| Minty Fudge Brownie Bites & 7 Quick Snack Ideas! |
One of my missions is to create recipes with ingredients that y'all can and will use over and over again. Keep it simple but flavorful, ya know? I feel like my cooking has undergone the same process that my writing did in high school. When I first realized I loved writing, I wanted to jam-pack each sentence with any remotely applicable fancy word. If one big-girl word was good, more must be better, right? Wrong!
At the end of my senior year, my English teacher took me aside with my final paper. He pointed out that he'd given me an A, because the piece was technically sound and thorough. Then he said something to the effect of "but you need to use about half the words you did. Just because a word sounds sophisticated or makes sense in context, doesn't mean it's necessary."
I was mortified, but it was some of the best writing advice I've ever received. In the last few years, with no holistic chef mentor to guide me, I've had to bumble to the same conclusion in my cooking. In the beginning, I was so jazzed to know about 'superfood' ingredients and new-to-me flavoring that I dumped as many as possible into each dish. Not only does this muddy the taste of your dish, it makes cooking expensive and time consuming—the opposite of what everyone reading this wants, I'd wager.
Slowly but surely I've trimmed my recipes down. You may see me use 4-5 spices, which can make an ingredient list look long, but I'm actually almost always using the same ones over and over. When I do fall hard for a "superfood", I try to incorporate it into my dishes on a regular basis. The result is a pantry full of staples that I actually use up, and a much more efficient, streamlined cooking process.
Anyways, all that is to say—when I published my recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, I knew I wanted to give you another usage for peppermint extract, because it's not a typical staple item. Although, the ice cream is killer enough that you may just decided to keep it on repeat! But for those who don't have an ice cream maker or want something less time consuming, these Mint Chocolate Fudge Brownie Bites are the bees knees!!! Using a bit of coconut oil makes them so rich, fudgy and decadent; you will not believe they're healthy! Walnuts and cocoa are a match made in culinary heaven, as well as full of omega-3 fats and antioxidants. I have been enjoying one of these bites every day after lunch, but they're also a perfect pre or post workout treat or between-meals snack.
Let me know if you give them a try in the comments section below, and please tag me on IG if you make them! @lauraleabalanced. 🙂
QUICK & EASY HEALTHY SNACK IDEAS
To-G0 Hot & Cold Food Containers:
Yeti Tumbler (keeping hot drinks hot and smoothies/cold drinks cold) | FOOGO Thermos | GRUB2GO Bento Box
- Doctored Up Hard Boiled Eggs: 2 eggs slices in half, sprinkled with salt, pepper and Old Bay Seasoning (keep in a thermos or eat within an hour of leaving home)
- Hummus "Sand" & Veggies: place 1/3 cup hummus in the bottom of a food thermos and stick carrot, cucumber and/or bell pepper sticks upright into the hummus (favorite brands of hummus are Hummus Chick, Roots & Engine 2)
- Bento Box "Cheese" Plate: small bunch organic grapes, serving Mary's Gone Crackers, chunk of cheese from 100% grassfed animals (I like Organic Valley, which also has cheese sticks, Kerrygold & Midnight Moon Goat Gouda (at Whole Foods))
- Nut Butter Packets with Apples or Bananas: (favorites are Justin's Maple Almond Butter & Artisana Coconut Butter)
- Sweet & Salty Trail Mix: In a 2:1:1 ratio, combine salted roasted cashews, dark chocolate chips & dried cherries or cranberries. Amazing!
- Protein Smoothie: 1 ripe banana, 1 packed cup organic baby spinach, 1/2 cup milk of choice, 1 scoop Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides (natural source of easily-assimilated protein and helps prevent premature aging), 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon almond or peanut butter, 1 date (sub 2 drops stevia). Add 1-2 tbsp raw cacao powder for chocolate version.
- Roasted Veggie "Sundae": 1 1/2 cups leftover roasted sweet potatoes/brussels sprouts/cauliflower etc (whatever you have an like!) drizzle with tahini & sprinkled with hemp seeds and nutritional yeast. I enjoy this cold.
LL BALANCED RECIPES: FAVORITE SNACK BITES
5 Ingredient PB & J Energy Bites
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