Sometimes my titles leave much to be desired.  I’m well-aware.

Anyway.

I don’t want to be jumping the gun or anything, but I might be feeling a little bit better and I’m hoping that this is only the beginning.  I am crossing my fingers that each day my coughing spells decrease and my energy increases.  Oh, and, I would also like my red, dry, and sore nose to go away.  It’s not really a look that I like to rock.

Yesterday, after I got home from work, I was feeling a little sluggish and I almost put my head down and closed my eyes…but I didn’t.  I’m so glad I did not because once that would have happened, I would have been done.  I either would have slept until morning or I would have woken up an hour later and felt like a mean and angry bear.  Nobody likes that.  So, to prevent either of those things happening, I didn’t even sit down.  I made my police officer some grilled cheese sandwiches before he left for work, threw a load of laundry in, and put on my workout clothes.  I was thinking about using today as a rest day since yesterday was the first day I really tried to workout since being sick, however, I was feeling a workout so I figured, why not!? I was missing some Turbo Fire, so I threw in my DVD and did the 30-minute workout.

I was sweating like crazy and feeling great!  I think I have my workout mojo back!  However, the tissue box was not very far away.  Stupid nose.  (Also…as you can see…Jet is never far away either.  Anytime I move the coffee table and rug to workout in the living room, the dogs see that has their time to also use the open space.  Monday night, when I was doing a plank, I had one on either side of me and they were biting at each other over my back.  And as you see Jet lying there?  He doesn’t even move when I’m jumping around him.  I have to watch out and move around him.  The dogs kind of run our house.)

After my workout, I moved into the kitchen to whip up a recipe that I have been dying to try.  A couple of weeks ago, my aunt made chocolate ‘brownies’ using dates, walnuts, and cocoa.  They tasted great and had an intense chocolate flavor. I decided to make my own version since I absolutely despise walnuts (even when they are crushed up into dust) and my aunt’s were just a little too ‘chocolatey’ for me.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Date Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup whole pitted dates

1 cup whole almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

3-4 tablespoons peanut butter (or any nut butter of your choice)

Directions:

In a food processor, add dates and process until chopped into tiny pieces.  Add in almonds and cranberries and continue to process until the mixture reaches a course and crumbly texture.  Add in the cocoa powder and process until completely mixed with date mixture.  Add in the peanut butter, starting with 3 tablespoons, and process until mixture begins to clump together and is able to be ‘molded’.  If needed, add more peanut butter in small increments until desired sticky consistency is reached.

Transfer mixture into an 8×8 square baking dish (or a smaller container if you prefer thicker bars) and press the mixture down with a spatula (or your hands!) until uniform in dish.

Cut and serve immediately.

Yield:  16 square bars

***You can also roll the mixture into balls instead of pressing them into a baking dish and cutting them.  Just make sure that the mixture is sticky enough to roll together.

I was really happy with the way these turned out!  I may have also eaten more than one.  And, maybe more than two…and three…but they are totally healthy so it’s definitely okay!

Happy Wednesday, friends!  Enjoy it!

With much Love and Laughter,
Kelly

Something to share:  Do you like dates?  I bought them to snack on but quickly realized that I am just not a fan of just eating them right out of the bag!

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