A Day Late But You Can Make Anytime

Thin Mint Brownies

By Chocolate-Covered Katie

Raw Thin-Mint Brownies

• 1 cup walnuts (120g)
• 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates (230 grams) (I highly recommend Sunmaid, because they’re softer.)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• A few drops pure peppermint extract (depending on how minty you want them… Start with less; you can always add more.)
• Optional: for even more chocolate flavor, add chocolate chips. Or add cacao nibs.
• Optional: tiny dash of salt (I always add this and recommend it.)

Directions: Combine all ingredients, using a food processor. (No need to blend the dates first; I just blend everything all at once. But if you use a Magic Bullet, you might want to do it in batches. I’ve not tried this in a regular blender and therefore can’t vouch for it.)Form into brownies or balls or bars… or even cookie-cuttered shapes!

 Nutritional Info: Each Larabar-sized bar (45 grams) will have around 175 calories, 8 grams healthy fat, 2 grams protein, 25 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, and zero grams of added sugar.

Healthy Shamrock Shakes!

By Chocolate-Covered Katiehttp://chocolatecoveredkatie.com


Gluten-free, soy-free, and sugar-free. But full of deliciousness!
Raw Mint-Chocolate Chip Shake
(Shamrock Shake!)

• 1 frozen large banana, as ripe as possible
• cacao nibs (or chocolate chips)
• 2 drops pure peppermint extract
• 2/3 cup milk of choice (For a super-rich shake, try full-fat canned coconut milk. Also, use more or less, depending on desired thickness.)
• frozen spinach (I used about 1/4 cup) *If you can’t get on board with the greens-in-smoothies thing, you can opt for green food coloring (or just drink a white mint shake).
• If, like me, you prefer smoothies in a bowl, add a pinch of xantham and guar gums to make pudding (or just reduce milk)
• Of course, you can always add cocoa powder too

Blend everything together in your Vita-Mix or blender. (A convenient way to measure extract is to use an eye-dropper. You can buy them at stores like Sally Beauty, or recycle them off the tops of nunatural vanilla stevia drops.