Flourless Brownie Cupcakes!!!

It's been a busy week around here. The kids started school. *sniff*

Jeff and I celebrated our 13th anniversary with a little Focus T25 and Shaun T.

And I made *healthy* flourless brownie cupcakes!!! I found this recipe on Team Beachbody website. Who knew they had dessert recipes?!? Since my last two recipes using beans as a substitute for flour were such a big hit, I just had to make this one as well. And it did not disappoint!

Here's what you'll need.

First, find two cute kids. Let them line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. You don't have to use cute kids. You could just do this yourself. But it's more fun with cute kids. 

Next, drain and rinse the chickpeas.

Then place the chickpeas in a food processor and process until smooth.

Add all your other ingredients except the chocolate chips. Process again until smooth.

Dispense the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cups.

Here's where the cute kids come in again. Let them top each cupcake with 4 - 5 chocolate chips. They'll love it. And they'll practice counting. Smart kids eating healthy cupcakes?!? You're now the parent of the year.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

The instructions say to let them cool completely. Really? Just sit and smell the pretty cupcakes while they cool for 2 hours?!? I think you all know me better than that. As soon as they were cool enough not to blister my tongue, I was ready to eat! 

Have mercy. They were amazing!!!!!

The kids have absolutely gone nuts over these! One of my girls shared part of hers with a friend at lunch. They now have plans to have a sleepover and make these. I can get behind that.

These come in at just 160 calories and 4g of protein each.

Flourless Brownie Cupcakes

• 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3 Tbsp. virgin/unrefined coconut oil (you could use refined, but you'll miss out on the great coconut flavor!!!)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (we didn't use quite this many...probably more like 1/4 cup)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Prepare 12 muffin cups by lining with cupcake liners or coating with nonstick spray.

3. Placed chickpeas (drained and rinsed) into food processor. Process until smooth. Add all other ingredients except chocolate chips. Process until well-blended.

4. Divide batter among 12 prepared muffin cups.

5. Top each cupcake with 4 - 5 chocolate chips; push the chips into the batter slightly.

6. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes (I probably cooked closer to 15 minutes), or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Cool completely and enjoy!

Question of the Day

Do you wait for your baked goods to cool before sampling?

Black Bean Soup

The week is off to a good start! I started a new workout program, and I am loving it! It's called Focus T25, and the workouts are just 25 minutes each!!! Believe you me though, 25 minutes is plenty of time to get in a great sweat. Here are Jeff and I after our first workout. Please note the sweat. And the happy expression Jeff is wearing.

In unrelated news, we all had dentist appointments today. It was baby girl's first one. Not surprisingly, she had TWO cavities. Have I mentioned she's strong willed? The first 3 years of brushing her teeth included using my limited knowledge of wrestling moves to pin her down, force her mouth open, and cram the toothbrush inside. Apparently, that wasn't the best strategy. But she sure looked cute in the chair at the dentist's office!

Last week, my friend Karen told me about a new recipe for black bean soup she'd tried. Karen got the recipe from the back of a can of Rotel. As soon as she told me about it, I knew it was going on the blog. Here's what's included.

First, you dice 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 cup onion, and 1/2 cup celery. I chose to chop mine in the food processor. And to make them pretty small so the kids wouldn't even notice they were there.

Next, you saute the vegetables in 2 Tbsp. of oil for about 10 - 15 minutes, or until they're tender.

Then dump in all the remaining ingredients except the cilantro. Bring it to a boil, and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

While that's simmering, mince 1/4 cup cilantro. I did this in my food processor this time - SO much easier than doing it by hand!!!

Stir in the cilantro just before serving.

So, so good! The boy said he loved it more than pizza. PIZZA y'all!!!

The recipe says this makes 6 servings, but I would say we easily got 8 or more out of it. Even at 6 servings, that calculates to just under 300 calories each and over 12 grams of protein!

Black Bean Soup

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cans black beans, undrained
• 2 cans Rotel, undrained
• 1 can Fiesta corn (recipe says drained, but I did not drain mine)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

~Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrot, celery and onion; mix well. Cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Add all remaining ingredients except Rotel. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

Question of the Day:

How do you brush a toddler's teeth?

The Time the Mailman Saved My Day

After a crazy week, I finally had a relatively calm weekend. I kicked the weekend off with Insanity the Asylum's Gameday workout. Seriously, the Insanity and Asylum workouts never stop challenging me. No matter how many times I do them, they always leave me in a puddle on the floor.

Saturday afternoon I had a nervous breakdown became a bit frazzled. I was trying to get some things done, Jeff was at work and the kids were having one of those days where they just could not get along. At all. 

Jeff, being the wise man that he is, knew by my weeping and knashing of teeth intuitively that I needed a break when he arrived home. He scooped up the kids and took them out of the house for some errands. He hadn't been gone five minutes when the mailman knocked on my door and delivered this. <Insert hallelujah angel choir>

My Focus T25 and Vanilla Shakeology had finally arrived!!! It was exactly what I needed to get my day turned around. 

Sunday afternoon, we broke out the Vanilla Shakeology so we could sample it. It's a brand new flavor in the Shakeology family. It was delicious! It tastes and smells like cake batter. I'm not a coffee drinker myself, but I heard it is amazing with cold coffee and tastes like a Starbucks drink! 

Baby girl LOVED the vanilla! She had three helpings.

I'm waiting until next week to start Focus T25. It's killing me because I'm hearing such great reviews, but I'm going to wait patiently and start with my challenge group next Monday. I'll be sure and let you all know what I think. 

Happy Monday!

Question of the Day:

Does the mailman ever turn your day around?

Father's Day Festivities and T25 Challenge Group

We celebrated Father's Day last Sunday with my wonderful husband. At our house, special occasions generally translate to some sort of delicious food. We kicked things off right with some Special Occasion Cinnamon Rolls.

The kids and I baked them on Saturday while Jeff was at work. The cinnamon rolls reheat beautifully, so we had them ready to eat in just a few seconds. The eldest made chocolate milk to go with the cinnamon rolls. Because if there's anything a boatload of sugar needs, it's more sugar. Then, we delivered breakfast in bed!

The kids made Jeff several cards, and we presented him with our gift.

The gift came with an obligation on Jeff's part to take an online chainsaw safety course. Because we've got 4 kids. And I need him to stick around. With all his limbs intact. He can come cut your tree down as soon as he finishes that course.

After breakfast we headed to church. I took pictures of all my sweet Sunday school babies to make a present for their daddies. Here is baby girl's photo.

We headed home and feasted on Jeff's favorite: spaghetti. My guy is pretty easy to please.

After lunch, we enjoyed a Sunday afternoon nap. Then we made our poor man's water slide in the front yard. One tarp + a little baby shampoo = TONS of fun!!! The kids had a blast.

I will refrain from posting my pictures on the slide. Some beauty should only be imagined and not displayed on the Internet for all the world to see.

On a side note, I am super excited about the new Beachbody workout that is coming out this Monday!!! It is from the Insanity creator, Shaun T, and the workouts are all only 25 minutes!!! It's called Focus T25, and it is for everyone from beginners on up. If you're interested in this program, I am starting an accountability group on July 8th. We will divide into teams and post about our workouts for points. The winning team will receive a prize! You can join the group here. And you can learn more about Focus T25 in the video below.



Have a blessed day!