With the holidays approaching, one of my favorite things to bake are classic desserts. I have only made bread pudding once before and it turned out to be a huge success, so today I decided to try a different version. I’m excited to say that it also turned extremely well! I consider this Dark Chocolate Orange Bread Pudding the perfect dessert for the holidays ahead.

Bread pudding consists of cubed bread, soaked in a custard mixture made of eggs, sweetener and milk and/or heavy cream. I use stale or toasted bread, since it will hold its shape better when soaking up the custard mixture. Otherwise, fresh bread will tend to fall apart and become mushy.

I have seen many recipes that call for different types of bread, but I believe challah bread is one of the best options to obtain a hearty bread pudding recipe. Challah bread is slightly sweet with a unique flavor, perfect for bread pudding.  

I love the orange flavor that comes through from the Florida’s Natural orange juice in this recipe, and with the dark chocolate, the mixture is just superb. I used 100% dark chocolate bars rather than chocolate chips because I didn’t want the overpowering sweetness of milk chocolate. Also, the big chocolate chunk effect is what I was looking for, which is obtained using chocolate bars rather than chocolate chips. 

For the orange flavor, I used Florida’s Natural orange juice. As I’ve talked about in past recipes, I love this juice because it’s made from one simple ingredient—Florida oranges. I like to keep my ingredient list to a minimum, so this alone has made Florida’s Natural a favorite of mine. So, what gives the juice its fresh-from-the-grove flavor? It’s made from seven different varieties of Florida oranges.with a fresh, citrusy taste I love in my recipes.

For the holidays this year, this dark chocolate orange bread pudding will be the perfect pairing for my other recipes that call for Florida’s Natural orange juice. Altogether, this makes for an awesome, unique and well-balanced menu. The full menu consists of:

1. baked orange rosemary chicken as the main dish
2. avocado orange salad with orange honey vinaigrette. for a side
3. Dark chocolate orange bread pudding.

If you haven’t yet decided your holiday menu, I highly recommend this dark chocolate orange bread pudding with the baked orange rosemary chicken and orange avocado salad.

I know this menu was a hit at my house – especially the bread pudding! My husband is not a fan of bread pudding and he thoroughly enjoyed this version.

Enjoy!

Dark chocolate orange bread pudding

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40-60 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 loaf challah bread, cubed (or brioche)
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup Florida’s Natural^® Orange Juice
• 4 oz 100% dark chocolate bar, chopped

Directions:

The bread you use should be a little dry. If the bread you are using is fresh, after you cube it, spread it out on a sheet pan and put it in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes rotating the pan halfway through. Alternatively, you can leave cubed challah bread out overnight to dry out.

In a mixing bowl, add the eggs, heavy cream, whole milk, orange juice and maple syrup. Combine with a wire whisk.

In a previously greased baking dish, add the toasted challah bread. Pour the custard mixture over the challah bread. Sprinkle the chopped dark chocolate and let it sit for 30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the bread pudding for 40-60 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Let it rest to cool and serve as desired.

Keep bread pudding refrigerated. Before serving, you may warm it slightly in your microwave. Serve it topped with ice cream, if you prefer.

The post Dark chocolate orange bread pudding appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

At last I get to post a recipe. I actually needed to take a few weeks brake from the blog because I wanted to catch up with things in school as well as focus as to what would be next for the blog as far as recipes are concerned. I also want to expand my travel section and even though I haven’t been traveling lately I have a lot of material from previous travels that I want to share with you all. I am organizing all my travels, recipe schedule and all so stay tuned, lots of good things to come.

Onto the recipe now.

I love coconut anything. I have been wanting to make these dark chocolate coconut truffles for a long time now but never got around to it because I had other recipes I wanted to tackle, however, last week, since I also wanted to have something with coconut flavor, I went ahead and made these.

These truffles are truly out of this world. They only require 4 ingredients and you don’t need anything really especial except for your food processor to make these.

I am going to be making more coconut desserts in the upcoming weeks. I have been wanting to make coconut macaroons as well so I might get to that recipe soon. These dark chocolate mint coconut truffles for now are one of my favorite coconut desserts…so easy to make and so good.

You can use any type of chocolate you like, however, I always use dark chocolate for all of my desserts that need chocolate. Less sugar, much more chocolate intense flavor plus it contains many more of the cocoa benefits. Dark chocolate all the way.

Going forward, I am going to be posting like I was before. I just needed to take a few weeks off to regroup sort of speak.

Anyways, I leave you with these dark chocolate mint coconut truffles that are truly the bomb. If you get to make these let me know how you liked them. Also one suggestion, if you do, I suggest doubling the batch because they are not going to last that long.

