So it’s that week…. You know that week totally based on mini chocolates and tiny bags of chips- oh and wearing cool costumes and carving pumpkins…. But mostly mini chocolate bars and chips!
I LOVE HALLOWEEN but I’m trying to stop loving the “treats”.
Halloween always marked the start of “overindulging season”. It would begin with me bringing up the “pumpkin of love” from the Halloween decoration bin. The pumpkin of love is this innocent looking Halloween candy jar. It was given to me about 10 years ago by my friend Katie. Here it is….

Innocent looking isn’t it? Well, it gets pretty dangerous when filled with mini chocolate bars!
I would fill that jar at least 10 times BEFORE Halloween! Some desperate nights, I would dip my hand into the jar, swishing my hand through empty chocolate bar wrappers (my husband loves to just throw the empty ones back in the jar) hoping to find even a pack of Smarties (always the left over chocolate bar- Aero, Coffee Crisp, Reese Peanut butter Cups are popular). Then after I gave out the candy Halloween night, my husband and I would eat all the “good” candy from our children’ pillow cases. Sound familiar?

The Halloween candy would hold out until Christmas baking time then all of a sudden it’s New Years Eve and I have gained 10-15 lbs!
Last year I dressed as a cartoon character- Jesse from Toy Story 2 to be specific. Don’t get me wrong- I loved my costume. In fact I made it myself (I love homemade costumes!).I loved my costume but I was growing tired of my costume choices- slightly chubby Jesse, slightly chubby Price Is Right girl, slightly chubby spa girl and slightly chubby rap star….

So last year I set my goal that I wanted to dress up as “Sexy …..”– you know- sexy cat, sexy nurse, sexy school girl, sexy Elsa from Frozen- what?!!! Lol!
So I started eating right and working out all in preparation for this Halloween….
Really? No!…but wouldn’t that be funny if that was true? Lol!
I couldn’t do the Sexy Halloween costume- just not in my personality. I am pretty happy with my costume though- this year I’m Rocky Balboa from Rocky IV (fighting the Russian) not Rocky from Rocky XVIII (fighting over the last piece of KFC).

So I don’t want to run down that path of mini chocolate bars- so I’m helping myself out by stocking my kitchen with a healthier chocolate alternative. These Chocolate Black Bean cookies are really fudgey and chewy- and they help cut my chocolate bar craving. This recipe is by http://www.innerathletes.net.
You will need:

Dry ingredients
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
Add in:
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350* and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Add dry ingredients to a small bowl and combine well. Add wet ingredients to a bowl of a food processor. Process for at least 2 minutes until mixture is smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet and process for another minute, remove blade and stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop about 2 tbsp at a time onto the baking sheet. Bake for 14 minutes then remove. Press down lightly on the cookies to flatten slightly and leave to cool on sheet for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for about 30 minutes.
Keep refrigerated (and eat them cold- they taste a little “beany” when warm!)

Good luck and have strong willpower this Halloween! Let your kids eat all the candy they want this Halloween weekend, let them get a tummy ache (talk to them about why they feel sick) then offer them $25 for their bag of candy and chuck it out! Don’t tell your kids about the black beans in the cookies and they probably won’t notice 😉

Choose happy 🙂