Triple Chocolate Sablés

As I start writing this I am anticipating that this will be a long post. If it is, I’m sorry and if you’re just looking for a damn good cookie recipe, scroll down!
When I started this blog I felt strongly that I did not want to share anything too personal for the rest of the cyber world. For one, I find it quite disturbing when certain blogs I read choose to share every detail of their bowel movements (i’m not kidding) and also because I have assumed that no one would be interested in all my mundane inner thoughts. Though I have not been blogging for long, my sentiments have changed somewhat in how much detail I’d like to share with all of you.

When people ask me to list some of the other blogs that I read there tends to be a common theme amongst them, none of them claim to be perfect. Not that they outwardly declare that they are not, but they don’t just feature their best moments, recipes, workouts etc..They share the times when their recipes failed, when they just didn’t feel like working out and many of the insecurities they are facing.

It bothers me when bloggers try to project that everything in their life is perfection, and perhaps it may be, but I truly believe that every human being has their fair share of bad days. I started this blog with the hope of sharing some of my favourite recipes, workouts and foodie tips and knowledge. So far the feedback has been wonderful and I am truly grateful to everyone who takes time out of their day to read it. It’s clear that the Weekend Recap posts aren’t the most popular but when I look back on all my posts thus far they are the ones I value the most. They capture many of the highlights of my life with the people I love, so even if no one reads them, they are here to stay!

One thing I have noticed is that many of my posts, pictures, recipes, thoughts tend to project that my life is all good and dandy. Now don’t get me wrong, I live an incredibly blessed life. I have a wonderful family and group of friends, a job, a home and most importantly my health. But I hate for anyone to think that everything is perfect. I struggle with many of the issues that women my age tend to face. I have NO CLUE “what I want to do”, I stress about planning all the details of my future (which is virtually impossible) and I continue to deal with body image issues and all that fun stuff that comes with being a young woman in our day and age.

This last point is particularly relevant since I write a healthy living blog. I don’t eat healthy all the time nor do I work out everyday (not that anyone should). Some days I am on my game and fulfill everything by body needs both nutritionally and physically. Other days it’s harder and I am tempted to eat things that are not good for me or don’t feel good and working out seems like an insurmountable obstacle. I often feel guilty after these days and beat myself up for knowing better.

This guilt and the ridiculous amount of stress I put on myself to look “perfect” is likely what has resulted in my knee/foot/leg injury (or whatever is going on). I overdid it and now I am hurt. But guess what? I didn’t feel any better than as I do now. Being skinny, thin or looking anything at all like a Victoria Secret model is an impossible goal to which there really is no end game. You won’t get there and even if you feel like you do you likely won’t be any happier.

So here I am after years of pushing my body too hard to ascertain some unrealistic ideal and for the first time I am starting to see some clarity. Being injured has forced me to reevaluate how I workout and eat. Since cardio seems to make things worse I have had to refocus almost entirely on strength training. I also love eating and my body is used to eating a certain way. But without all the cardio burning off wayyyy too many calories, I am not as lean as I am used to. However, I am also not delusional, I am definitely thin thanks to my very fast metabolism. What I have noticed is that I am getting stronger. I can chest press more than I ever have and deadlift (or trapbar!) a weight I never thought I could. And guess what? It feels awesome! I am still plagued with days where my shins burn and my feet kill but this just means my body needs a break. Sometimes NOT working out is as important as working out.

One good thing that has come out of being injured? I am finally learning to let go. Let go of my need to workout all the time, let go of my need to eat within my calorie range everyday, let go of my obsession with being and looking perfect. I am attempting to reshift my focus on eating healthy, nutritious foods because that’s what feels good, and eating not-so-healthy foods every once and a while because that feels good too (though I am trying to minimize consumption of the foods that actually don’t make me feel good…looking at you gluten and dairy). This also means focusing my workouts on making me stronger and fitter, not just lean or skinny. And probably the hardest thing for me to tackle is honouring my body when it tells me that working out is not a good idea.

Your friends and family won’t love you any less if you are 10 pounds heavier, or 50 pounds for that matter. They will love you the most when you are happy. When you are making healthy, positive choices for yourself not just physically, but mentally. As obvious as this may seem, this is something that is only now becoming clear to me.

Whew! Glad I got that off my chest. While I will continue to post delicious recipes that I love and workouts that are fun, I also intend to share with you the moments that I fail and areas where I struggle. My hope is that there is at least someone out there who can identify.

I told you this post was going to be long…

I figured since we are on the topic of eating foods that are maybe not the most nutritious it was appropriate that I post a recipe for the most decadent, delicious and all around dynamite cookies. These are NOT gluten-free, vegan, paleo, FODMAPS or part of any of the known diets out there but damnnnn are they good. Since I am trying to be more honest will all of you I will admit that I definitely ate several of these bad boys. Did not feel oh-so great afterwards but I blame the gluten for that and trust me when I say I savoured every.single.bite.

This was one of the recipes that I served at my Mom’s dinner party a few weeks back. They were totally a hit! And since you should absolutely indulge your cravings for decadent desserts every-so-often I would definitely suggest serving these at your next party. For the best results make the dough ahead of time and store them in the fridge for 24-48 hours. And use really good quality chocolate because if you’re going to indulge, you may as well do it right 😉

Triple Chocolate Sablés

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• Total Time: 24 hours 40 minutes
• Yield: 2 dozen cookies 1x

Ingredients

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• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 stick and 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp of coarse sea salt or 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 grams of your best-quality bittersweet chocolate. I used 50 grams of 70%, 50 grams of 63% and 50 grams of 54%.

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl using an electric mixer cream butter. Beat at medium speed for 2 mins.
3. Add sugars and vanilla to butter and beat for another 1-2 mins or until mixture is soft and creamy.
4. Reduce speed to low and slowly incorporate dry ingredients into wet.
5. Once ingredients are combined turn off electric mixer. The dough will be very crumbly, this is normal. You do not want to overmix.
6. Chop chocolate into bite-sized bits and stir into batter using a wooden spoon.
7. Split dough in half and place one half on a clean surface. Using hands shape dough into a log that is 1 1/2 inches thick. To prevent an air-channel from developing in the center of the log, flatten the dough and fold onto itself several times before rolling into final log-shape.
8. Do the same with the other half of the dough.
9. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and store in fridge for 1 hour or up to 3 days. You could freeze dough for up to a month.
10. When ready to bake the cookies preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
11. Remove logs from fridge and using a long, sharp knife cut into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Each log should yield 12-14 cookies.
12. Bake cookies for 12 mins on center rack, baking only one sheet at a time.
13. Let cookies cool for 10 mins on sheet before placing on wire-rack to cool completely.
14. Serve at room temperature or store for 5 days in an airtight container. These freeze well and actually taste delicious straight from the freezer!