Enjoy!

Dark chocolate mint coconut truffles

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 15 truffles

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp mint extract, optional
• 6 oz dark chocolate, melted, vegan if need be

Directions:

Line a cookie baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the coconut, maple syrup, mint, and coconut oil in a food processor until it comes together. Transfer to a small mixing bowl. Using your hands, squeeze the mixture into about small balls. This step may be a bit difficult. I used my finger and gently roll them out. (If you really find they don't come together at all just a tad more maple syrup)

Place the coconut balls in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until firm.

Melt the chocolate in your microwave or double boiler. Using two forks, roll each coconut ball in the chocolate until completely covered. Let the extra chocolate drip off the fork. Place the chocolate truffle onto the prepared tray and place back in the freezer until the chocolate has hardened.

You can top the truffles with some extra coconut flakes before they harden. This step is optional.

Store in the refrigerator.

The post Dark chocolate mint coconut truffles appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I decided to make these Whole-Wheat Chocolate Orange Scones to celebrate. We hardly ever have a typical American breakfast, but Valentine’s Day is a different story. My kids join in to prepare a brunch dish and serve it to the entire family. It is a fun morning for us. A tradition that we have kept alive for a few years now. These Whole-Wheat Chocolate Orange Scones are a perfect addition to your family’s Valentine’s Day brunch—along with some extra butter, bacon, eggs and a tall glass of orange juice.

I was a bit skeptical about making these scones with whole wheat flour, which is tougher and drier. I used whole wheat pastry flour instead, and the scones turned out perfectly. I also used both orange zest and orange juice and dark chocolate instead of regular milk chocolate, to create a great flavor combination. When I eat chocolate, I don’t like it to be too sweet, but you can use any type that you like in this recipe.

All orange juices are not created equal. And that is why I used not-from-concentrate Florida’s Natural® Brand Orange Juice in this recipe. It is made from one simple ingredient — Florida oranges. Florida’s Natural doesn’t add any water, sugar or preservatives to its products. I like the fact that there are no artificial flavors or ingredients and that all of their products are made entirely in Florida, using citrus grown by generations of small-family farmers.

Plus, my partnership with Florida’s Natural means that I’m now a member of the Florida’s Natural Brunch Club. In the next few months, I’ll be partnering with other bloggers to share our love of all things breakfast and brunch—starting with these scones!

While it is Valentine’s Day, you could make these Whole Wheat Orange Chocolate Scones for any special occasion. I know that my family will be having a few next week. I hope you get to make them as well! Next time I make these I will double the batch. I think I should be able to freeze these and have for my breakfast a few extra days.

Let me know if you get to make these Whole Wheat Orange Chocolate Scones. I hope you like them as much as we did.

Enjoy!

This recipe is sponsored by Florida’s Natural. The opinions and text are all mine. The end.

Whole wheat chocolate orange scones

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 11-12 scones

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/3 cup unrefined sugar
• 1 tbsp aluminum free baking powder
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 6 oz dark chocolate bar, chopped into small chunks
• 1/2 cup Florida's Natural orange juice
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lined a cookie baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add flour, sugar, butter, baking powder and orange zest in a small mixing bowl.Using your fingers, work in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal or breadcrumbs.

Add orange juice, heavy cram and chopped dark chocolate. With a spatula incorporate into the dry ingredients until you obtain a consistent dough. In between plastic wrap, or parchment paper, roll out dough into a 1-inch thick shape. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.

Brush each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar if desired. (If you don't have a brush you can use your fingers, I have done that before)

Place scones onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 16-22 minutes or until golden brown.

The post Whole wheat orange chocolate scones appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

A few days ago I was able to make something really indicative of Halloween and of course I made it healthier than typical treats consumed around this time.

For this recipe, I wanted to use chocolate so I figured since we also consume a lot of almond butter and I have never made chocolate cups before I thought, why not?

These dark chocolate almond butter cups turned out great. My kids loved making these ahead of time to share with their friends later on. This recipe it is easy to make with the kids, especially those from 6 to 12 years old. If you like you can use peanut butter instead of almond butter but for use almond butter is what we liked best.

Around Halloween I like to make sure my kids hydrate with just water. Sometimes it is really hard to get them to drink since they are super busy with school and activities so when ever hydration is needed I only like to make sure they drink plain water.

These little Halloween water bottles are the perfect size. The especial Halloween designs makes them fun for the kids to consume.They actually have 8 different designs so your kids could pick their own.

