These Healthy Strawberry Shortcake Bars are sooo delicious!

You would never be able to tell that they were healthy if it wasn't in the title.

Gosh I love creating healthy treats that taste sinfully delicious! I like to eat them for breakfast just because I can.

I kind of feel like a rebel. Like I'm cheating somehow. How can healthy taste this good?! How can I be eating strawberry shortcake for breakfast knowing that I'm actually making a healthy decision that is good for my body?!

If I would have told my younger self who was chronically on a diet that I could eat cake for breakfast and not gain weight, it would have saved me years of feeling deprived.

I would have felt free.

That actually perfectly describes how I feel when I eat foods like this - FREE!!! And so darn happy. Cake for breakfast for all!

Cost per serving: $0.54
Calories per serving: 66
​Equipment you'll need: blender, large mixing bowl, 8x8 baking pan

Ingredients: makes 9 bars
1.5 cups gluten-free quick oats
1 tsp xanthan gum
3 Tbsp water (more if needed to facilitate blending)
200g yellow squash
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp natural butter flavor
1/2 tsp liquid stevia
3/4 cup granulated erythritol, or other granulated sweetener of choice (I use Swerve)
1/4 tsp salt
​1.5 tsp baking powder
1 cup strawberries, sliced

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F, spray 8x8 baking pan with non-stick spray, and set aside.
2. Add oats to blender, and process until flour-like consistency is reached.
3. Pour oats into large mixing bowl and add xanthan gum.
4. Add all remaining ingredients (except strawberries) to blender, and blend until smooth.
5. Add in oats and xanthan gum, and blend until smooth.
6. Pour mixture into large mixing bowl, add in sliced strawberries, and mix.
7. Spoon into prepared baking pan, and bake for 35 minutes or until edges begin to brown slightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

It's almost Valentine's Day!! I love Valentine's Day. Actually, I love any excuse to eat a large amount of treats!! I have the biggest sweet tooth ever. That's why I love creating sweet treats like these that are actually good for you so you feel like you're indulging in something sinful when you really aren't! Anyway, mug cakes are seriously amazing (I don't know how I am just now hopping on the bandwagon). A single serving cake made in the microwave and ready in 5 minutes or less. Can't get much better than that!! Make one for you and one for your sweetheart this V-Day and enjoy the heck out of your guilt-free chocolatey sweet treat!

PS - here are a few more Valentine's Day treats that you'll love! Valentine's Day Vanilla Cupcakes, Healthy Chocolates, Chocolate Cookie Dough Bites, and Healthy Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

Cost per serving: $0.85
Calories per serving: 82
​Equipment you'll need: medium mixing bowl, microwave-safe mug or ramekin

Ingredients: makes 1 serving
2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp powdered erythritol, or other powdered sweetener of choice (I use Swerve)
1 Tbsp granulated erythritol, or other granulated sweetener of choice (I use Swerve)
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 dash salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp applesauce, unsweetened
2 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp liquid stevia
1/4 tsp natural butter flavor
1/8 tsp white vinegar
Optional: Low-Calorie Chocolate Frosting & sprinkles!

Method:
1. Spray microwave-safe mug or ramekin with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in medium mixing bowl, and whisk with a fork until well-combined.
3. Add in wet ingredients, and stir.
4. Pour batter into prepared mug or ramekin, and microwave on 50% power for 2 minutes and 30 seconds or until top of cake is slightly firm to the touch. Let cool, frost and add sprinkles if desired, and enjoy!

I am still always so thrilled when the words "healthy" and "brownie" appear together - it just never gets old! These are so yummy, easy to make, and full of secretly healthy ingredients. When I say easy to make, I mean you literally cannot mess them up - just throw all ingredients in a blender and then pour into a baking dish! These brownies are perfectly fudgy and sweet (even though they are actually sugar-free) and absolutely divine. You feel like you're cheating but you aren't!! At only 59 calories a pop, how could you go wrong? One "regular" brownie made from a traditional mix like these from my childhood would be 333 calories for the same size serving!!! Not only that, those contain all kinds of weird things like "artificial flavors" and "partially hydrogenated oils." I'll take my clean and healthy version, thanks! Actually, for the same calorie value, I'll take half of the pan of mine!

Cost per serving: $0.44
Calories per serving: 59
Equipment per serving: blender, 8x8 baking pan

Ingredients: makes 9 servings
3/4 cup gluten-free quick oats
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cooked or canned black beans
200g yellow squash
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated erythritol, or other granulated sweetener of choice (I use Swerve)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp natural butter flavor
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp liquid stevia

Optional: powdered erythritol to sprinkle on top!

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F, spray 8x8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray, an set aside.
2. Add oats to blender and process until flour-like consistency is reached.
3. Add in remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
4. Pour into prepared baking dish, and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Once brownies have cooled, dust with powdered erythritol, if desired.