Terrible Two’s and Two Layer Fudge

I think Lily has hit the “Terrible Two’s” which is really just a PC way of saying she has been bananas recently, especially when it comes to bedtime. She’s never been a huge fan of bedtime no matter what we’ve tried (sidenote: it makes me crazy when people say “oh I just let little Billy cry it out, and after a couple of nights he was fine and never cried again when we put him in bed!” Mostly because it has NOT worked for us) we have tears almost every single night, and every single night it breaks my heart.

Finally asleep!

Anyway, so her bedtime has been creeping later and later…which means our workout times have also been creeping later and later (I suppose we could always get up at 5am to do it…but let’s be honest, that’s not gonna happen). I’m starting to see how easy it is to make excuses for skipping workouts, and it’s taking a lot of effort to stay in the game. I know that a big part of making my life way easier and less stressful is strategizing and doing advance prep and planning. This is something that I’m going to be working on, and lucky for you, as I start figuring out shortcuts for prep and ways to squeeze in extra training sessions, I’ll be passing along my newfound nuggets of wisdom.

In other news, I am addicted to PaleOMG’s double layer fudge. It’s so delicious, and so fast and easy to make (which is totally dangerous). This is one recipe I stay fairly true to and haven’t adjusted very much. The only change I make is to use just less than a cup of coconut oil, and just a bit more than a cup of almond butter (but still keep the total quantity for both at 2 cups), and add a little more shredded coconut. This changes the consistency slightly and makes the final product a bit more solid than the original. The only problem is that it’s so yummy it doesn’t stay in the fridge for very long, and it’s definitely not an “enjoy everyday” type of treat.

Two Layer Fudge – originally from PaleOMG

Ingredients:
1 cup + 1 heaping tbsp almond butter
1 cup less 1 heaping tbsp coconut oil
½ cup raw honey
¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch sea salt
4 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Additional unsweetened coconut, and coarse sea salt for sprinkling on top

Directions:
Put first 6 ingredients in food processor and blend for about 30s.
Pour half of resulting mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and put it in the freezer for 5-10min.
Add cocoa powder to remaining mixture and blend for another 15s or so.
Pour the cocoa mixture on top of the solid fudge in the freezer, and sprinkle shredded coconut and coarse sea salt on top. (You can also add dark chocolate chips or walnuts or anything else that tickles your fancy.)
Freeze for another 15min.
Remove from freezer and transfer to fridge (if there’s any left after you indulge).

Ta-dah!

I love that all I need to make this is my trusty food processor. No pots and pans, no oven. So great. Speaking of food processors, a couple of years ago my dad passed along a great tip that cuts down on clean up: putting a piece of cling film (saran wrap?) in between the bowl and the bowl cover (so you don’t have to wash the bowl cover after). Voila, thanks Dad!

Thanks, Dad!