is there such thing as a healthy-ish dessert?

Happy Friday, my lovelies. Today I want to discuss Friday Favorites and things from this week that made me happy with Amanda from Meet At The Barre.  Want to share some links. Some food. Some Yoga moves...and some all around goodness. 

First, let's talk about this awesome 'dessert' I made last night. Here is what you need. 

::banana 

::peanut butter

::honey

::dark chocolate chips

::whole wheat tortilla

::butter

Then go ahead and make yourself a dessert quesadilla with all the goodies. In case you live under a rock and have never made a quesadilla...The butter goes on the outside of the tortilla so it doesn't burn to the pan and the outside of the shell gets nice and golden brown with a little crisp. The rest of the goodies go inside for some heavenly goodness that is not too unhealthy for you. 

Next, let's talk about how after that dessert I decided to play around with some yoga. It was an off day for workouts, but I wanted to get some stretching in. I am trying to do yoga at least twice a week these days and it is definitely helping with my tightness. I was also really excited because I was able to build into this headstand after watching this video posted by Lululemon.

I might have also pulled something in my neck a little bit when I was flopping around trying handstands and other poses, but that is neither here nor there... Let's just focus on the fact that I was able to nail headstands and crow's pose multiple times last night.

And now let's share some of my favorite links.

::With another school shooting this week, this time too close to home, I found this article to be very interesting.

::Thanks Macey for this find on 5 things every daughter should be taught.

::Watch this French Bulldog be the cutest.

::The sexiest beards of the World Cup. mmmhmmm

Lastly, here is my favorite song of the week for #backthatazzup Friday.

Cheers to Friday! 
<3 BB 

Sweet Potato Brownies

In honor of my favorite Grandma's birthday (Happy birthday, Grandma Julie!!!!), I thought it would be fitting to share a recipe with you, since she is one of the best cooks / bakers I know. 

Over the weekend Bradley and I were jonesing for some dessert, but I have been really trying to cut back on my sugar intake (which by the way, I have actually surprised myself. So far I have only had one cupcake and 2 glasses of hot cocoa in the past two and a half weeks, but I digress...)  Back to my story, we first hit up Pinterest for healthy dessert options; but then I remembered this recipe for sweet potato brownies that I had seen over at Urban Nester and we decided to attempt.  

Some of the goods. 

Here is what you will need:

::: Ingredients :::

::4 oz dark chocolate {I might have purchased extra ounces to keep around after the brownies were gone}

::1 large sweet potato{cooked and skinned}

::1/4 cup honey {not pictured}

::3 eggs {I followed Molly and used egg whites}

::1/4 cup cocoa powder {not pictured}

::1 tablespoon of vanilla {not pictured}

::1 tablespoon almond flour

::1 tablespoon coconut oil

::1 teaspoon baking soda

Dark chocolate, get in my mouth.

Here is how you make it: 

:: Instructions :::

::In a food processor {or high speed blender} - blend the sweet potato until it is nice and mushy.

::In the microwave {or double broiler} - melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil together. {We used the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so until the chocolate was fully melted.}

::Combine all ingredients together and mix well.

::Grease an 8x11 pan with coconut oil and evenly pour the brownie mix into it. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.  {We used a pie tin and it worked just as well}

Next time, I think I will try and cook the sweet potato just a touch longer. 

Poor Man's version of a KitchenAid

Brad beat that mix it up. 

Girl, look at those peaks. 

Brad ruined everything started cutting into the dish before I had a chance to take a picture of it.  He obviously doesn't have a blog. 

Along with cutting back on sugar, I have also cut back on dairy too. Problem is, I have this thing where I can't eat brownies unless I have ice cream.  Okay, that is a lie, I will still eat brownies without ice cream, but they are much better with! We decided to try out the So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream in place of regular ice cream and I was a fan. 

Overall the texture of the brownie was great.  If you're expecting a super sweet chocolate treat, this may not be the dish for you, but I thought it totally hit the spot for my chocolate craving and the coconut ice cream gave it that little bit of added goodness. Plus, I didn't feel guilty while eating it!!!! I will definitely make this again and might even try and play around with the ingredients a bit... Maybe even get real crazy and add some apple sauce to it, who's to say... 

Feel free to share any healthy recipes you have!  I would love to try them out. 

Cheers to healthy goodness! 

<3 BB