Power Up!

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you, I'm seriously about to burst. We're talking Energy Balls, friends--and darn good ones at that.

These little treats may be smaller than a golfball, but they sure pack a powerful punch. Forget your Lara Bars. Toss that granola out the window. Today's recipe will give new meaning to your mid-morning snack.

I discovered these little gems on Kat's blog--a mere week after I tested (and devoured) her Peanut Butter Cups. I call 'em Energy Balls because they're the perfect post-workout fuel and they definitely give you the energy needed to power through work until your lunch break.

Best of all, with only 1 tablespoon of honey, they're short on added sugar. Yet, miraculously, they also satiate my sweet tooth. Bonus points!

Enough talk. You need some energy, and I've got just the solution...

Energy Balls

(recipe adapted from Kat's at Keep n' the Faith)

These bite-size energy treats will give you just the pre- or post-workout fuel you need. They also serve as the perfect after-work snack...or crumbled on top of banana soft serve.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted (unsalted)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/3 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 - 3 TBSP ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup almond or peanut butter (I actually used 1/4 cup almond butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter)
• 1 TBSP honey
• splash of vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Add more dry or wet ingredients if needed to reach your desired consistency. Roll into balls and eat up :)

The Savory-to-Sweet Switch

Converting a savory food to a sweeter variation is something my brain has a hard time with.

For example, onions have no place in a dessert.

Marshmallows do not belong in a dinner salad.

And for heavens' sake, please keep the chocolate off my pizza.

For these reasons, among many others, I was skeptical of dessert hummus. You want me to add sugar to my....beans?

Friends, after making a batch of dessert hummus earlier this week, I now recognize myself as its #1 fan. Seriously. I gobbled up a bowl-ful of this sweet, beany dip with a sliced apple and a bowl of banana soft serve for my Thursday night dinner. It was truly like eating dessert for dinner.

The creator of dessert hummus--Evan Thomas--suggests using it as a dip for graham crackers, fruit, animal crackers, or a sandwich spread.

Or, you can simply eat it by the spoon-ful (which I may or may not have been doing at my desk at work this week. What can I say? This girl needs bean-powered fuel to get through the day).

I'm now a savory-to-sweet believer. Just don't ask me to pour hot fudge on my garlic bread.

Cinnamon Dessert Hummus

(recipe adapted from The Wannabe Chef)

The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup pure maple syrup. I eliminated most of this because, well, I did make my dessert hummus for dinner. But by all means, if you don't mind the sweetness and you're looking for a truly desssert-y dip, go all out with the maple syrup!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butter beans
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• a drizzle of pure maple syrup (the recipe called for 1/4 cup, but I used far less)
• 1 - 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• For dipping: apple slices, banana soft serve, graham crackers, and a big ol' hungry spoon

Directions:

Process ingredients in a food processor until desired taste and consistency have been reached. Go crazy with your dipping items :)

Soft Serve Surprise

The picture below features my breakfast from this morning. What does it look like to you?

Soft serve chocolate ice cream with a little dollop of peanut butter? Or perhaps chocolate pudding with nut butter garnish? A chocolate smoothie in a bowl?

Mmmmmmm....tasty.

Would you believe that little glass dish contains only three ingredients: Banana, unsweetened cocoa powder, and all-natural roasted peanut butter (only one ingredient in the peanut butter: roasted peanuts!).

I know. It's amazing, isn't it? I first read about "Banana Soft Serve" in the blog world this summer. Everyone raved about the wondrous mystery of placing frozen banana chunks in a food processor, whirring for a minute or two, and opening the lid to find what appeared to be soft serve ice cream.

I was skeptical at first. I mean, come on: Don't frozen bananas thrown into a food processor simply produce...food-processed bananas?

A few weeks ago I put my curiosities to rest and set out to experiment with this recipe. One frozen banana and 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder went into the processor and, lo and behold! Banana soft serve came out. Garnish with a dollop of roasted nut butter and we're in business.

This delicious dish has served as my dessert many evenings since I discovered it, but, as evidenced this morning, it makes a great breakfast treat, or after-work snack as well. If you're feeling especially decadent, throw in your favorite DQ Blizzard mix-ins--chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, etc. (although, if I'm in the mood for those types of treats, I'd rather just bake a real dessert, you know?)

At any rate, I'm now a Banana Soft Serve Believer. I'm on the bandwagon. It's never felt so good to follow the crowd.

Banana Soft Serve

(recipe from food bloggers everywhere)

This treat is wonderful as a snack, breakfast side, or for dessert when you need a break from all the holiday treats that will soon surround you.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana, cut into chunks and frozen solid
• 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
• Optional: a little nut butter for garnish

Directions:

Place frozen banana chunks in a food processor. Process for at least a minute, whirring until it appears whipped and takes on the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Add in cocoa powder and process until just combined. Enjoy with a dollop of nut butter if you so choose :)

Breakfast of Champions

(That's right. You and your breakfast-eatin' self are champions. Visualize yourself running to the top of those famous steps in Philly and pumping your arms above your head with shameless pride.)

I absolutely love breakfast. I'm also a ridiculously predictable and structured person (think: opposite of spontaneous). As such, my weekday breakfasts are always the same (Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal) and my weekend breakfasts are consistently a variation on a theme (some sort of fruit-and-nut-filled pancake or waffle).

*Enter Rocky theme music*

Today, however, I busted out of the predictable box and went wild.

Loaded Vanilla-Almond Oatmeal. mmmmmmmm...

And I'm not talking about a wimpy packet of just-add-water "oatmeal." I'm talking OATS!

My new weekday breakfast (which strangely debuted on a Saturday morning) is a bowl of chunky, filling, and oh-so-healthy loaded oatmeal. Inspired by other food bloggers who tout their love of morning oats, I decided there's no better time to try a new breakfast than during my 5K training period (which will finally come to an end on September 17!).

So, this morning's recipe is simple, quick, and will definitely get your day off to a healthy start.

Some common oatmeal add-ins include:

• Milk (regular, soy, or almond) as the liquid
• Nut butters (of course!)
• Chopped, toasted nuts
• Ground flaxseed
• Fresh fruit (bananas, peaches, strawberries, or bluberries)
• Dried fruit
• Honey or maple syrup
• Cinnamon, vanilla, other seasonings of choice

Enough talk. Let's get to work on your breakfast of champions.

Loaded Vanilla-Almond Oatmeal

(Inspired by fellow food bloggers!)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (use less milk if you like thicker oatmeal)
• 4 small strawberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1 TBSP almond butter (my favorite is pictured on the right)
• 1 tsp. flaxseed
• sprinkling of cinnamon
• dash of vanilla

Directions:

1) Combine oats and milk in a bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes.

2) Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

3) You're a champion :)