You're Kidding Right?

Chocolate cake mix waffles?

Can't handle anything

After seeing this picture I am now trying to hold myself back from flying out the door towards the grocery store. Seriously, now I feel a little better for eating some celery today. (Seriously, health food kicks don't last long with this one).

Seriously, the things I would do to try this...

A girl can FINALLY have her cake and eat it too

If you’re like me, you know how hard it is to eat healthy. You know how hard it is to turn down dessert after a meal and you definitely know how hard it is to grab a cookie on the way out the door instead of a carrot or banana. Don’t get me wrong I’ve tried and tried and up until I joined the Eating Pretty sisterhood, eating healthy was virtually impossible. You see, I am an avid baker and I love to sample my cupcakes, cake, brownies, etc. Since joining the Eating Pretty sisterhood, I still have my love for baking but I also have a love for eating healthy. I understand the concept of eating in moderation. Instead of having two cupcakes in one sitting, I will have one cupcake in two days.

            Since old habits die hard for me and I know I cannot cut brownies and cupcakes out of my life completely, I have been searching for recipes that still taste great and give me that chocolate fix I’m constantly craving (admit it, you know you crave it too). However, I have been looking for recipes that provide nourishment and have less calories and fat than that of a normal cake recipe. That way, after eating this delicious treat I can still feel great!

This is by far my favorite recipe yet, it’s a two-layer chocolate cake made without flour, sugar or dairy and of course it is low-carb and gluten free! (What could be better?) It also has a secret ingredient that will make you wrinkle your nose upon hearing it. This cake is made out of black beans. Seriously, beans! Even if you are the fiercest of bean haters, you will fall in love with this cake!

Bon Appetit!

You will Need;

1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans
OR 1 1/2 cup cooked beans, any color
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted organic butter OR unrefined coconut oil
3/4 cup erythritol + 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9" cake pan with extra virgin olive oil cooking spray, or just grease it with a thin layer of butter. Dust cocoa all over the inside of the pan, tapping to evenly distribute. Cut a round of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan, then spray the parchment lightly.

Drain and rinse beans in a strainer or colander. Shake off excess water. Place beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia (if using) and salt into blender. Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied. No lumps! Whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Beat butter with sweetener (erythritol or honey) until light and fluffy. Add remaining two eggs, beating for a minute after each addition. Pour bean batter into egg mixture and mix. Finally, stir in cocoa powder and water (if using), and beat the batter on high for one minute, until smooth. Scrape batter into pan and smooth the top. Grip pan firmly by the edges and rap it on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cake is done with the top is rounded and firm to the touch. After 10 minutes, turn out cake from pan, and flip over again on to a cooling rack. Let cool until cake reaches room temperature, then cover in plastic wrap or with cake dome (I use an overturned plastic chip bowl). For BEST flavor, let cake sit overnight. I promise this cake will not have a hint of beaniness after letting it sit for eight hours! If you are stacking this cake, level the top with a long serrated knife, shaving off layers until it is flat and even. Frost immediately before serving
~57.6g net carbs for the whole cake using erythritol/stevia.
~5.7g net carbs per 1/10th
~125.6g net carbs for the whole cake using honey/stevia.
~12.56g net carbs per 1/10th

Healthy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Makes enough to thickly cover one layer, or fill and frost a halved stacked layer

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted organic butter, softened, OR 7 tablespoons nonhydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon erythritol, powdered, OR 1/4 cup xylitol, powdered
5-6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons half and half OR coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt
Good-tasting pure stevia extract, to taste

Optional addition for a glossy finish:
1 fresh organic egg yolk

Preparation:
Cream the butter in a small bowl until fluffy. Powder erythritol or xylitol in a coffee grinder or Magic Bullet for a minute or two, until extremely fine in texture (reminiscent of powdered sugar). Let sweetener settle in grinder before opening the top. Stir powdered sweetener into butter with a spatula, then beat until smooth. Slowly blend in the cocoa powder (unless you want to redecorate your kitchen), vanilla, and sea salt. Beat in the half and half and egg yolk, if using. Add stevia, starting with 1/16 teaspoon. You'll probably use less than 1/4 teaspoon. Just keep tasting and adjust sweetness to your liking.

