Nutrition guru Joy Bauer has always been someone who inspires me. And lucky for us Just Stoppers, she’s allowed me to feature one of the delicious recipes from her new best selling book, From Junk Food to Joy Food, here. This Frozen Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cups recipe takes all the guilt out of a decadent treat and is a blast to make. And the best part? We don’t have to “go off” of our diets or healthy eating plans to make and enjoy it. Joy also uses all natural ingredients in the recipe, which is always a big plus.

From Junk Food to Joy Food is loaded with these kinds of recipe makeovers — the kind that take everyday favorites (usually loaded with calories, salt, etc.) and swaps them out for brand new, healthier versions of the recipes (each of which guarantees the same amount of flavor and satisfaction — but without the food hangover). And no, this is not a paid endorsement. Although I’d happily bribe Joy for being gracious enough to let me share this recipe.

For more information on From Junk Food to Joy Food, click here. And for more recipes and tips from Joy herself, you can click to her website. In the meantime, if you try the recipe below, please be sure to invite me over!

JOY BAUER’S FROZEN CHOCOLATE–PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
Junk Food version (before): 290 calories
Joy Food version (after): 165 calories

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
¼ cup creamy nut or seed butter (peanut, almond, sunflower seed, etc.)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dark chocolate chips, or 3-ounce dark chocolate bar
¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together the banana, nut butter, and vanilla. Mash everything together well and set aside.

Place 6 liners in a muffin tin and spray the liners liberally with nonstick oil spray. Silicone muffin liners work best, as it’s easier to remove the chocolate when it’s time to eat. Set the muffin tin aside.

In a saucepan, melt the chocolate and almond milk on medium heat, stirring constantly.

Once the chocolate is smooth, add a generous tablespoon of the mixture to the bottom of each muffin liner. Then stick the muffin tin in the freezer to firm up the chocolate (about 10 minutes).

Once the chocolate is firm, distribute the banana filling evenly among the muffin cups and spread the filling out with your fingers. Then split the remaining chocolate among the cups, using your fingers to spread each layer evenly.

Place the tin back in the freezer for at least 4 hours (overnight works best).

When you’re ready to eat, pop each cup out of its liner and serve immediately!

(Makes 6 servings.)

Photo Source: Joy Bauer