Dessert is not the problem. Guilt around it is.

Morgan, Christin, and Jess S. get into why so many people have a complicated relationship with sweets, where that relationship actually comes from, and what the science says about what happens in your brain when you restrict something you actually want. They talk about the food rules we grew up with, almond moms, the restrict-overeat-reset cycle, and why trying to replace the brownie with fruit and then a granola bar and then cereal means you end up eating everything in the kitchen and still not feeling satisfied.

Plus a conversation about generational food guilt, raising kids without passing it down, why cravings are information and not a character flaw, and why just having the brownie was always going to be the better option.

These Blueberry Cheesecake Bites have an oat-butter crust and a creamy filling made with cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and cream cheese. They're a little on the tart side, so if you've got more of a sweet tooth, the recipe includes easy options to adjust. They’re great for meal prep or a post-workout treat.

It’s the start of a new week and that means there’s a new ingredient challenge. And this week it’s the most basic fall ingredient of them all. Hello, pumpkin! Pumpkin’s incredibly versatile and I urge you to explore with it this week. It’s great in sweet and savory dishes and it’s rich in vitamin A, potassium, vitamin C, and fiber. You can’t go wrong with this one.

This gut-healing chocolate, date, and sweet potato mousse are so quick and easy to make and requires no baking! My VERY sizable serving ended up being around 20g of carbohydrates, 6g of fat, and 8g of protein, making it a great pre-workout or post-workout treat.

The ingredient challenge this week was black beans so I decided to work on my baking skills. I’ve never been the best at baking with protein powder, and I gave up for some time because it gets quite expensive if you have to continually throw away batches and batches of food. But I decided it was time to experiment again.

Another recipe… this time it’s Vanilla Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip!