I turned 22 on Thursday. I can’t believe how old I am getting. I now understand why my parents hated celebrating birthdays. It meansyou’reaging. That is why it’s important to me to take care of my health, so I can hold on to my youth as long as possible. I don’t want to use age as an excuse to why I can’t run a mile or fit into my clothes.
Ireceiveda lot of comments saying “why don’t you splurge on your birthday”. Well, why would I? People create reasons to splurge like: Halloween, football parties, Christmas, birthdays, Valentines Day, Thanksgiving, St.Patrick’sDay, Friday, Fourth of July, Graduations, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas Eve, Work parties, Anniversary, Girl’s night out, baby showers, weddings, etc…you guys get the point. If you splurgeevery time, there may be a weight problem creeping up. That is why I choose to make my favorite recipes healthy, so I can have my cake and eat it too. I spend too much time working hard in the gym to ruin on splurging. Don’t get me wrong, splurging is fine every now and then, heck I do it, but all in moderation.
I am apologizing in advance for this SUPER long post. Icouldn’tstop taking photos of mycupcakes. I don’t know what it is about cupcakes, but I love how they look in photos.
Ingredients: (All Purchased at Whole Foods)
3 Large Extra Ripe Bananas
3 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1/4 Cup Flax Seed
4 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 Packets Truvia
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Large Egg White
1 Cup Fresh Blueberries
12 Tbsp Light Whipped Cream
1 Tbsp Pb2PowderedPeanut Butter
2 Tbsps Whole Food’s Energy Antioxidant Trail Mix
I was a little hesitant if these would turn out. I walked down the aisles of whole foods throwing whatever I thought would work into my cart.
Before starting these cupcakes, I had to make some coffee. It’s my birthday and I’ll drink coffee if I want to. I need coffee to keep me awake now that I am getting older 😉 (Joking)
This year, bananas have become the magic to my kitchen. I’m serious. They are the key ingredients in my: pancakes, ice cream, smoothies and now cupcakes. I try to find the extra ripe bananas because they are the strongest in flavor.
-Add three bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash together. You can use a potato masher or a food processor. (I was just too lazy to clean a food processor, so I did it the hard way)
-Add 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed. (For a thicker cupcake, add 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder with the flaxseed)
-Add Chia seed to banana mixture. Chia seeds have also made a huge difference in the way I bake lately. They are a super food high in: protein, omega-3 and fiber. I use them as an egg replacement in a lot of my recipes. I also throw a couple tbsps into my coffee in the morning.
-Add 2 packets of truvia or stevia if you prefer it.
-Separate the yolk and the egg. Add the egg white to the bowl and save the yolk for whatever you wish.
-When it comes to measuring tsps, I’m way too lazy. I get that from my mom. She would always use the palm of her hand for determining the measurements. I do the same thanks to her.
-Mix in baking powder and baking soda.
-Add in unsweetened cocoa powder
-Mix it well. You don’t want any extra cocoa powder bubbles in the batter. That may be one bitter bite!
-Add in one cup of blueberries. (You can add more if you’d like)
-Combine. Make sure the blueberries are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Fill a cupcake pan with 6 liners. This recipe made six 1/4 cup sized cupcakes.
Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter into six cups!
-Bake for 17 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let them cool after removing from the oven.
The relief I felt after removing these cupcakes from the oven! I didn’tknowif they’d work out or not, but they certainly did!
I may have done a happy dance, but I won’t admit to it.
When the cupcakes have cooled, remove them from the pan. Make sure they are roomtemperaturebefore adding the frosting, or you’ll end up with a glazed cupcake.
The frostingdoesn’tget much simpler! You don’t need a fancy mixer or seven different ingredients. All you need is Pb2 and light whip cream!
As I walked down the freezer section at Whole Foods, I prayed they would have a light whip cream It’s hard to find “light” products that are made organically. This New Years resolution has been a challenge but I know it’s going to benefit me in the long run.
As I looked down, under the pies, the “light” whipped cream appeared. I was so happy! I flipped it over to read the back, and was impressed with the label. Only 2g of sugar, low sodium, low fat and low carb! This was going to be the lightest frostingI’veever made!
I already had Pb2 in my house. (I stalk up on that stuff as if I wasextremecouponing)
Mix together 12 Tbsp of whip cream and 1 tbsp of Pb2.
This was the fastest, healthiest and tastiest frosting I have ever made! This makes six servings.(2 tbsp per serving)
Each serving contains: 28 calories, 1.6g fat, 10g sodium, 4.5g carbs, 2.3g sugar and .4g protein.
That is crazy impressive! Most cake frostingcontains more than 200 calories and 40g of sugar!
Itdoesn’ttaste light either. My boyfriend had no idea it was low calorie.
Sprinkles. They are pretty, but somewhat tasteless. Basically just bedazzled sugar.
I like to use other toppings for my cupcakes. There are other pretty toppings you can add to cakes, like trail mix.
Trail mix has a lot of healthbenefitsthat sprinkles can’t provide. I chose the Whole Food’s antioxidant/energy mix because of the flavor and pretty colors. It’s full of fiber,antioxidants, healthy fats and protein.
I decorated the center evenly distributing the ingredients in the trail mix.
Oh, and Mr. Grumples helped me lick the spoon when we were done!
(Don’t worry, I didn’t re use it)
I was very happy with the turn-out. For not following any recipe guides or knowing what the heck I was doing. They look pretty darn good!
The liners fell right off, and they smelled sodelicious. Taking the first bite worried me. They looked beautiful, but did they taste beautiful?
YOU BET THEY DID!
The blueberries andchocolatepopped in your mouth like those little chocolate covered candies. The frosting complimented the chocolate-banana flavors perfectly, sending my taste buds into happy-mode. The trail mix gave the bites a crunchy texture.
I highly recommend this cupcake for any birthdays or special occasions. It’s hard to believe this delicious cake did not contain: sugar, milk, oils, flour, salt, butter, heavy whipping cream or any of the other common cake ingredients.
Nutrition Per Cupcake (With Frosting)
-140 Calories, 4.4g Fat, 287g Potassium, 23g Carbs, 4.5g Fiber, 12g Sugar, 4g Protein
Now that is what I call a “happy & healthy” birthday!