NESTLÉ® PURE LIFE® “Share-A-Scare” 8oz water bottles are the perfect size for trick-or-treating, making it easy for kids to stay hydrated throughout the night.

In a 2015 survey conducted by NESTLÉ PURE LIFE, moms and kids revealed many surprising insights about their hydration habits.

It was found that nearly 2 in 5 (37%) moms agree letting their child drink bottled water instead of out of a cup would help get their child to drink more water.

Today, beverages account for 47% of added sugars in the US American Diet and more than 13% of calories consumed per day. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that the primary beverage consumed be either calorie-free – like water – or should contribute beneficial nutrients such as fat-free and low-fat milk and 100% juice. Replacing a single 12-ounce, 140 calorie sugar sweetened beverage with water each day for a year can cut more than 50,000 calories from one’s diet.

• To learn more about NESTLÉ® PURE LIFE® and find the limited edition “Share-a- Scare” bottles at a store near you, visit this link.
• Show us how you use “Share-A-Scare” bottles in your Halloween festivities with the hashtag #NestleShareAScare and by tagging @nestlepurelifeus.

I hope you like these Dark chocolate almond butter cups. They are great to make with the kids and a fun treat to share with their peers.

Enjoy!

Dark chocolate almond butter cups

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 11 cups

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 20 oz dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:

Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with muffin paper liners.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave in short increments, stirring after 30 seconds, for about 2 minutes.

With a small spoon distribute melted chocolate into each muffin cup.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine almond butter and maple syrup. Place small spoonfuls of almond butter mixture on top of the chocolate layer.

Portion small spoonfuls of the remaining chocolate into each cup and freeze for about 20 minutes.

Serve at room temperature.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Nestle® Pure Life® . The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Dark chocolate almond butter cups appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I love baking with gluten free flours. The only ones I use are coconut, brown rice and almond flour. I don’t like to buy gluten free mixes and so far these 3 types of gluten free flours have worked for me while baking cookies, cakes, muffins and things of that nature!

For these gluten free banana chocolate muffins I used just coconut flour. Coconut flour is suited for cakes and muffins so if wanting to bake cookies I suggest brown flour instead.

You can also use dark chocolate chips for the batter instead of dark chocolate chunks, that is what I had on hand. They will both work.

I am planning of making different versions of these. My kids ate two at a time. So light, not that sweet at all and just perfect, so maybe I will use blueberries next time!

For the full banana chocolate muffins recipe make sure you visit my friends at Nuts.com. There you will be able to purchase the coconut flour as well as any other flours that you may need for your baking and cooking like nuts, dried fruits, spreads and much more!

I hope you get to make these, I think you are going to love them.

Enjoy!

This recipe is sponsored by Nuts.com The opinions and text are all mine. The end.

The post Gluten free banana chocolate muffins appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

This cranberry pistachio chocolate bark is so easy to make it would take you just about 5 minutes. It is a very simple dessert to make and extremely versatile, as you can add any toppings of your liking. I chose to use pistachios and cranberries given the holiday season but anything goes.

I also wanted to make the bark prettier so I use two different types of chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. You can make just with dark chocolate if you like or if you are vegan just use vegan chocolate. I just wanted to get a bit more creative and have a marble effect in the bark to make it prettier so that is why I used the white chocolate.

This cranberry pistachio chocolate bark is perfect for the holidays ahead. It is great for gift giving or to have as a dessert. Of course a little goes a long way so don’t over due. Someone on one of my social media channels mentioned that what sort of exercise regime would I need after eating something like this. Well a very simple answer will suffice, no exercise regime need it what so ever.  Just don’t eat the entire batch in one sitting and simply moderate your servings. If you can’t do that then I guess this isn’t the dessert for you!

Anyhow, indulging is part of life and with the holidays I am sure I will be indulging some. I work pretty hard during the year eating right and exercising, As a matter of fact I have most of my life so when ever I feel like I want to eat something a bit more naughty, I will. Balance is key…

I hope you like it. You can see the video recipe to really appreciate how easy this is to make.

Enjoy!

Cranberry pistachio chocolate bark

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 25 servings

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 oz dark chocolate
• 4 oz white chocolate
• 1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Line a baking cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Chopped the white chocolate and melt it in a microwave at 30 second intervals stirring in between until completely melted. Do the same with the dark chocolate.

Spread the dark chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet. Drop the white chocolate over the dark chocolate and with a work spread it over to give it a marble effect. Sprinkle the pistachios and cranberries over the chocolate and freeze for 30 minutes.

Once the chocolate has solidified just cut into pieces with your hands.

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