Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

I found this recipe via Pinterest on this girl's blog. The fact that her URL said to "love veggies and yoga"served as a very quick message to me that this blog was going to hold some treasures. Sure enough, these cookie dough bites are to die for! They are such a great way to get a little taste of dessert in your chomper while not having to feel bad about filling up on butter and sugar and oil. Plus it allowed me to play with my new CuisinArt that I love oh-so-much. Seriously, I've been seeking out recipes solely so that I can use my food processor more often. Is that weird? Doesn't matter. Anyway...

Here's what's in these babies:  

Does that look deceptively healthy to you? Good. Because they are! 

The base is oats and cashews with just a little of the agave, maple and vanilla. 

I don't think I can lie to you and say there aren't a lot of chocolate chips in this recipe...but is that really a bad thing? It's definitely not to me. If I'm going to eat dessert, I'd prefer that it has a nice healthy dose of chocolate.

I also think you should know: the only important change I made to the Averie Cooks recipe is that I used mini chocolate chips. As small of a discrepancy as this might seem....you're wrong and it's not. I'm sorry. I'm getting defensive. The mini chocolate chip idea feels genius to me though. You get quadruple the chocolate-per-bite, thus making it feel more dessert-y and less health-foody. 

Isn't it a pretty little bite? 

The only other difference between mine and Averie's recipe is that I doubled her recipe and made 22 balls. Her single batch made 17 balls. I suppose by nature I like to make desserts with chocolate in large portions. More like 5-10 little bites instead of 2-3. Your balls are your balls though, and you can make them as large or small as you choose!

Makes 22 balls

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup raw cashews

2/3 cup oats

4 tbsp Agave

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Procedure

1. Combine cashews and oats in food processor and blend until a fine powder (like flour). 

2. Add agave, maple, and vanilla into the food processor and continue to blend until the mixture forms itself into a moist ball of dough. 

3. Remove from the processor and mix in the chocolate chips on a cutting board or wax paper. I used a plastic spatula to the mix in the chocolate so that the dough wouldn't stick to my hands. 

4. Roll the dough into little balls and store on wax paper in a tupperware. Refrigerate and eat when hungry. :) 

What's your favorite kind of cookie? I'll try to make more recipes like this in those flavors!

Jalapeño-Paprika Hummus

Wow! Sorry about the hiatus, friends! Last few months were totally nuts! Finished my third year of college with flying colors, if I do say so myself. Even managed to snag a B in my dreaded Bacteriology class! Hallelujah! I also just celebrated my 21st birthday! My ID has been heavily scrutinized every time I've bought alcohol since the big day. I sweat a little bit whenever the cashier stares down my drivers license...despite there clearly being no issue in what I presented him/her. I guess that's what happens when you go 21 years of life not buying alcohol. Nevertheless I had a great time celebrating-went camping with friends and the boyfriend and drank lots of coconut Malibu and rum. I also baked some beer bread! And oh how delicious and legal it was ;) Plus I got to order a big 'ol margarita from the local mexican restaurant. What a great day...


Anyhow! Now that I've talked your ears off about my birthday, I've got to hurry up and get on my goal of 50 blog posts this year! What am I at? 7? 9? Pathetic. (Speaking of pathetic, sorry about these tupperware-ridden photos! I just wanted to get something posted!)


Despite these ugly pictures....this hummus is delicious!! Particularly if you like a sinus-clearing heat in your hummus like I do.

 This uber-dip has a fully-seeded jalapeño, garlic, and paprika for color and smoke. I omitted olive oil, as is usually used in hummus because, frankly, it was awesome without it. And who doesn't want to save a few fat calories? Especially in the midst of swimsuit season!

Like my chipped nail polish? I promise none of the chips got in the dip! (Ha ha!) 
I ate this straight out of the food processor with sugar snap peas and pita chips...you should eat it in any way that'll make you happy. Let me know if you come up with any great dippers! 


Servings: a whole lot!
Ingredients
1 can garbanzo beans
1 jalapeño (seeded, for the weak of mouth...just kidding!) 
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs tahini
~1 tsp paprika
~1/2 tsp cumin



Procedure
1. Throw all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and let that baby grind, grind, grind! You'll be amazed how yummy :) 

Apple Nachos

Apple nachos may sound a tad silly, but they are so tasty and have so much potential for different delicious topping combos. Here I did Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt, melted peanut butter, crushed up cinnamon Life cereal, and some more cinnamon sprinkled on top. Great for kids or childish adults (like yours truly). 

1 serving

Ingredients

1 apple (whatever you like!) 

Any of the following: peanut butter (melted in the microwave), yogurt, cinnamon, brown sugar, chopped nuts, cereal, dried cranberries (or anything other small dried fruit), chocolate chips, sprinkle, melted caramel...use your imagination! Apple nachos are pretty hard to mess up. 

Procedure

1. Slice apple into thin slices that can be eaten in one or two bites. 

2. Top with toppings.

3. Devour.