~7g net carbs for the frosting, using erythritol

Everyone must watch!

http://m.youtube.com/?rdm=4pauejruv&reload=3#/profile?bmb=1&user=invisiblechildreninc

Willpower

I love desserts WAY too much to start/keep up with/continue/finish diets. I always convince myself that since I had an apple yesterday than that can constitute for eating 3 cupcakes and an Oreo ice cream sandwich today. (seriously, I actually thought this almost 2 hours ago) . But in reality, you and I both know that eating 1 apple does not allow me to pig out on 3 ridiculously fatty foods. This is a result of me having low willpower. I love having dessert more than I love eating healthy (doesn't everyone?) and since I can't say no to desserts then I convince myself that because I ate healthy then I can eat these desserts. I feel that, if you have to make it up to and convince yourself that it's ok then you should NOT be doing it. All you have to do is have healthy desserts or just cut desserts out for good (ok healthy desserts sounds better). Gain your willpower back! Learn to say no to the negative and embrace the positives! What I'm starting to work on is thinking that my body will only look good and feel good if I put good things into it! And once I've mastered that maybe I will treat myself to a celebratory cupcake....too soon? I think so too ahha

The Power of Girlfriends

I never quite understood why girls want to spend all their time with their boyfriends and I swore to myself that once I got a boyfriend (which at one point, I was unsure would ever happen) I wouldnever under any circumstances chose to spend all my time with that one person. I mean, your girlfriends are your go-to people. You can tell them anything and trust them with everything. To me, my girlfriends really are my soulmates. They are there for me when I just want to chill out and watch a Disney movie. They’ve seen me at my worst and encouraged me to be my best and for that, they mean the world to me. Your girlfriends help you have fun and just being around them can make you smile.

And then love hits, and all you want to do is spend time with that one special person! When I first started dating my boyfriend almost two years ago, my biggest fear going into the relationship was how I would balance my time between my girlfriends and my boyfriend. I was finally starting to see why these girls were giving up their gf’s for their bf’s. They were in love and when you’re in love you want to spend as much time as possible with your signifigant other. But, since I swore to myself going into this relationship that I wouldn’t lose my girls for some guy (ha, sorry Richard) and I knew that I needed to find balance between my girlfriends and my boyfriend and with conscious effort, I ended up doing so very well.
Even now, I still see my girlfriends whether in person or on Skype every week and I text them every day letting them know how much they mean to me.
Just like your romantic relationship you have to always be improving your personal relationships! I feel that in order to live pretty one must feel completely balanced in all relationships in your life. I know I wouldn’t feel complete if I wasn’t seeing my girlfriends all the time. Without my girlfriends I wouldn’t be who I am, I wouldn’t feel whole. For me, in order to live pretty I need to have that support group of positive women who are your rocks and support you through everything.

This is one of the nest things I have learned from Living Pretty. We are a group of girl-loving-females and we encourage you to nourish all your relationships – not just the romantic ones!

Have you told your girlfriends how important they are lately? Give them a call, send them a text and let them know how much they mean to you! When you start loving your life and all the people in it you will be taking your first steps to living a pretty, balanced and whole life.

Sundays

I feel like Sundays are the saddest days because we are saying goodbye to our true love aka. the weekend. Since I work on the weekends I never really get any "weekend time" to relax but even so, I still feel that dread we all experience on Sunday afternoon. This dread makes me feel anxious, unprepared and unproductive. So, what I do to beat this Sunday lull, is to catch up on my e-mails get my books/computer ready for school. Make sure my room is clean and my lunch is packed because Mondays are a total kick in the butt!

So next time you're feeling the knot in your stomach Sunday night, might I suggest following my simple advice!
I like to go for a nice walk with my dogs, go a little cleaning crazy and literally clean every surface of my house and I love to watch movies on the Sundays that I am not working (take today for example). I pack my bag for school/work and I even pack my lunch which gives me an extra ten minutes to sleep in Monday morning (and believe me, those ten minutes make a world of difference).

I hope this helps you cope with your Sunday blues and I wish you an amazing Monday!

xo