Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars {THM-S}

I used to make a non-healthy version of these bars from a recipe a friend gave me.  The original recipe used store bought refrigerated cookie dough and a filling made from cream cheese, egg and sugar.  I was looking through old recipes recently to see if I could convert any of our old favorites to be THM friendly and I knew I wanted to try this one!
I knew immediately that the filling would be easy to rework…simply replace the sugar with an acceptable sugar substitute.  I also added a little heavy cream to add to the creaminess of the filling.  The cookie dough took a little more work.  I used several recipes I had found for on-plan cookies and combined and tweaked until I found a recipe I liked.
My family DEVOURED these bars!  Even my picky kids!  My 14 year old son has asked me to make these all the time…that’s really saying something because they usually turn their noses up when the find out a recipe is THM friendly!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars {THM-S}

Cookie:

2 cups almond flour

1 cup coconut

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick butter, soft

1/4 cup truvia

1 egg

3/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 cup truvia, ground fine

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

For the cookie dough:  Cream butter and truvia until fluffy.  Add egg and mix well.  Beat in almond flour, coconut, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Press half of the dough into a well greased 8×8 pan.  Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.
For cheesecake filling:  Beat cream cheese and truvia until smooth.  Add heavy cream, egg, and vanilla, beating well.  Pour over partially baked crust.
Crumble remaining cookie dough over top of filling.  Bake another 25 minutes or until golden brown and the filling is set.  Let cool completely and then refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Chicken & Three Bean Soup {THM-E}

Energizing (E) meals with Trim Healthy Mama are the hardest for me.  I’m not even sure why, it just seems like I struggle to come up with ideas for the E meals that don’t include fat!  But last week, during a Fuel Cycle even, I stumbled across an old recipe for Bean & Chicken Soup.  It had some ingredients that didn’t quite work with THM E guidelines, but I was certain I could tweak it and come up with something yummy and energizing.

This soup is so easy – cook your chicken in the crock pot until done, then shred it and toss in the beans until heated through.  Super simple!

 

Chicken & Three Bean Soup {THM-E}

15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed well

15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed well

15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed well

2 lbs chicken tenders, frozen

1 quart chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

3 tbsp cumin

3 tsp oregano

 

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT BEANS in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken from crock pot and shred.  (*I shred my chicken by putting it in my kitchenaid mixer bowl with the paddle attachment.  Just turn the mixer on medium-low for a minute or two and your chicken is perfectly shredded!)  Place chicken back in crock pot and add beans.  Turn crockpot on HIGH for 30 minutes or until beans are heated through.

 

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Fudgy Frosting {THM-S}

Have I mentioned before that I brownies are my number one weakness?  Well, they are.  If I was stranded on a desert island and I had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would be brownies.  So, it’s probably no surprise to you that this was one of the first things I started trying to recreate when I became a Trim Healthy Mama!  I just HAD to find a way to get my fudgy brownie fix and still be healthy.

It took several different recipes, test runs, and taste tests to get to this brownie recipe.  And yes, I even made one recipe that was so bad it went straight in the trash.  Yeah, I did.  But I kept trudging along, trying a new tweak here, a swap of ingredients there until I finally found a brownie that is fudgy, good for you, and delicious!

Yes, these brownies have zucchini in them.  As a matter of fact, mine have a combination of zuchinni and zephyr squash (kind of a cross between zucchini and yellow squash?) because that’s what I had on hand, but I’ve also tried them with straight zucchini so just use whatever summer squash you happen to have, or whatever looks great at the farmers market this week.

I took a batch of these yummies to a church pot luck and they were completely gone at the end of the night.  Several people told me how good they were…I didn’t tell them what was in them or that they were HEALTHY!

 

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Fudge Frosting

• 1/2 cup shredded zucchini or yellow squash (shred in food processor for best results)
• 2 tbsp egg substitute
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp golden flax meal
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 coconut flour (store bought)
• 1/2 cup oats, ground fine
• 1/2 cup almond meal, ground fine
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 5 tbsp Truvia

For best results, place zucchini in food processor and process until very smooth and there are no large pieces of zucchini remaining.

Combine zucchini, egg substitute, water, vanilla, flax meal and butter in small bowl.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine cocoa powder, coconut flour, ground oats, ground almond meal, salt, baking soda, and Truvia.  Combine soaked zucchini mixture with dry ingredients and stir just until evenly mixed – don’t overwork the batter.  Spread into a parchment lined 8×8 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for at least 15 minutes.  Remove from pan along with parchment paper and place on cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, frost with Fudgy Frosting.

