Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie & Chocolate Mousse Recipe: Healthy Valentine’s Day Desserts

These snow days are killing me. Seriously. I’ve had just about enough.

We haven’t done much baking recently (besides my very adorable football cupcakes for last weeks Superbowl), but I wanted to do something different with the boys yesterday so I decided to make a few somewhat “healthy” desserts.

A quick Google search and I found a couple recipes that not only looked great, but made the cut because I had everything in the house already…so we got to work!

My adorable little helpers 🙂

I used this recipe for the cookies….wasn’t sure what “sifted blanched almond flour” really was, so I just used my usual Trader Joe’s almond meal and it worked fine.

I also just used regular Nestle’s milk chocolate chips…probably doesn’t count as real “Paleo” but we had no complaints.

I’ll also fill you in on a little secret: wax paper and parchment paper aren’t the same thing and you don’t want to put wax paper in the oven (oops!).

Aaaaanyway, the cookies were DELICIOUS regardless of the black smoke coming from the oven 🙂

Two happy campers!

I absolutely loved the consistency of these cookies and I also didn’t feel like I needed to Hoover the entire batch….something I always struggle with when it comes to baked goods. These definitely weren’t the quickest, but the boys really loved getting all the ingredients together and I loved that I knew exactly what was in them.

Moving on…

I LOVE desserts. Specifically chocolate…and Swedish fish, and Dots, but let’s just stick with the chocolate today because I don’t know how to make Swedish fish or Dots (thankfully).

One of my MOST favorite desserts is Bertucci’s chocolate mousse, the “Budino”….we actually went to Bertucci’s for our anniversary dinner a few years ago because I really wanted the Budino. We keep it classy. Only the best for our special occasions, which is why I went searching for a recipe seeing that Valentine’s Day is this weekend and we’re just gonna be hanging in….

So in search of my Budino replacement, I read about 10 different recipes. All of which I didn’t have one thing or another, so I just threw what I had together and it came out pretty good! Not “Budino” good, and not good enough that the boys loved it, but I loved it… so more for me!

Here’s what I did:

In a food processor I combined 1 avocado, 4 pitted dates, 1/2 cup coconut milk (in a can), 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 TBSP honey (from my clients’ bees), 1TBSP vanilla extract, sea salt….Blend until it’s a nice mousse-y consistency.

Next time i make it I’ll definitely cut back on the vanilla extract…it tasted REALLY good and has awesome texture, but then had a bit of a weird aftertaste (I still ate it all).

For portion control I scooped about 2T into muffin tins and refrigerated them overnight. You can top with strawberries or add some vanilla maple arctic zero and almond butter for a little ice cream sundae type of dessert. I’ll definitely make this again!

I’m all about moderation, but I think that can mean a few different things depending on where you are in your journey. If you are looking to get leaner (fat loss) or tighten up your nutrition a bit, moderation might look different for you than it would if you were looking to maintain where you’re at. So although these desserts are made with healthy ingredients, they still have calories so just keep that in mind.

For all of you in the NE, be careful shoveling today…I’ve never EVER seen so much snow in my life!

PS: For those of you who ARE looking to tighten up your nutrition a bit, I will be running another 15 Day Challenge in a couple of weeks! The 15-Day Challenge is something I put together for myself, and my clients to do every once in a while….usually after a vacation or the holidays to stop the cycle of wanting to eat sweets and treats and get our bodies back into fat burning mode.

It’s not about restricting calories and spending hours in the gym. In fact, that is the exact opposite of what this challenge is about.

I will teach you the reasons WHY certain foods and types of exercises are better for fat loss, not just print out a food list and say, “here, eat this” or expect you to buy expensive supplements or follow a strict meal plan.

You’ll not only get the science behind the program, you’ll also have me to coach you through it to answer any of your questions and concerns as well as a group of amazing women for support and motivation.

15 Days is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to sustainable fat loss, but this is a fantastic way to jump-start your fat burning potential so that you can see and feel results, which will give you the motivation to continue!

You will learn about more than just what to eat and how to exercise. We will go over the importance of habit change and mindset so you are prepared to continue finding your own fat loss formula for lasting results.

Get your name on the list below to secure your spot in the coaching group. More info will be coming soon!