Healthy Chocolate Shakeology Candy and Treats!

Imagine chocolate candy, ice cream, pudding, and chocolate-covered fruit that are all actually GOOD for you! We’ve got it!!!

Here are some GREAT recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth while eating fully healthy foods! These recipes include no added sugars, no artificial ingredients/flavorings/colorings, and are PACKED with good nutrients! They all utilize Beachbody’s incredible health shake, Shakeology! If you don’t know what that is, you can check out my run-down of what I love about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2loh3aOeBOs (and if you decide you want to get yourself some, purchasing info can be found here: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSUSH311G?referringRepId=183908)!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease*

I am writing this blog post for a 7 Day No-Candy Challenge that our team is currently running, so I will start off with our candy recipes then get to some other sweet treats later!

ADD-ANYTHING CHOCOLATE

This chocolate recipe is REALLY easy and will be the base for a few of the other recipes. I’ll be honest, I make this a little differently each time so the amount of coconut oil and Shakeology is approximate. The mixture (before freezing) should be thick but still liquidy. The thicker it is, the richer your final product will be. You might want to try a few very small batches to get your mix to your taste preferences! Adding fruit also really helps balance out the richness. Nuts and other similar add-ins help too. AND they all make it even more delicious!!

My favorite add-ins are fruit (I make chocolate covered strawberries and frozen chocolate bananas this way- recipe down below in this blog), almonds, and pecans. I’ve only added them in separately but I'm sure using a combination of these add-ins would be good too! I plan on trying batches with cashews, pecans, and peaches soon (I’ll keep you posted)!

For this particular batch I used pecans as my add-in!

Ingredients:

Approx. 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil

Approx. 1.5 scoops Vegan Chocolate Shakeology (regular chocolate Shakeology works too but vegan chocolate is my favorite of the flavors so that’s what I always have stocked)!

Your add-ins (in this case, pecans)

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave. I add in the Shakeology a half scoop at a time so that when the mix starts to get thick, I stop adding. If it gets too thick, just melt more coconut oil and add that in. Hopefully you can judge by the picture (direct middle square in the above collage) what the final thickness should look approximately like!

Next, add your pecans or other add-ins! For nuts it’s easiest to stir the nuts in. For fruit, I usually pour the chocolate mixture over the fruit.

Throw it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and you’ve got yourself an amazing treat!!

**Note about the container: My preference is to use this handy glass bowl but it is really hard to get the candy out once it’s frozen (I use a sharp, pointed knife to cut it within the bowl). The easiest way is to pour the mixture (before freezing) onto a small sheet of aluminum foil with edges rolled up. This makes it super easy to remove once frozen. The only reason I use the bowl is that it’s easier to fit in my freezer :)

HEALTHY REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

This recipe is from my friend and awesome coach, Stephanie Wess (you can view more of her delicious recipes on her page: https://www.facebook.com/getfitwihsteph/). Thanks, Steph!!

Picture care of Steph! :)

Ingredients (this will make 8 peanut butter cups):

4 tablespoons of coconut oil

8 tablespoons of chocolate shakeology or raw cacao powder add stevia as a sweetener

4 teaspoons of natural peanut butter

Place 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds until the coconut oil is liquefied.

Stir in 4 tablespoons of chocolate shakeology. Divide the chocolate mixture evenly between 8 spots in a mini muffin tin. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Pull the muffin tray out of the freezer. Place a half a teaspoon of peanut butter on top of each chocolate disk. Spread the peanut butter evenly over the hardened chocolate with a knife.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the microwave. Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of chocolate shakeology. Use this to pour on top of the peanut butter layer. **You will want to do this in 2 batches so it doesn’t harden up on you while the first layer of chocolate is hardening in the freezer.

Place the muffin tin back in the freezer and leave it in there for at least 30 minutes.

The chocolate cups will slide easily out of the tin. Keep the cups stored in the fridge or freezer for the best consistency!

CHOCOLATE COVERED FROZEN BANANAS

I warn you, NOTHING about this is pretty but if you can get past the looks, it is a delicious and nutritious treat! Make the chocolate using the “Add-anything chocolate” recipe above then pour over a banana in a bowl and freeze! It tastes JUST like the frozen bananas I used to get at carnivals and fairs as a kid! In fact, you could probably make it a lot prettier by putting the banana on a stick like at the fairs and freezing it on a sheet of aluminum foil for easy removal.

SHAKEOLOGY PUDDING

Shakeology pudding is amazing!!!!! And if you’re doing the 21 Day Fix, it easily fits right into the meal plan!!

SHAKEOLOGY ICE CREAM

Another AMAZING and healthy treat! Like the “Add-anything chocolate” recipe, this one also has a lot of flexibility to what you can add in to make it even more delicious. My favorites are blueberries and strawberries!

Recipe here: http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2016/03/healthy-shakeology-ice-cream.html

Happy, healthy cooking wishes to you! Enjoy!!!

