weekend + peanut butter oatmeal carob chip cookie balls

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i mean i just wanted to take a selfie of my new top from my sweet coworker, Monica!  apparently everybody needed to use the bathroom at the same time.20121222_080014doing his daily ritual.

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love it!  workout gear is one of my fave ever gifts to receive.   it's Nike, very light weight, has a cool design, and most important, racerback.

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we hit the gym and i decided to take a Total Conditioning class instead of my normal weights and cardio routine.  taking classes and teaching them are completely different for me concerning the workout part!  i do 80%+of the workout with my class, and the rest is coaching, motivating, and walking around checking for great form.  before i began teaching, seeing the instructor struggling with me provided some of THE best motivation to keep me going! so i definitely try to provide that for my members. when i'm up there on that podium, it's like i feel NO burn, seriously!  my adrenaline goes crazy the entire time. talk about an endorphin high :shock:

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where's waldo?

 when i take a class, i feel the burn waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay sooner, LOL.  i feel every thing!  it's now me vs me and  i go to war with that voice inside my head telling me the burn is too much and to STOP.  but i refuse!

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i did the class, then 30 min of fat burning cardio and got up outta there.

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but not before a progress selfie lol.  Chiso and i had a day of Christmas and grocery shopping to get to, and i neglected to pack our lunches.  i knew we'd pass by that death trap of a food court at the mall and the smell of fries just might win me over after that workout! so, we had lunch at the gym.

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and i'm glad we did! ok more like a snack.  i got a smoothie for the first time in MONTHS.  i've enjoyed eating my fruit instead of drinking it..that's my only reason.  anyway i was super surprised to see that Lifetime now has almond milk substitutions!! what!? they are always one step ahead!

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i got an almond delight which did not hit all my macros for meal 2, but it held me over juuuuust enough until we got home.  don't worry, i made up for it.

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i chose blueberry and banana for my fruits of choice; the best smoothie combo ever, i know!

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cold and creamy.

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Chiso loves the chocolate flavor of this milk too, lol! (me too)  20121222_113650

'if it's here, it's healthy.'

100% clean menu.

on to the mall!

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i spotted this while we were out shopping and did the most obnoxious double take ever.  miracle slimming system.  no diet and exercise required. 10 minute method. 3.99. it's called a WORKOUT for a reason, yall!  it requires an effort.  it's still on the shelf because unfortunately someone will buy this thing.  only real, lasting results come from good nutrition and exercise. that's it. that's the secret.

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i spent longer grocery shopping than Christmas shopping lol. i  saw these in the bulk isle at HEB and gave them a taste...score.  they are low in sugar, grain sweetened, carob chips and they taste just like semi sweet chocolate chips!  grain sweetened chocolate covered raisins from Whole Foods have been my guilty pleasure for YEARS.  it was the only place i could find them for a while, but carob has definitely gotten more popular lately!  you'll see these guys again shortly.

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TODAY was leg day and i had a grilled turkey and almond cheese sandwich on Ezekiel bread, a small red delicious apple, and some tomato & cucumber salad from Central Market before hitting the gym. 20121223_133805

tryin to shred these puppies!!

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had just finished doing my heavy squats here.  i went heavy and did 4 sets of 10 of the following: barbel squats, single leg seated presses, hack squats, alternating dumbbell lunges, deadlifts, leg extensions & curls.

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then i followed that up with about 10 min of abs.

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nice burn!

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i've been thinking about the kind of cookie i wanted to leave out for Santa, and i tried my hand at some no-bake peanut butter cookie balls that turned out darn good!

No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Carob Chip Cookie Balls

the stuff:

  • 10 tbsp quick oats
  • 2 tbsp carob chips (can totally use any kind of chocolate chips)
  • 2 tbsp agave nectar (can sub honey)
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 4 tbsp chocolate PB2

do this:

MIX! form into 10 balls and pop them into the fridge until you're ready to devour.  give them at least 30 min though.  if they are too sticky for you, add more oats in increments of 1 table-spoon.  they were just right for us though!  recipe makes 10 balls.

serving size = 1 cookie

carobcookieslow sugar, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free (long as your oats are gluten-free) and YUM-MY.

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Chiso looooooooooooved them!

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him and his faces.

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more, more, more!  20121223_172327

ok we ate this entire batch, but we will make plenty more.

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Santa will wash them down with a big glass of almond milk!

what kinda cookies will you be leaving out for Santa this year?

le