This recipe for chocolate coconut peppermint cups is special because my mom - who doesn't like sweets - actually ate a whole one all by herself. Usually she just has a bite of my dessert recipes to be polite but when I offered her a chomp of mine last night and she tried it... I never got it back. Although I was looking forward to eating it myself (did not happen), I was more importantly just excited that she liked them enough to eat a whole one. It's probably because they taste so damn fresh; I recommend you eat these after lunch or dinner to leave your mouth feeling minty clean. The only ingredients are coconut, carob, maple syrup and mint. The best things in life are simple, or at least the best recipes are. I've made a recipe similar to this one before but my photo skills were not as developed then, plus I just wanted to make these again and figured I may as well give ya a new recipe. I can't imagine anyone complaining about this.




Now you might be thinking that I'm a jerk. Why? Because a few months ago I was writing posts claiming I was gonna start sharing more low-fat recipes and schtuff. But then I come out with recipes like this that have coconut as a main ingredient. Well here's what I have to say: it's okay to eat fat. For awhile there I deceived myself into believing coconut, avocado, and nuts were to be avoided and I stayed away from them for months. But gradually I noticed a loss in energy and my skin becoming dry so I introduced fat-dense foods back in my diet and the problems vanished. I still do best when I eat mostly carbs (i.e. fruits and veggies), but it's equally important to recognize the necessity of fats even if I don't need to consume much of them. Basically after going through a period of 'fear of nuts' silliness I am back to where I was before all this 'low-fat' talk: eating mostly fruits, greens and some veggies along with a little bit of wholesome plant-based fats everyday. And how do I get that "little bit"? By eating recipes like this! In fact I was preachin' this years ago. I consider my high-fat dessert recipes largely my fat intake for the day. I drink giant fruit smoothies and green smoothies all day, then enjoy a big dinner of steamed or baked veggies and grains and finally for dessert (or as a snack in the day somewhere) I'll chow down on something like this to give my body the fats it needs to go on thrivin'. Make sense? Even if you aren't down with this, I am still gonna try to be a not-jerk and provide you with low-fat dessert options from now on. Most of my newer recipes include these options (or they're already low-fat). When it comes to savoury recipes - which I really am trying to share more of, I promise - they're almost always low-fat/close to fat-free, because I prefer getting my fats in raw vegan brownies and other amazing healthy treats (waaay more fun then forcing yourself to swallow a tablespoon of flax oil everyday).

MY POINT IS: listen to yo bod and do what makes you feel best.


CHOCOLATE COCONUT PEPPERMINT BITES
{Makes around five}

Chocolate part:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
Pinch sea salt
2 tablespoons carob powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup 

Peppermint part:
3 tablespoons coconut butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
2-5 drops peppermint essential oil 
2 tablespoons chopped peppermint leaves 

Place the coconut butter in a small pot and put on low heat until it melts, then take off heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Follow the same instructions for the peppermint part. Scoop the peppermint mixture into cupcake papers and put in the freezer until solid, then cover the tops in a thin layer of chocolate, freeze until solid again and finally dip the bottoms and sides into the remaining chocolate mixture.

Low-fat option: use thick date paste instead of coconut oil. This will change the texture but it'll still taste awesome. 

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