~ Katelyn

Shakeology purchasing info: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSUSH311G?referringRepId=183908

I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :)  Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908. Or you can go to www.teambeachbody.com, sign up for a free account, and enter any of my info in when it asks if a coach referred you: screen name: KatelynLesk, coach ID: 183908

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Healthy Shakeology Ice Cream!!!

I’m on vacation in Myrtle Beach with my parents. There’s something about being at the beach and on vacation with the fam that makes me want ice cream. It could be the fact that it’s everywhere you look around here (there was even a family with GIANT bowls of it in the elevator) or it could just be habit since we always used to go on a special family outing for ice cream at the end of every vacation as kids. I will most likely indulge in a treat as this vacation nears its end but in the meantime, I found a SUPER healthy alternative that actually might be even better than REAL ice cream (plus I feel GREAT after eating it- not bloated or on a sugar high)!

Here’s how to make it!

• 1 scoop Vegan Chocolate Shakeology (more info/can be purchased here: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSUSH311G?referringRepId=183908 )
• ½ cup water
• Approximately 10 ice cubes (use more or less based on desired consistency)
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• Toppings of your choice! I highly recommend fresh strawberries and blueberries- DELICIOUS!

I blended all of the above together (except the toppings, of course) but in retrospect, I would have added the ice progressively. I think that would have made it easier to blend (I had to keep mixing it up with a spoon to get the ice to get down near the blades since the mixture was so thick). UPDATE: That method did work better when I made it the next night!

All in all, this turned out GREAT! Totally satisfied my ice cream craving!! BONUS: it’s HEALTHY! No added sugars, no artificial flavorings/colorings- all good stuff! One scoop of Vegan Chocolate Shakeology is 170 calories and the frozen blueberries I added were about 30 calories. I got this HUGE bowl out of it! Most commercial ice cream is between 200 and 300 calories for a teeny tiny ½ cup serving (plus you get a boat load of sugar and fat with that)!!

I feel great and my body and digestive system are very happy with my healthy decision! I might not need that treat at the end of vacation after all :)

My personal story of the benefits I’ve seen with shakeology can be found here:

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease*

Similar healthy treats using Shakeology can be found here: http://katelynlesk.blogspot.com/2016/10/healthy-chocolate-shakeology-candy-and.html!

Enjoy!!!

Purchasing info: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/MDSUSH311G?referringRepId=183908

UPDATE: My mom and I made our Shakeology treats for the 2nd night in a row- I think I am now addicted! :-D

Visit https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatelynLesk and http://beachbodycoach.com/katelynlesk for more info!

I would be honored to help you with your fitness journey :)  Here is a link to sign up for a free account with me as your coach: https://www.teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free?referringRepId=183908.

Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Beachbody Coach.

How a "Treat-free Challenge" Facebook group HUGELY helped me during the holidays and beyond!!!!!

When my team decided to do a 10 Day Treat-Free challenge leading up to the holidays, we were all a bit nervous about it!! We weren’t sure if or how we’d be able to stick with it! But we rallied together all our best strategies and more importantly, we rallied together as a TEAM (both coaches and our clients)! We created a Facebook group and all shared progress, tips, things we were struggling with, and daily successes in the group. It was SO FULL OF INCREDIBLE ENCOURAGEMENT!! We tackled treat temptations at the office, holiday parties, and social events head-on!

Even us coaches were nervous for this! :)

The rules weren’t necessarily that you HAD to go treat-free for the full 10 days, but we had everyone at the beginning of the group state what their own rules for themselves were going to be for the full 10 days. My rule was that I was going to avoid any desserts, junk food, and alcohol for the full 10 days. To be perfectly honest with you all, I didn’t do it! I did manage to avoid all junk food and desserts (including some of the snacks available at my friends’ house when I went to visit them on the other side of the state)! But I indulged in a glass of wine while out to dinner with them, then later in the weekend on my trip, we went out for a night on the town with their friends and I had some drinks that night too.

Did I accomplish my initial goal? No. But I did WAYYYYY better than I would have had I not had this group and this challenge. And honestly, the group somehow managed to make it FUN!!! It felt like playing video games with a bunch of friends as kids! We all had a common “enemy,” we shared tips and strategies, we rooted each other on, we picked each other up when temporarily defeated, and we celebrated all of our wins together!

The even MORE phenomenal result was that by the end of the 10 days, it almost had become second nature to avoid treats! The sugar and addictive food substances were out of my system and I wasn’t craving any of it! The group ended the day before Christmas Eve but I went into the holidays with a TON of momentum and did not go overboard at all during Christmas! In fact, even a week after the holidays, I felt GREAT (this picture was taken on December 29)!! I felt healthy, energized, strong, motivated to stick with my workouts and good nutrition, and was able to continue my momentum into the new year (WAY beyond the initial challenge)! What a way to dive into the new year!!

If you’re interested in doing anything like this with us, please contact me!! Our team runs challenges and groups like this every month so there are always ways to get involved!! We’d love to have you on the TEAM!!



Disclaimer Copy: Katelyn Lesk is an Independent Team Beachbody Coach