Happy Saturday guys!

So it was National Fudge Day yesterday, so naturally I made these raw chocolate fudge bites or in other words CHOCOLATE FUDGE!

Here’s a little lesson in fudge. It’s usually comprised of butter, sugar and milk. So instead of butter I’ve used cashew butter (you can substitute your favourite nut butter here too!), instead of sugar, organic maple syrup. And I’ve used whole organic milk, instead of the poorly farmed stuff.

So what we get is a healthy clean version of the fudge we all know and love. And each ball has less than 1/2 tsp of maple syrup. This is one of my favourite things about it. Minimal sugar. But it still gives you that sugar fix.

I love making sweet treats that taste great, with natural sweeteners, that have just enough sweetener to serve the purpose, without giving you your daily dose of sugar all in one bite.

Did you guys know that according to the American Heart Association, the maximum amount of added sugar women should consume in a day is 100 calories per day (which is 25 grams or 6 teaspoons)? And for men it’s 150 calories per day (which is 37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).

So now compare that to your average Frappuccino, ice cream or cake. I think you’ll be as surprised as I was to see that many popular sweet foods actually contain 2 - 3 times the amount of added sugar you should be getting in a day. Even the the ice creams and cakes that include healthy ingredients can have high doses of added sugar, believe it or not.

So what does this mean? It means your body gets way more energy than it needs from the high amounts of sugar being consumed in these foods. And then, if you’re not very active in your day-to-day life (so not an athlete or in the gym for a large part of the day, but maybe work at a desk job), your body doesn’t need all this energy to burn. So instead of burning it, it gets stored as a reserve in the form of fat in the body.

So, that’s why I’m in love with these chocolate fudge bites. Because I can get my daily dose of sugar and satisfy that sweet tooth. But I’m eating natural healthy sugars that are not processed, and not in excessive amounts.

So here’s how I did it:

Ingredients

3/4 cup organic cashew butter
3 tbsp organic coconut oil, melted (I used Bulletproof XCT coconut oil, no melting required)
1/4 cup organic milk (or milk alternative, such as almond milk, coconut milk, etc.)
2 - 3 tbsp organic maple syrup
1.5 cups gluten-free oats ground (measure before grinding)
3 tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp organic cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 scoops collagen protein powder (optional)(for a discount on this at furtherfood.com use the code NATASHA10)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the oats. Grind 1.5 cups of oats in a food processor or grinder. Then stir the ground oats into the mixing bowl gradually.

Line a container with parchment paper. Then use your hands to form the batter into balls and place in the container. Then place container in the freezer for 30 minutes or until fairly firm, and enjoy! You can store them in the fridge for up to a week after this.

This recipe yields about 15 pieces, with 122 calories per piece. Recipe inspired and adapted from Lauren Goslin.

I hope you guys enjoy this recipe!

All photos are my own original content.

If you liked this don’t forget to vote, follow and comment!

For more of my clean and healthy sweet treats click the links below:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Turmeric Cookie Skillet a.k.a Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins a.k.a Chocolate Banana Bread

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownies

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Donuts

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie (with Collagen)

Green Protein Smoothie (with Collagen)