For those of you who don't know, I've been on the Whole30 for the month of January. 2 weeks in, 2 weeks left to go. The Whole30 is a diet that is meant to get you in the habit of eating healthy. It basically just cuts out all carbs (except for fruits & vegetables), dairy & any processed foods and added sugars. While I am determined to actually finish off the whole 30 days of clean eating, it seems I am not entirely built to go a whole 30 days without something sweet (aside from the abundance of fruit I've been shoveling down.) Over the summer, I made these "Healthy" twix bars, and they'd been sitting in my freezer ever since. After a week of being on the Whole30 I remembered having these, so I got them out. Now my sister and I have been unable to keep our hands off of these little cookies. They've been lifesavers. While they may not be entirely Whole30 compliant, they are almost. The only ingredients that are not compliant are maple syrup (no added sugar is technically allowed on the diet-- not even honey), oats (but in my opinion, oats aren't nearly as bad as regular flour), and vanilla (the whole reason vanilla isn't allowed is because of the alcohol in it. Yeah. It's not like I'm going to get drunk off of 2 teaspoons of vanilla.) 
These bars are great because they're gluten free, sugar free and vegan. Basically they fit all kinds of diets. Also they're pretty filling, so while you may not be able to stop yourself from eating more than one, you most certainly won't find yourself eating an entire batch and cursing your hungry stomach. 
Anyway, I got and slightly altered the recipe from here.
I like to use 1/4 cup cacao and 1/4 cup cocoa, because cacao is a superfood and is really good for you, but it's so bitter. I have a sweet tooth. If you're doubtful about the candies, yeah, so was I. But they're actually pretty good. 
The chocolate is decadent, the caramel delicious and the cookie has a great crunch. It's doubtful these could be this good because of the loss of gluten, sugar & all animal products, but they actually are really tasty. You have two options for keeping these bars. In the fridge or the freezer. The freezer is great because they're kind of ice cream-y (not actually but it's hard to explain. And in the fridge? They're less crunchy, but the caramel is so ​goey.  I love it. 
And now, here is the recipe for these wonderful "candy" bars.

Ingredients: 
Crust: 
2 cups oats
1/2 cup + 2 T coconut flour
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla

Caramel:
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup 
1/3 cup coconut oil 
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate:
1/4 cup cacao powder 
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
​4 T maple syrup

Directions: 
​Preheat oven to 350F/180C. 

1. In a food processor, process oats until they are powdered into oat flour. 
2. In a bowl, mix together the oat flour, coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup & vanilla until well combined. 
3. On a greased pan (I use coconut oil), spread the cookie dough out into a rectangle of about 1/2 an inch, or so. Poke with fork
4. Bake for 12-20 minutes, or until the crust if golden brown. Let cool completely. 
5. In  a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together all the caramel ingredients until fully combined and the mixture has thickened some. 
6. Pour "caramel" over the crust, spreading it out to the sides. Freeze 30 minutes. 
7. Mix together the chocolate ingredients. 
8. Pour over and spread out the chocolate on top of the "twix" 
9. Allow to harden in the freezer for about another hour
10. Cut apart and either freeze or keep in the fridge. 
Enjoy! 

Thanks for reading <3
Anj

As I've made quite clear on this website. I have a sweet tooth. A major one. And at the moment, I am on a diet that has (unfortunately for my sweet tooth and fortunately for my health) cut out all sugar. Not that I eat much sugar regularly, but the lack of sweetness is noticeable. Especially since this recipe also says no adding sweeter of any sort-- including honey. Honey is one of my staples in life, so I had to politely ignore that rule of the diet. 
Another thing about me? I like finding loopholes. This "milkshake" recipe follows my diet (save for the added sweetener rule because that rule is stupid-- honey is good for you), and is simultaneously delicious. It literally just tastes like caramel ice cream. I love it. Then again, that might only be from me being unable to eat anything unhealthy for the last two weeks, but hey, I'm enjoying it now. 
Not only is this shake delicious, but it's also filling. I actually just made some when I got home from school. It'll hold me over until dinner, a feat not easily accomplished. Why is this shake so filling? My diet approved caramel contains almond butter, an extremely filling ingredient. So this shake does more than just satisfy your sweet tooth! It also fills you up so you won't feel a craving for any more food. 
The most difficult part about this recipe is the caramel. The rest is just throwing a bunch of ingredients into a blender. While the caramel isn't particularly hard, it does take a few dishes. I actually had just made a jar of this caramel and kept it in the fridge before I even came up with the idea for this drink. The caramel is lovely and thick when stored in the fridge-- a nice little treat to snack on. Anyway, this is the same caramel that I used in my Healthy Twix Bars, which I haven't posted yet, so I'll share it here again. 
You have two options for milk in this shake, either coconut or almond. I've used both, and they both turn out fantastic. I'd say don't worry too much about the milk-- just use what you happen to have. Personally though, I've always preferred coconut milk. 

Caramel: 

Ingredients:
1/2  Cup Almond Butter
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup 
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil 
2 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 Tsp Salt 

Instructions: 
1) In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. 
2) Whisk until thickened (about 5 minutes) 
3) Store in the fridge

Milkshake 

Ingredients:
1 Cup Milk (Almond or Coconut) 
4 T "Caramel" 
10 Ice Cubes 
2 Tsp Honey (or to taste) 
Splash of Vanilla (optional) 

Directions: 
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth. 

Easy, right? Anyway, thanks for reading :) 
​-Anj