Avocado, Not just for guacamole anymore!

Avocado Fudge?

Yes please!

I am sure that, if you are anything like me, when you hear fudge, Healthy is not a word that comes to mind.  Most of the time, I think I get a sugar headache just from looking at fudge!  I do not eat a lot of sweets anymore, but once in a while you just need to keep it real!  Yes, I still have my favorites that I splurge on from time to time, but keeping it in moderation is key.  

SO, back to this fudge...  A few months ago, I was cruising the internet, trying to find a few new recipes to try.  I had about 4 avocado's sitting in my kitchen that I needed to use up before they were too ripe.  When I first came across this fudge recipe, I will admit, I was skeptical.  Chocolate and Avocado Fudge?  Together?  Admit it, when you read those avocado and fudge together, you thought it was a typo.  Would someone really mix THOSE two things together?  Not really sure about that combination myself, but I like both, so why not give it a try.  Worst case scenario?  I have a 16 year old that will eat just about anything! 

I originally found the recipe at Activeware.com and I have made it twice now, trying out different brands of chocolate each time.  Other than that, I have kept with the original recipe, but I am sure that over time I will tweak it a bit and make it my own!  Best thing?  ok, there are many awesome things about this recipe, but the fact that it only has 4 ingredients is a huge plus in my book!

The creaminess of the avocado blends perfectly with the chocolate to create the perfect balance of sweetness.  Several people that I have tried it did not believe me that there really was avocado in it!

Ingredients:
*2 very ripe avocado's (only 1 if you are not frosting your fudge)
*9oz dark chocolate
*1 Tablespoon coconut oil
*1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions:
Line an 8x8 or comparable size pan with parchment paper (or plastic wrap), leaving plenty hanging over the sides (this will come in handy later!)

Slice one of the avocado's in half, scoop out the insides from each half into a food processor.  Process the avocado until it's smooth, about 30 seconds or so.  If you don't have a food processor, you can do this part by hand, it just takes longer (or you can just have small chucks of avocado in your fudge - yes I have done this before! It still tastes great)

Scrape the avocado into a double boiler and add the chocolate and coconut oil and set this aside. Put water in the lower pan of your double boiler and bring to a simmer.  Once the water reaches a simmer, put the top pan on and get ready to see it all come together!

Stir the ingredients together until everything melts and is smooth (about 5 minutes).  Once everything is completely melted, continue stirring for another 5 minutes while everything starts to thicken.

Once the mixture starts to thicken, add the vanilla, stir and scrape everything into your prepared pan.

Chill in fridge for a few hours (or until firm enough to eat - you won't want to wait 3 hours for this!).

Once your fudge is firmed up and set, pull it out of the pan using the excess parchment that you left hanging over the edges.  Cut into desired pieces and enjoy!  This last time I made it, I added a bit of coarse sea salt to the fudge before serving.  

Frosting: (optional)
cut the 2nd avocado in half, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash to your desired consistency.  

I will admit that I have never actually frosted this fudge.  Maybe one of these days I might actually do that, but so far I have just been enjoying the smooth creamy sweetness of these squares of pure heaven!

Enjoy! But beware... a batch of this disappears faster than something in a David Copperfield show!

What I Ate Wednesday vol2

Time again for WIAW (What I ate Wednesday)!

Like I said last week, with all the miles and Renegade workouts, I really do eat a lot. Which is good for me, because I do like food!  Over the last few months, after I really made the big changes in what I eat, I have eliminated many things, but I have also found quite a few new foods and/or recipes that have become staples in my diet.  Over the next few weeks I will start sharing a few of these each week with you.

Today, it will only be one recipe, as I forgot to take the necessary picture for the other recipes that I wanted to share with you... oops!

The first recipe that I felt I needed to share is one of my new favorite "un"sandwiches...  who said you NEED bread for a sandwich?  Ok, most people will say that you do, but something does not have to have bread to make is a sandwich!  In reality, the bread is just a way to keep everything together so that you can get the "filling" to your mouth!  This summer summer chicken salad utilizes a lettuce leaf to transport the fillings from plate to mouth!  Genius!

Paleo Chicken Salad Summer Wrap

I found this recipe here at EasyPaleoMeals.org and after trying this one, you can be sure that I will be going back to try more of the recipes posted there!  "Boring" plain chicken is transformed into a fun, flavorful chicken salad that brings you back to feelings of warm summer days - and after the extreme cold temperatures that we have dealt with this winter, I will do anything to think warm!

*1/2 cup chopped chicken
*3 tbsp chopped Fuji apples
*2 tbsp chopped red grapes
*2 tsp honey
*2 tbsp almond butter

Mix ingredients together and wrap into a Romaine leaf

I have made this so many times that I honestly don't even measure anything anymore! I just chop up as much chicken as I have available, then eyeball the amount of everything so that I have a nice colorful mix.

