Sugar is literally an addiction. When I realized how bad that was for me, I gave up sweets cold turkey for awhile. It was extremely hard in the beginning, but it got easier and easier. It didn’t get rid of my sweet tooth, but I didn’t need it every night. Now that I have my nutrition under control, I usually add something into my nightly routine if my macros allow for it- which they usually do. I’ve learned over time how to curb my sweet tooth with healthy options. I’m not saying I don’t ever eat the “bad for you” sweets because I will never give up my cookies and cream in a cone with sprinkles on those nice summer days. BUT, I eat the bad things in moderation. I like to keep my sweets healthy 90% of the time. I have experimented a lot and I have many favorite recipes, but I will just share my top few for now!

For the this whole semester I have been obsessed with a nightly cap of oats, protein powder, and pb. I highly recommend getting casein protein powder-I am obsessed with the chocolate peanut butter flavor right now, but vanilla and cookies and cream are also good. I use whey protein after my workouts, but casein protein is a slower digesting protein so I use it before bed. The thing I love about this “dessert” is that it can be modified to fit any sort of macro needs. In general, after dinner I am lacking in every macronutrient. It depends on the day but usually the recipe goes like this: Put 10 grams of steel cut oats in a bowl with some cinnamon and ½ packet of Rx butter (I use vanilla almond-so good) or ½ serving of natural peanut butter if I’m out of Rx butter. Mix in water and put it in the microwave for 45 seconds. Then, add one scoop of casein protein (seriously- highly recommend the chocolate peanut butter flavor especially for this) and mix in water until it’s a nice fluffy consistency. Top with whatever you want! I usually top with 50 grams banana, a few strawberries, and the other ½ serving of Rx butter/peanut butter. I also just started microwaving about ¼ of a serving of a perfect bar (usually dark chocolate chip peanut butter) and crumbling it on top- Delicious. For my typical bowl the macros are: 34 g carbs, 22 g fat, 39 g protein. If I need more carbs I’ll add more oats or banana, if I need less fat I won’t add as much peanut butter. It can be adjusted however I need it, which is why I love it so much. This is what it looks like:

This next recipe is my version of frozen yogurt. Sometimes I’m not super low on macros, but still want a little dessert. On days like these, I put 114 grams of nonfat plain greek yogurt (I use siggis) in a bowl. I add 10 grams powdered peanut butter, 2 teaspoons of raw honey, ½ tsp vanilla extract, and I usually top with fruit but you could also top with dark chocolate. Put in the refrigerator for 10-15 mins to chill it. Macros: 24 g carb, 1g fat, 18 g protein.

I have two ‘cookie’ recipes that I couldn’t decide between. The first one tastes very oaty- which is why I love it, but if you aren’t big into oats you’ll like the other one more.

Oat cookies: Preheat oven to 350. Mash 2 ripe bananas, mix in 1 cup/90 grams of old fashioned oats, and 2 tablespoons powdered peanut butter. I recommend adding some dark chocolate chips and cinnamon for extra flavor. Scoop the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Other cookies: Preheat oven to 400. Put one ripe banana, 1 egg, ½ cup natural peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon raw honey, ¼ tsp baking soda, ¼ cup almond flour in a blender/ food grinder and blend until smooth. Then add to greased muffin tin- it should make 12. Add dark chocolate chips on top of each cookie then put in oven for 8-10 mins.

Best for last is- banana bread! This recipe hits the spot when you’re craving some banana bread but don’t want all of the unhealthy things that come along with most banana bread recipes. Preheat oven to 350. You need 4 bananas (the riper the bananas the sweeter it will be), 4 eggs, ½ cup almond butter, 4 tablespoons melted coconut oil, ½ cup almond flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and just a little sea salt. Mash the bananas and combine with the eggs, almond butter, melted coconut oil with electric mixer. Once mixed, add in the almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Mix well then put in a greased loaf pan (I usually add some dark chocolate chips on top) and bake for one hour.

I hope you all enjoy these recipes! I will be sharing my others shortly. If you are curious, in order to find out exactly the macros per serving in any recipe you make, in MyFitnessPal go to the bottom right tab where it says "more", click "Meals, Recipes, & Foods" and then click create a new recipe. You can add a link from a website or enter the ingredients manually. I love this feature on MFP because sometimes I like recipes but I swap certain things out so I just add my ingredients manually and put in how many servings it makes. The app will calculate the macros for each serving.

Thanks for reading :)

- Just a Sprinkle of Jordan