Hannah: No Bake Carob Fudge

On my way home from work this afternoon, I started having a toothache. A sweet toothache. It took every bit of self control to keep my steering wheel from turning into every gas station and grocery store I passed by. I wish I could say I was one of those people who just didn't care for sweets. But I'd be lying if I said so. I have the worst sweet tooth. I love it all: cakes, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, toffee, caramels, hard candies, chewy candies, sweet, sour, chocolate, candy bars, fudge.... oh my gosh. I used to weigh 200 pounds. Surprised? haha I feel like a terrible health motivator right now.
Anyway, I came home and the first thing I said to my mom was, "I need something sweet." Thank goodness I just became lactose intolerant again because she mentioned ice cream in the freezer and I about devoured it before I remembered. In fact, recently becoming lactose intolerant has been all but a blessing until now. Maybe this will keep me from my guilty indulgences.
My mom told me about a really quick and easy sweet treat that she makes from time to time that is also made up of healthy ingredients. I figured I'd try it and oh my gosh. I'm so glad I documented the process because I can't wait to share it. It satisfied my sweet tooth and took me 10 minutes (which included clean up and taking photos). It is lactose free, gluten free, and guilt free.
You can get fancy with the ingredients if you'd like. My mom just made some after me and she added extra things but I wanted something that had as little ingredients as possible, and took as little time as possible.

You will need:

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of honey

1 cup of carob powder

and... oh wait, yeah that's all you need.

Trust me, there is nothing fancy about this recipe. Throw it in a mixer and combine all three ingredients. I used the paddle attachment for my standing mixer.

If it looks like this, you're doing it right. I don't know how long I mixed it for... I just waited until it looked completely homogeneous.
Once you're done with this step it's ready for consumption!
I decided to take this concoction one step further and I rolled them into little balls to monitor my eating otherwise I'd eat this all in one sitting. That's not very guilt-free, my friends. I rolled them in tiny balls, about one inch in diameter, and rolled them in coconut. You could also roll them in chia seeds, flax seeds, or anything else healthy and creative.
Just two of these little balls satisfied my craving oh so much, and I have a lot to keep in the fridge just in case another emergency craving hits...... I should probably keep some at work....








This is definitely a good recipe to keep on hand. I might even bring it to some gatherings, but they do get a little soft and the balls lose their shape if you leave them out of the fridge too long so be aware. The nice thing about this combination is even though you are adding a ton of peanut butter and honey, it doesn't get sticky on your hands because the carob powder coats everything.
Yum Yum! Enjoy!

Amanda: A Breakfast Recipe

So, the past couple of weeks have... well... kind of sucked. I've been indulging way too much, and with the stress of having two pets go through surgery and working 13 hours a day as a volunteer during my only days off.. I've really been slacking off at the gym. The one thing I haven't given up on is preparing my meals! Realistically I just don't have the money to NOT do it. However, I'm done making excuses at this point, and need to get my ass back in gear and in the gym! There's no excuse for slackery, but it is good to know that even when I'm not on my A game I can fall back on good nutrition.

Here's something I have heated up and eaten in the car on the way to work or to the gym, several times in the last month. It's super easy and versatile, you could use just about anything in here.

Muffin-tin Mini-quiches! or something. Just throw eggs and shit in a muffin tin dude, no judgement here.

Amanda: Meal Preparation

Preparing meals in advance is by far the hardest yet most rewarding thing that I can do when it comes to my health and fitness goals. Having meals prepared, in the fridge, ready to go when I roll out of bed grumpy as hell can change my whole day.

If I wake up half-dead and grab some egg white muffins with feta, spinach and mushrooms I can inhale those as I stumble into my sneakers and take my vitamins. Then I can throw my lunch & snacks into my lunchbox, feed the dogs and get in the car before I know what the hell I'm doing. Really weird to go to the gym in pajamas though...

However, if I have to cook breakfast that morning that means I have to dirty up some dishes and then throw together lunch and snacks (that means more dirty dishes which I need to wash) and less time to get ready for the day. Inevitably I wind up glancing at the clock with just enough time to skip the gym and get to work bitchy and on time. The amount of bitchy that I am has a direct correlation to whether or not I will be forced into grabbing something crappy and over-priced from the cafeteria at work.

Sometimes I'll try to forego packing a lunch completely, if I don't have food prepared I have been known to run out of the house with a couple of apples, and have attempted to sustain myself on black coffee and fructose alone. Not smart, I know!

So here are the basics of how I prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for myself for an entire week. It might not be the best system but hey, it works for me, and I'd love to hear suggestions on what works for you!