Let’s face it, friends, there will always be dessert. Whether you like it, love it, or hate it, dessert is always going to be a part of our food culture. It’s there at the conclusion of every fancy dinner and as the centerpiece of every celebration…and regardless of your plans to partake or not to partake, you’re still going to have to see it, smell it and think about it.
Now as a reformed sugar addict, I KNOW how it can be difficult to constantly decline these sweet treats! Even though we know exactly how draining and bloating it now feels to partake. It’s. Still. Hard.
My solution has always been to create wholesome desserts that are low in sugar, huge on flavor, and big on fun in order to get my sweet on without defaulting to my former bad girl ways.
What makes these Popped Quinoa Peanut Butter Cups better than your average dessert?
Sweet: You’ll notice with the first bite that these creamy-crunchy peanut butter cups are delicately sweet. Stevia is the phenomenal ingredient that delivers the sweet without a single gram of sugar or carbs, so you can enjoy this delectably divine dessert without guilt.
Flavor: Creamy, natural peanut butter fills these wholesome bites with craveable, nutty flavor that’s hard to beat. Be sure to select a peanut butter that does not contain any sugar, corn syrup or anything other than peanuts and salt. Make your own with this recipe.
Nutrition: Quinoa is a nutrient dense seed that is a complete protein. It’s filled with usable energy, fiber and wholesome carbs to power your day – without the sugar crash. Here’s another recipe using popped quinoa.
1½ cups uncooked quinoa
⅔ cup creamy nut butter (peanut or almond)
⅓ cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons coconut cream
20 drops Liquid Stevia
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup lily’s chocolate chips (stevia sweetened)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
30 mini paper cupcake liners
Place a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot add 2 Tablespoons of the quinoa. Shake the skillet often as the quinoa toasts and pops. (Watch a video I made of how-to-pop-quinoa here.) Continue until all of the quinoa has been popped. Place all of the popped quinoa in a large bowl.
In a medium sized double boiler (I simply place a saucepan in a skillet with a few inches of water) place the peanut butter, ⅓ cup coconut oil, coconut cream, liquid stevia and vanilla extract over medium heat. Mix until smooth.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the bowl of popped quinoa and mix until fully combined. Pour the quinoa-peanut butter mixture into 30 mini cupcake tins and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a double boiler, gently melt the chocolate and 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil over low heat. Remove the dessert cups from the freezer and drizzle the tops with the chocolate. You can also pour some chocolate into the tops of the liners, freeze, then unwrap and drizzle more chocolate over the bottoms of the dessert cups. Keep in the freezer. Enjoy!
Calories: 101
Fat: 6g
Carbohydrates: 7g
Sodium: 2mg
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 3g
Sugar: 1g