Chocolate Problems + A Few Sweet Solutions

   There's no junk food here, but there is chocolate. No, chocolate is not junk. It's amazing. I try to do my best, crepe indulgences excluded, to stay on track. But I do need a piece of chocolate every once in a while. I always keep a chocolate bar (this week's is just a plain dark chocolate bar, but recently I also had coconut white chocolate...yum!) and it usually lasts me about two weeks. So my first solution to my chocolate problems is simply having one piece of dark chocolate. No harm there :)

     Two days ago when I was a little down, I felt a chocolate binge coming on. Of course we all know that's a really bad idea, but what could make it a better idea is Paleo-fying a chocolate recipe! I went to my Pinterest boards and looked for a paleo dessert inspiration. I pinned a coconut oil chocolate fudge recipe a while ago and have been meaning to try it! It's simple, quick, and delicious. And the coconut oil made this recipe so rich and filling that I only needed a couple bites. Chocolate binge problem solved :)

Ingredients: (Makes three LARGE pieces of paleo fudge)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (this stuff is magic for chocolate cravings)

2 tablespoons almond or coconut milk

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions: 

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into the bottom of a salad bowl (or any bowl slightly larger than a cereal bowl) and let sit in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes until hard.

Grab a spoon and enjoy!

So clearly, this fudge recipe is very high in fat. I had two large bites (probably equivalent to 1 piece, or 1/3 of above recipe) and ate them slowly :) This was a filling, low carb snack. And if you're on the paleo bandwagon (or the coconut oil bandwagon), they're mostly guilt free. Unsweetened cocoa powder delivers the flavor without the "bad" stuff that comes with chocolate pieces. These fudge bites are perfect to fix a chocolate craving because they are very rich, and there will be no sugar crash later!

My next solution involves baked apples! Okay, they're microwaved, but who cares. I sliced an apple, sprinkled with honey and cinnamon, covered with a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips, and microwaved the mixture for two minutes. Then I added a pinch of unsweetened coconut flakes.

They're super hot. Let them sit for a minute!

And my final sweet-tooth solution involves another Fall recipe! Yesterday, I made a vanilla pumpkin green smoothie! Today, I had some pumpkin leftover to use up, so I made Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

 Here's the recipe:

  They came out great, and you wouldn't even know there's no real flour in them :) I've attempted paleo muffin recipes twice before. The first ones came out a bit eggy, the second ones came out too dry, but apparently the third time is the charm because Ryan and I really enjoyed them :)

Question: What's your go-to for a chocolate craving?

Good night!