claire.she.goes

Tag: chocolate

  • RUNday: Om nom nom

    As I continue my journey into the world of fitness, I’m more conscious of what I put in my mouth. I haven’t turned into a complete culinary snob. But I’m trying to strike a balance between food that is both delicious and healthy. There are some things I’ve always known that keep hitting me in the face.

    1. Don’t be a hero.

    I tried eating my granola with the yogurt on the left. Note that it’s plain.

    Several days ago I braced myself as I stood over my breakfast bowl. Heartily, I scooped the yogurt over my cereal, and told myself I was doing the right thing. I told myself I was pursing the healthier option.

    I then dipped my spoon into the bowl and brought it to my lips.

    Although technically I may have been correct about my objectives, my taste buds were not impressed.

    At first I was disappointed. Why couldn’t I rise to the challenge? (Fun fact: This year marks probably the first time in my life where I’ve eaten boiled eggs without trying to devil them.) In spite of my upset, I quickly came to my senses. if something’s not working, there’s no sense in lying to yourself.

    I bought the yogurt on the right the next day.

    2. If you prefer “yours” over “theirs”, it’s ok.

    Fibre1’s brownies* do not taste bad. But I thought they were expensive, and small.

    In the end, I couldn’t help but think that I should have saved my money and made black bean brownies**. In my unprofessional opinion they taste nearly the same and are bound to be healthier.

    3. Expect the unexpected.

    Recently I was checking out Greatist‘s web site when I came upon Katie Morris’ Apple Quinoa Cake recipe.

    I remember being perplexed and excited all at once.

    I have apples! And quinoa.

    And just think about it! Quinoa…In a cake? How does that work?

    Yesterday morning I found out.

    I only made one change to their recipe. I used chopped dates instead of raisins.

    What did it taste like? Like chewy, crunchy, glorious…Awesomeness.

    I was impressed and I definitely intend to make it again.

    *The link goes to the product’s American site. I don’t know what–if any–differences you’ll find between theirs and the Canadian one.

    **As I said in an earlier post, bean-based desserts tend to taste better the day after they’re made.

  • Freestyle Food: Chocolate Greek Yogurt…Something.

    Confession: One of the reasons that I’m suddenly on an exercise kick is that I’ve decided once and for all to eliminate my muffin top. Every now and then for inspiration I look up different images on Pinterest.

    This morning I found a photo featuring a comment that mentioned Muffin-Topless. I don’t know if it was her site, or her Tumblr page, but I could’ve sworn that somewhere along the line, I saw a picture of Greek yogurt, stevia, and cocoa powder. (Mind you, from what I’ve seen of her, in hindsight I realize it was probably chocolate protein powder.)

    I got excited. I thought to myself,”OMG, is that a THING?!? Because I could totally go for some chocolate yogurt pudding!”

    Fact: I used to bake almost every week, but I haven’t in ages. And after I recently won* a box of cookies, I started to eat them, but decided to throw them out.

    Anyways. Moments ago I went to the store.

    I bought my ingredients.

    And I decided to see what I could create.

    I used

    1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt
    2 heaping tablespoons of raw cacao powder
    3 packets of stevia

    I mixed these items together in a small bowl.

    At this point, my mother was present.

    Mom: What is it that you’re making?

    Me: I. don’t. know.

    I tasted my treat. Then, I furrowed my brow and added 2 tablespoons of agave nectar.

    Still…Meh.

    Fact: Healthy alterna-foods almost never taste as good as their sinful counterparts.

    According to this web page, Greek yogurt “pudding” really is a thing.

    But my gosh. This might just take some getting used to.

    Back to the kitchen…

    *Last week at a store I spent over a certain amount on groceries. My reward was a box of cookies.