Fudgy Frosting

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp truvia
• 1 doonk stevia
• pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a SMALL food processor and blend until smooth.  (Because you’re making a small amount of frosting, it helps to blend this in a small food processor bowl.  Otherwise, it just doesnt’ seem to blend as well) Add more almond milk if needed to reach desired consistency.  Spread over cooled brownies.

Brownie Batter Pancakes {THM-E} & Hot Fudge Syrup-Sauce {THM-FP}

I love brownie batter.  Prior to THM, I’ve been known to whip up a batch of brownies just so i could eat some of the batter before popping them in the oven.  True story.  Love the stuff.  Of course, regular old box-mix brownies are not on the THM plan, and for good reason!  They contain all sorts of processed and not-good-for-you ingredients.

And who doesn’t love pancakes?  Soft, fluffy, drenched in some sort of syrup-y goodness?  I mean you’d have to be crazy not to love pancakes.  And there’s so many flavor options – berry pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes, banana pancakes, apple-cinnamon pancakes, the list goes on an on.  I decided I wanted a chocolatey pancake. It took a couple of tries to come up with a recipe that I really was happy with, but I’m so glad I kept trying!

These brownie batter pancakes aren’t quite a fluffy as traditional pancakes, but they are oh-so-yummy.  And the best part?  You can eat the entire batch as ONE serving!  How awesome is that?  Oh wait…it gets better…you can also pour on this amazing Fuel Pull Chocolate Syrup!

Yes ma’am (or maybe you’re a sir?), this sauce is the icing on the (pan)cake!  You can’t go wrong with chocolate sauce!  I may or may not have licked the bowl clean after taking these photos.

If you love pancakes and brownie batter, and you’re a Trim Healthy Mama looking for new ways to start your day, then give these delicious little babies a try!

Brownie Batter Pancakes {THM-E}

• 2 tbsp whey protein powder
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tsp Truvia (or other sweetener of choice)
• pinch salt
• 1-1/2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 Tbsp almond milk

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Heat skillet or griddle and spoon batter onto hot skillet.  Let cook until bubbles appear on the surface.  Flip over and cook another minute or so, until fully cooked.  Stack pancakes on serving plate and use Fudge Sauce to top them!

Hot Fudge Syrup-Sauce {THM-FP}

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp Truvia (or other sweetener of choice)
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup water*
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine cocoa powder, truvia, and salt in small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Whisk in the water until smooth.  Heat to a boil; boil 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.  Serve warm.  Store and leftover sauce in airtight container in refrigerator.
*This amount of water makes a medium-thick sauce.  Use more water for a thinner syrup.

Cherry Crumble {THM-S}

If you saw my post a couple of weeks ago for THM No Bake Cherry Cheesecakes then you will remember that you only use half of the can of cherry pie filling, right?  Well if you’re looking for something to do with the left over cherry pie filling – instead of just eating it straight out of the jar (not that I would EVER do that!) – then here is a great recipe for you!
This is very quick to throw together and is a real ‘comfort food’ type of dessert.  I hope you enjoy it!

 

Start by dividing the remaining NSA cherry pie filling (half the can) between four greased ramekins.

Then, in a small mixing bowl, combine 4 tbsp coconut that you have ground to a fine ‘flour’, 2 tbsp almond flour, 2 tbsp oats, and 2 tsp oat bran (You can omit the oat bran if you don’t have it), 2 tbsp Truvia, and a pinch of salt.

Now, add 4 tbsp COLD butter (best if you cut it into small chunks) and 1 tsp molasses.

Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter.

Work the ‘dough’ until you have a coarse “cookie dough” consistency.

Crumble the dough over the cherries in the ramekins and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

The crumble topping should be golden brown and the cherry filling will bubble up around the edges.

 

Cherry Crumble {THM-S}

• 4 tbsp coconut, ground fine
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 2 tbsp oats
• 2 tsp oat bran (optional)
• 2 tbsp Truvia
• 1 tsp molasses
• Pinch Salt
• 4 tbsp cold butter
• 1/2 can NSA cherry pie filling

Grease four ramekins and divide the cherry pie filling evenly among them.
To make the crumble, combine all ingredients except the butter in a small bowl  Add butter and cut in with pastry blender or a fork until it resembles a coarse cookie dough.  Divide crumble among ramekins.

Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and filling is bubbling around the edges.

 

Broiled Salmon Pecan Salad {THM-S}

We were on vacation in Gulf Shores, AL a few weeks ago and I was very excited to find some wonderful meals that were THM friendly when we ate out.  One dish I had was a Salmon-Pecan salad.  I knew immediately that I needed to recreate it at home.  I pulled out my phone and made a note of the different ingredients in the salad.  Mixed greens, fresh tomatoes, candies pecans, croutons (which I didn’t eat!), and the grilled salmon.  Of course, I had to find a way to make candies pecans without using a lot of sugar or honey and I needed a substitute for the croutons.  Molasses and truvia were the answer for the pecans and crispy lavash bread replaced the croutons.  I LOVE this salad!  Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you.  There are several “parts” to this salad, but they are all very quick and easy.  You can even prepare most of it ahead of time.

Start by making your candied pecans.  Chop up 1/4 cup pecans.

In a small skillet, combine 1 tsp molasses, 2 tsp water, and 1 tsp truvia.  Let this cook for a few seconds, stirring constantly – it will bubble a LOT!  Keep stirring or it will burn quickly.  Add the pecans and cook another couple of minutes, stirring often.

Remove the pecans to a piece of waxed or parchment paper to cool.

Go ahead and make your lavash “croutons”.  Spread a small amount of butter on half of a lavash wrap.  Sprinkle with salt and microwave for about 1 minute, or until the wrap is crisp.  Break into pieces and set aside.

To prepare the salmon, Preheat the broiler.  Heat 4 tbsp butter in an oven proof skillet over medium heat (I prefer cast iron, but you don’t have to use that).  Lay the salmon in the pan and quickly turn over the filet to coat both sides of the fish.  Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the salmon.

Season the salmon with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes.  Do not flip the salmon filets.

Place the skillet in the oven under the broiler.  Broil for 10-15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.  Do not over bake.

While the salmon is broiling, assemble the salad.  Place plenty of mixed greens on a plate and top with fresh tomato, sliced mushrooms, and your candied pecans.

Add the cooked salmon and some lavash ‘croutons’ and you’re ready for a wonderful dinner!

Serve with a balsamic vinegar & olive oil dressing.  It’s just balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

 

Broiled Salmon-Pecan Salad {THM-S}

• 1 tsp molasses
• 2 tsp water
• 1 tsp Truvia
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped

• 2 salmon filets
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 lemon
• salt & pepper

• 1/2 lavash wrap
• butter, salt and pepper

• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

• salad greens
• tomato
• sliced mushrooms

Make the candied pecans:

Combine molasses, water and truvia in small skillet and let bubble for about 30 seconds.  Stir in chopped pecans and let cook another 2 minutes.  Remove to parchment paper to cool.

Make the lavash croutons:

Spread a bit of butter on half of a lavash wrap.  Sprinkle with salt.  Microwave on a paper plate until crisp, about one minute.

Make the salad:

Pile your plate up with mixed salad greens, tomato pieces, sliced mushrooms, and candied pecans.

Make the salmon:

Preheat oven to broil.  Melt butter in oven proof skillet.  Coat both sides of salmon with melted butter.  Squeeze juice of lemon over fish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Look cook for about 2 minutes.  Place skillet in oven and broil for 10-15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.

Assemble the salad:

Place salmon over the greens. Sprinkle lavash croutons around and serve with a fresh lemon slice.

 

 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites {THM-S}

Have I mentioned before that I love cookie dough?  Oh, that was just yesterday?  Sorry.  But I really do love cookie dough.  Pretty much any flavor really.  Seriously, if there was a way to eat cookie dough every day of my life and not gain weight, I would totally be in!  I came up with a great way to get my peanut butter cookie dough fix AND lose weight!  These little bite sized goodies are packed with protein and they are oh-so-good.  And can we say easy peasy?

Start by combining 1/4 cup almond flour (ground fine), 1/4 cup protein powder in a bowl.  Top that with 1/4 cup natural peanut butter.

Stir this mixture together until crumbly and well combined.

Add enough water to make a nice thick cookie dough consistency.  It should look something like this.

Chop up 1/2 oz. of dark chocolate and stir that into the dough.  If you want a plain peanut butter cookie dough, go ahead and leave the chocolate out.

Scoop about 2 teaspoons worth of dough out and roll into a ball.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Refrigerate until firm.  Store these little treats in the refrigerator or they will get super soft on you.

