Shaeanne’s Chocolate No Bake Bars!

You need these in your life right now. These are a healthy treat that doesn’t taste healthy! Go ahead, trick your taste buds.

Shae’s No Bake Bars

• 1 cup sugar free organic peanut butter
• ¼ cup raw honey (sub stevia if you prefer lower sugar options following stevia proportions also can use brown sugar but will need to add some water for consistency)
• 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups GF organic oats (old fashioned/rolled works best) Quick oats will break apart with moisture but still works
• 1 cup unsweetened organic shredded coconut or coconut flakes
• 1 1/4 cups dairy free chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup total of anything you like (nuts especially walnuts/dried fruit/marshmallows/crushed pretzels)
  • (If you are feeling like Fall or Christmas, you can also add in pumpkin pie spices or peppermint! Possible add in theme: smashed graham crackers and marshmallows to make s’more treats, colored sprinkles for specific occasions)

Combine honey (or alternative), coconut oil, and peanut butter over low heat on the stove or in microwave.

Once melted, turn off heat and add in the vanilla extract, oats, coconut, chocolate, and preferred add ins (nuts/fruit), and vanilla. Stir until the chocolate melts. Be careful to not burn chocolate if you leave the burner on.

  

Pour into a parchment lined or oiled pan. Cool quickly in the freezer or refrigerator. Slice in portion sizes that fit your macros! My 8X8” pan makes 36 servings cut 6 times horizontally and 6 times vertically.

177 Cals / 13G Fat / 13G Carb / 3G Protein (In MyFitnessPal as Shae’s No Bake Bars)

Nutrition w/out honey subtract 240 calories from recipe (68 Carbs):

Nutrition Facts
Servings 36.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 177
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 13 g	19 %
Saturated Fat 7 g	35 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 10 mg	0 %
Potassium 32 mg	1 %
Total Carbohydrate 13 g	4 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	9 %
Sugars 6 g
Protein 3 g	7 %

 

Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	1 %
Iron	5 %

 

 

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa

OMG. Trust me, you NEED to make this. The sooner the better. I love salmon pretty much anyway but this is a new favorite. The chili spices and avocado with lime really just make the dish. This really impressed our company and my husband who is a picky eater.

I chose to bake ours because I don’t think salmon needs cooked in oil, though I am sure that would have taken the crispy texture to a whole new level. No judgement, I just prefer to get my fats from within food rather than adding more oil. Next time I will chop the avocado pieces smaller and make sure I have cilantro on hand :-). I also used this on a lower carb day so rather than using rice or something heavy I used Cauli-Rice.

Seafood

2 lbs Salmon

Produce

1 Avocado

1 tbsp Cilantro, fresh

2 Limes

1 tsp Onion powder

1/2 Red onion

Baking & Spices

1/2 tsp Ancho chilipowder

1 tsp Salt & Black pepper

1 tsp Paprika, powder

1 tsp Cumin, ground

 

Oils & Vinegars

1 tbsp Olive oil, light

Whole Food Nice-cream!

As someone who has a milk allergy, I am always excited to find new and tasty “ice-cream” alternatives. However, I don’t do well with super sugary foods these days. When the idea of a nice cream came about, I had to check it out! The concept is to create your own dessert using whole food ingredients.

I came across a Unicorn themed treat and had to give it a go.

photo credit: PopSugar

It’s actually super simple. Blended fruit (colors of choice) and one option for a healthy spirulina ingredient for that green color.

It’s so simple to just through these together and there is how mine turned out! Click here for recipe!

Photo credit: Shaeanne Karschner

High Altitude Banana Bread

Photo Credit: Noway on Genius Kitchen

I live at 9000 feet in the Rocky Mountains. Baking and, to be honest, ALL cooking is different up here. As usual, I’m not into cooking or baking but sometimes I just have to in order to not waste food. I had some old bananas so I decided to give banana bread a try.

I found this wonderful recipe on Pinterest that worked so well, my husband said it was the best banana bread he’s ever had. I have made it with crushed walnuts and chocolate chips. I’ve made it a few times since with gluten free flour like coconut flour. With that, I had to add more water so make sure to find swaps for whatever flour you decide to use. All times, I used granulated stevia rather than table sugar to cut down on the glycemic response and it actually makes them a more macro balanced bread.

Here is how mine turned out. Click either of the photos for the link to the recipe. 

Photo Credit: Shaeanne Karschner

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Photo Credit: Gimme Some Oven

This right here is my go to easy and delicious dinner. My husband loves it without meat or with my veggie crumbles. The recipe calls for ground turkey but I don’t do that. You can make this in minutes if you have all the canned/frozen ingredients on hand. I was out of taco seasoning last time and was happy to find the author includes a DIY taco soup recipe, which turns out is way healthier than the packaged stuff. I have made this in my crock pot and my instant pot using the chili setting and both work just fine. It does taste even better the next day. Here is what mine looked like going in.

Sometimes I substitute the beans for what I have on hand and I usually use frozen corn rather than canned. If you top it with sliced avocado it balances out the macros quit a bit.

Click on any of the photos for the original recipe.

Photo Credit: Shaeanne Karschner

Proof he liked it 🙂 and he crushes chips in it and shredded cheese.

 

SKINNY SLOW COOKER TACO SOUP

 

TOTAL TIME: 4 HOURS 15 MINS (Crock Pot), 60 Minutes (Instant Pot)

PREP TIME: 15 MINS

COOK TIME: 4 HOURS or 30 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. ground turkey or chicken (I use veggie crumbles)
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 oz) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (11 oz) can whole kernel corn or frozen
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
• 1 (2.25 oz) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning (**see below for substitution**)
• toppings: tortilla chips (strips or crushed), diced avocado, light sour cream, fresh cilantro, lime wedges