To kick off this post I have both sad and horrifying news for you today... Okay here goes....
I HAVEN'T WATCHED THE NEWEST EPISODE OF THE BACHELOR YET.
I know, it's a lot. So just let that sink in for a minute. Now hopefully you've recovered from this news and we can now move onto talking about much more fun things like these adorably delicious cupcakes YAY!
I've just been busy guys, like really really good busy!! I'm even doing my FULL Miracle Morning again and I woke up at 3:40 this AM. It's currently 10:20 in the PM (on Wednesday) and my eyeballs feel like fire balls, and not the fun alcoholic kind.
Are you bored of me saying I'm busy yet!? I've been so super happy and grateful for life recently that I'm just living every minute of it to the fullest & I will set aside time AT SOME POINT to watch The Bachelor since it's the only show I'm semi regularly watching at the moment.... Hopefully it'll be soon. And for those of you reading this post not on 2/2/17 well carry on, and hopefully you still understand my struggs & I haven't bored you too much in the process yet.
CUPCAKES.
If you were to just to eat these without any prior information you would never know the secrets that they hold... It's like Mean Girls ("I heard her hair is so big because it hold so many secrets") but the food version. Because these crazy delicious bad boys have a ton of secrets...
Maybe not a ton but they sure do have some, and they're juicy! Like the fact that they're totally egg free, fully paleo friendly aka dairy, gluten, soy, legume, & refined sugar free PLUS they have ZUCCHINI in them! They can even be made nut free and with carob if you like for AIP!!! Versatile and delicious, YAAAAASSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
You would never know all that from just tasting them! They taste better than a store bought brownie or cupcake mix. I really honestly believe that. They have a rich delicious chocolate flavor, stellar texture, and they're kind of to die for.
Only problem is that having them in your house will make you want to eat them. But the good news is that they're so rich that you really only eat one at a time! And trust me, I'm not a moderator.
Unless you don't like chocolate like my husband....
In which case, you'll probably eat one and then another anyway and just pretend not to like chocolate. Because not liking chocolate is a lie, and lying is a sin guys. So you're just making a sinner of yourself by not admitting the truth that CHOCOLATE IS LIFE.
There's even frosting TWO ways!
Aren't they so cute and fun!? The little spiky ones are actually supposed to look like green** grass although the green doesn't show up in the pictures very well. And after the fact I realized that I probably should've used a different frosting attachment. But they're still cute so I'm okay with it!
**no food coloring was used in the making of these cupcakes.
I think it's pretty obvious that the other ones are little footballs! I also used brown SILICONE baking cups and they're the best. The cupcakes literally just pop right out when they're done! No sticking or mess whatsoever. If you decide to make only the footballs and not the grass you can probably make just a half batch of the frosting because it uses almost none! These are good even with no frosting so the taste is delicious regardless!
I honestly just love how cute they are! And the green frosting is just fun!
But please do keep in mind that no matter how "healthy" or "paleo" these are, they aren't going to make you healthier. They aren't going to make your skin clearer. But they also won't make you break out even more unlike other conventional treats.
They also won't make your inside like "YAY SUGAR!" (your brain will of course) but I think it's TOTES worth it to treat yo self sometimes! It's not worth going through life feeling deprived. Just don't make it a weekly, or daily thing if you're trying to heal your skin. Mkay beautiful?
Remember: Sugar = inflammation and Inflammation = Acne.
Using natural sugars in moderation will hopefully allow you to have some treats without breaking out like a crazy person though which is the good news. But just be aware, a treat is still a treat! On that note, ENJOY these bad boys and don't forget that it's all about balance my friends!
Onward ho to the recipe!
Football Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes one dozen cupcakes (12) cupcakes
Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
1 large zucchini peeled
2/3 cup apple sauce (no sugar added)
3/4 cup almond butter (use coconut butter for AIP)
1/4 cup honey (reduce to 1/8 cup for AIP - carob adds natural sweetness)
2 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use 1/4 cup carob powder for AIP)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (omit for AIP or just carob chips)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. Shred the zucchini using the shredding attachment on your food processor or shred by hand. Should equal roughly 2 cups of shredded zucchini.
Place the shredded zucchini in a cheese cloth or paper towel & ring out as much liquid as possible until the zucchini feels almost dry. The drier the better so workout those arms!
Add the zucchini with the rest of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Arrange 12 silicone baking cups in a cupcake pan. Evenly scoop the batter into each cup, batter will be thick and it should come up to almost the top of the cup.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry when poked into the center of the cupcake.
Frosting 2 ways:
Ingredients:
1 cup organic grass fed butter (or organic palm shortening for fully dairy free option)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup*** OR omit the maple syrup & just use 1/2 cup honey if you don't like the 'maple' flavor (like my husband)
4 tbsp coconut flour
4 tbsp tapioca flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp coconut oil melted
1 tsp liquid chlorophyll (mint flavor is fine)
Instructions:
Add all ingredients except for the coconut oil & chlorophyll to a large mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer whisk the ingredients together. Then add in 1 tbsp at a time of coconut oil, pausing in between to combine or continuously drizzle coconut oil as you go.
From here if you want to make the frosting green for the "grass" then take 3 tbsp of the finished frosting with 1/4 tsp of chlorophyll into a separate bowl and stir to combine. This should cover about 2 cupcakes. Depending on how many you want to cover with green & how you choose to frost them, continue this process using the same ratio of frosting to chlorophyll.
Put the green frosting into a frosting piper with a spikey edged nozzle and place little dots of green "grass" all over the top of the cupcake.
If you don't have a piper you can take a ziplock bag and cut a small hole in the corner then place the icing into the bag and squeeze from the top down directly on to the cupcake through the hole using the same method as above.
Once you're done with the green, wash the bag (or grab a new ziplock) and now fill it with the rest of the white frosting. Use a fine tipped nozzle if using a frosting piper, or cut a very small hole in the corner of your ziplock.
Squeezing out the white icing from top to bottom draw one long line down the center & 3 going across to make little footballs out of your cupcakes. A little goes a long way for the football lines so you can always mix and match to your preferences!
Cover & store iced cupcakes in the fridge for freshness & firmer frosting. ENJOY & have fun with em!
YA'LL THESE ARE SO GOOD.
The only thing that sucks is that even natural sugars still aren't good for you. Because sugar is the devil and the ultimate inflammation causing ingredient like EVER. Granted these natural versions are def better for you than the processed stuff, but I know my skin HATES when I have anything sweet besides fruit.
SO make sure if you're having sweets of any variety that you give our gut some extra support with the tips that I specified in THIS POST. Especially the ACV thing. Get on that like ASAP yo!
Don't forget if you want the skinny on getting clearer skin naturally you've gotta enter your email address below to get all of my free clear skin resources! There's ebooks, checklists, worksheets, printables and more!
Okie that's it for me today loves, ya'll are just SO awesome and I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate every single one of you!
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