You do have to be patient when mixing everything together as it does take a while for the almond butter and honey to soften, or "melt" enough to adequately coat everything else.  But trust me, it's worth the wait!

I also usually don't even bother with "wrapping" it in a lettuce leaf - I use the romaine leaf to make a boat for all of this chicken yumminess! for that matter, sometimes I don't even bother with the lettuce wrap and just eat it straight from the bowl!

ENJOY!

So what do you eat?

Ok, time to take things into a new direction. Well, maybe not in a new direction, but just shaking things up here a bit.

When I started this blog, it was named as it was, because I was looking to break some of the not so good habits that I had and replace them with new ones, tracking that journey as I went along.  That goal has not changed.  Over the last year, I have still written about some of that stuff, but my main focus had turned to all of the running that I have started doing.  Granted, that has been a HUGE new habit for me and I will continue to blog about my running adventures, but it is time to get back to adding more of the "other stuff" back in.

What exactly that will be it yet to be determined, but you can be assured that I will have fun with it along the way!

Now as I sit here, eating my lunch,  trying to decide what to write about today, it hit me... the one question I actually have people ask me all the time...

"So, what to you really eat anymore?"

I have been asked this question more times that I can count!  The answer?  A LOT!  Yes, I eat a lot, just not a lot at one time (just several times a day!).  This is not something that can easily be covered in one single post, so that brings us to the birth of "What I eat Wednesday"  Each Wednesday, my goal is to bring you a new recipe or food that I have tried, or something else related to "what I eat".

Over the last year I really have taking a look at the way that I was eating, as well as what I have been eating and made quite a few changes.  The biggest of these changes was last year when I started adopting more of a Paleo Diet.  This started last summer and I slowly started noticing more changes.  I wasn't getting headaches as often (I think I recall 1 migraine in the last 6 months), I wasn't getting tired shortly after eating lunch at work and I was sleeping better at night!  Then in November when I switched gyms and started at Fitness Renegades, I decided that it was time to just jump in.  The gym promotes a Paleo lifestyle so it was a great benefit to have an additional support system at my disposal.   There are many websites out there that will dig into the nitty gritty of a paleo lifestyle, but in a nutshell, its getting back to the basics.  Fresh fruits, veggies, meats and seafood.  It was a real learning process for me, and I am still learning.  Now, before you ask, or jump to any conclusions, what I eat is far from "perfect paleo" and I don't think I will ever get to that point.

I have eliminated virtually all bread from my diet - I think I can count the number of times I have eaten bread since November on one hand!  I also have eliminated most processed foods and dairy, I don't remember the last time I had a soda (probably less than 6 in the last year!).  Don't get me wrong, I still have my splurges!  I love dark chocolate and wine and will always find a time to enjoy those, along with a beer from time to time.  Everything in moderation!

One thing that has been a huge benefit for me is that my mom completely changed up her eating habits a few years ago and has been able to give me a ton of ideas on foods to try etc.  Plus is makes it nice knowing that when we get together with my family, I know that there will be options available for me to enjoy so that I don't feel like I am missing out on something good!

So, to answer the question, what do I eat?

Most weekday mornings, breakfast is eggs with whatever fresh veggies are in the fridge.  This week it's been sweet potato, mushrooms, green onions, spinach and 3 eggs.  I generally am never able to really eat right away when I first wake up in the morning, so I cook my breakfast at home and then take it to work to eat a little later.  

 While my breakfast is cooking, it is time to play with the juicer!  More fruits and veggies are juiced together and put into a travel mug to head to work with me for my mid-morning snack.  This particular blend was carrot, beets, green apple, ginger and pineapple.  There are days that I will also add some spinach or kale to the mix or change up the fruits, but this as turned into the pick me up that I need to keep my day going.

Now on to lunch.  Many times lunch at work is leftovers from the night before (if there is anything left) but this week I found huge tubs of baby spinach on sale!  So, I picked up some chicken breasts and cooked off 4 of them on Sunday to put in the fridge to use during the week.  Today's salad was my baby spinach topped with chicken, raw almonds, blueberries, strawberries and avocado, topped with an oil free pomegranate vinaigrette.

There is no going hungry for this girl!  Which is a good thing because with intense workouts that I get at Fitness Renegades and all of the miles that I run, I need all the energy I can get!  There are so many different foods that I have tried in the last few months that I will slowly share with you as time permits!

Now that What I Eat Wednesday has been mad official, it is time for this girl to get some sleep.  The foods that I eat definitely give me energy, but after a 12 hour work day, there comes a time when you just need to call it a day and get some rest!

Until next time...