 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites {THM-S}

• 1/4 cup almond flour, ground fine
• 1/4 cup protein powder
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• Water, as needed
• 1/2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

Combine almond flour, protein powder and peanut butter in a bowl until well combined.  Mixture will be crumbly.  Add enough water to form a cookie dough consistency – the dough should hold together when you squeeze it.  Stir in chopped chocolate.  Form into balls – about 2 teaspoons of dough per ball – and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Store in refrigerator.

 

Cookie Dough Shake {THM-FP}

I.  Love.  Cookie Dough.  I could eat an entire batch of raw dough.  Well, pre-THM I would.  Not anymore.  But I do still crave that flavor from time to time.  So, I decided to try to make a shake that had those same comforting flavors.  I tried several versions of this shake before I finally ended up with a flavor that I felt really did taste as close to cookie dough as a shake could get.  I also wanted to keep this an FP drink so I could enjoy it anytime of the day.  I am happy with the results and I think you will too!

 

Start by adding 1/2 cup low fat or fat free cottage cheese to your blender along with 1/2 cup almond milk.

Next, add your sweetener of choice.  I found that I liked 2 doonks of THM stevia plus 2 tsp truvia.  I like a really sweet drink, but feel free to adjust the sweetness if you don’t like it as sweet.

Then add 1 tsp vanilla, 1/8 tsp butter extract, and 1/4 tsp molasses.

Toss in 1 oz. of dark chocolate.  I use the dark chocolate chunks, but you can use a bar of chocolate as well.

Lastly, add ice.  I like a medium-thick shake.  Not too thin, not too thick.  Adjust to your liking though.  I use about 1 or 1-1/2 cups of ice.

Blend until smooth and pour into a glass.  It tastes even better when you put it in a pretty glass!  I promise!  He he!

 

Cookie Dough Shake {THM-FP}

 

• 1/2 cup low fat or fat free cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 doonks THM stevia
• 2 tsp Truvia
• 1 oz. dark chocolate
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp butter extract
• 1/4 tsp molasses
• dash salt
• 1-2 cups ice

Put all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.  Serve immediately.

 

No Bake Cherry Cheesecakes {THM-S}

I love cheesecake, but I don’t always have the patience to mix up a batter, bake it for an hour, and let it chill for several more hours.  Just keeping it real, folks!  Of course this won’t taste like a traditional baked cheesecake, but I promise you it will be delicious.  You could top it with any S-friendly topping you like, but I like the good ol’ cherry topping.  I used No Sugar Added Cherry Pie filling.

 

To start, whip 1/2 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.

Set this aside while you work on the next step.

Now, beat together one 8 oz. block of reduced fat cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp truvia and 1-2 doonks of stevia.  Once this is combined, add the whipped cream to the bowl.

Gently fold the whipped cream in until combined.  Do not overwork the mixture or you’ll “deflate” the whipped cream.

Spoon the mixture into four half pint jars (or other serving dish of your choice).

Put lids on the jars and chill for about an hour if you have the time.  If you’re super impatient, you could go ahead and finish them off.  I won’t tell.

When ready to serve, spoon a bit of no sugar added cherry pie filling on top.  Don’t go overboard or you’ll end up in “crossover land”!

How pretty are these little desserts?  And they taste as good as they look!

 

No Bake Cherry Cheesecakes {THM-S}

• 8 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp truvia
• 1-2 doonks stevia
• 1 cup no sugar added cherry pie filling

Beat heavy cream until it forms soft peaks.  Set aside.  In separate bowl, combine softened cream cheese, vanilla, truvia and stevia until smooth.  Fold in the whipped cream.  Divide mixture between four half pint jars.  Chill for at least one hour.  When ready to serve, top each cheesecake with about 2 tbsp pie filling.

Store in refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia {THM-FP}

Even picky eaters will enjoy this cheesy, parmesan crusted tilapia!  It’s a light S and it only takes about 10-15 minutes to bake, so it’s a great week night dish for busy families.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia {THM-S}

• 6 tilapia fillets (about 6 oz. each)
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp minced fresh basil (OR 1/4 tsp dried basil)
• 1 Joseph’s Pita, ground into coarse crumbs
  

Combine all ingredients but pita crumbs and spread over fish fillets.  Place in baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Divide crumbs evenly over tops of fillets.  Broil 3-4 inches from the heat  for 10-15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

 

Serves: 6