Granola Energy Balls

These tastey little treats are sure to give you the afternoon pick me up you need, without undoing your whole day. 

Granola Energy Balls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 2 cups coconut flakes
• 1 cup peanut butter or almond butter
• 1 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips)
• 2/3 cup honey 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

To Make:

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
2. Roll into bite-size balls.  The size you roll them will determine how many the recipe yields. I rolled mine a little bigger and the recipe made about 2 dozen balls. You could also flatten the mixture out onto a 9x13 pan and cut up as granola bars, if you prefer. 
3. Store in fridge.

You could easily cut this recipe in half, but they stay good in the fridge for about a week, so stock up and snack away! I popped 2 at a time as my afternoon snack last week. 

Nutella Brownies

These two words together explain everything, not much more details needed. This would have to be my second favorite brownie recipe! My first would be the dark chocolate peanut butter brownies, I will make those for you all soon and post up the recipe. These brownies were perfect, to me. They had the perfect chocolate flavor and were so deliciously fudgy, just the way a brownie should be.

Nutella Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup Nutella
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

To Make: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 9x13 (for thin brownies) or a 8x8 square pan (for thicker brownies) or a Perfect Brownie Pan (if you have one, which I do and I love mine!). Cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the salt, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and Nutella. Fold in the flour and the chocolate chips; combine all the ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan and then slice and serve.

Red Velvet Pancakes with a Cream Cheese Maple Syrup

Oh goodness! Just typing in the title of this blog post is making me drool and want to indulge in some more of these yummy pancakes! My best friend's favorite dessert is red velvet anything - red velvet cake, red velvet brownies, red velvet cheesecake, etc. I found this recipe on Pinterest awhile back and have been waiting to have breakfast with her just so I could make these for her, and oh goodness it was heaven in our mouths. It was very hard to limit myself to just two pancakes, but somehow I managed! I just ate really slow and savored every bite.

Red Velvet Pancakes 

with a Cream Cheese Maple Syrup

Pancake Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons red food coloring

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

To Make: 

Mix all ingredients (except chocolate chips) together in a small bowl until smooth, fold in chocolate chips. Pour about 1/3 cup onto medium/high griddle and lightly brown on both sides.

Syrup Ingredients: 

4oz cream cheese

1/4c maple syrup

2tblsp heavy cream

Melt the cream cheese in a microwaveable bowl for about 30-40 seconds, stir until smooth. Stir in the maple syrup and heavy cream. Pour generously over pancakes! 

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

These little muffins are every bit delicious and nutritious. They are a perfect morning treat, especially after an intense workout. They are sure to get your morning off to a great, healthy start. 

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins

Adapted from: Dashing Dish

Ingredients:

• 1-2 small ripe bananas, ripe, mashed
• 3/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup plain low fat greek yogurt (I like Danon OIKOS vanilla)
• 1 cup whole grain old fashioned oats (use gluten free if sensitive to gluten)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (I use JIF natural creamy, you could also use almond butter)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, or line with silicone or foil liners, (spray liners if using). I used regular paper muffins and my muffins didn't stick too bad, but make sure to use the foil liners and spray them with cooking or flour spray so they won't stick. 

2. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until mixture is smooth. 

3. Divide mixture evenly between 12 muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy, one or more! With just about 75 calories in each muffin, you can have more than one at a time, without any guilt!