We had a busy, fun, summery day today!
I took my two littlest kiddos to swimming lessons bright and early this morning. I made myself a bowl of Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal and ate it on the drive there…
I love oatmeal (especially when it involves chocolate and PB!) because it’s quick and easy to make, very portable and keeps me full for hours! LOVE.
I also enjoyed watching my cuties swim today. I was surprised to see both of them jump off the diving board!
I was such a wuss as a kid and was scared to death to jump off the diving board (and I was a lot older than these two!) My mom had to bribe me to jump and I had serious anxiety about it.
I don’t know where these two kids came from because they were actually HAPPY and EXCITED to jump! Really!?? I think it’s pretty awesome…and a little bit scary.
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Later on, I decided to take the kids on a walk to McDonalds. I’m always looking for ways to squeeze a little bit of exercise in and I love to involve the kids. However, they don’t seem to value exercise just for the sake of exercise, so I always try to make it into some kind of adventure.
McDonalds seemed to be just the ticket and they were happy to go on my little adventure. I also wanted to “seize the day” because the weather was right around 80 degrees and it’s supposed to get into the 90s the next few days. I know it will only get hotter as the summer progresses too.
My cute 6 year old fell fast asleep in about 2 seconds flat…
I think the early swimming lessons might have had something to do with it. 😉
When we finally arrived at McDonalds, we had a nice pre-dinner (it was about 4:00) and everyone enjoyed resting for a bit after our walk.
I don’t know why my 6 year old looks like he’s having a stroke in this pic!?? I assure you, he was fine. 😉
My oldest son even brought one of his cute friends with us…
My son also didn’t want to stop to pose for my picture. Stinker.
I ordered myself the Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad and it was yummy…
I also snagged several fries from the kids. I’m sorry to say, but McDonalds fries are really, really good….dang it.
The kids weren’t quite as excited about the walk home. It was all uphill too…
My oldest son and his friend rode their bikes, so they were WAY ahead of us!
Overall, we had a fun little adventure and walked about 3 1/2 miles total. However, my daughter started to complain about being hot and tired on the way home.
Soooo, I decided to take the opportunity to talk to my kids about the value of exercise (I’m sure they appreciated it, lol!)
I told them that first of all, it’s fun because we get to spend time together, enjoying nature and having great conversations.
I also told them that one of the things I LOVE about exercise is the mental strength that is learned from it. I told them that when you feel tired, worn out and that you can’t go any further, to stop and tell yourself…”Yes, I can!”
If you keep pushing yourself, even when you don’t think you can go any further/harder, your body (and mind!) will adapt and become stronger. The mind gives up WAY before the body does. Our bodies are meant to be worked and utilized.
I also told the kids that a lot of people don’t like to exercise because it’s hard and takes a lot of effort! However, I find a lot of joy in pushing myself, working my body and becoming stronger.
I really miss going on runs and going to my old (crazy intense!) classes at the gym. However, I know there is a time and season for everything, so for now I’m enjoying long walks and strength training. It’s great.
Okay, I’ll be quiet now. That’s the end of my “little speech” for the day, lol.
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I also thought I would share my recipe for “Healthier No-Bake Cookies” with y’all. I’ve always loved No-Bake Cookies. They’re quick and easy to make and so so good!! They also involve peanut butter and chocolate, which is always a plus!
However, the typical recipe calls for a bunch of butter AND sugar. I decided to experiment a bit to see if I could come up with a healthier version.
I’m happy to say it turned out pretty dang good and they definitely satisfy the sweet tooth in a much healthier way! They also pack some protein too!
(makes about 27 cookies)
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup Sucanat (you could also sub brown sugar too)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- pinch salt
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (~ 1/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
I forgot to put my Sucanat in the picture, but this is the kind I used…
Instructions:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the honey, sucanat, coconut oil, milk and cocoa. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
Combine salt, protein powder and oats in separate bowl.
Mix everything together!
Mix well and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto wax paper (I pushed them down a little bit with the back of the spoon.)
Allow cookies to cool. Enjoy!
After these cool, I love to store them in a large Ziploc bag in the freezer. Then, when a sugar craving hits, I throw one or two in the microwave for a bit and eat ’em up. Yum!
- Serves: 25
- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 96
- Fat: 5.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Sugar: 4.5 g
- Sodium: 31 mg
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 2 mg
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup Sucanat (optional)…you could also sub brown sugar too!
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
- ¼ cup cocoa
- pinch salt
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (~ ⅓ cup)
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the honey, sucanat, coconut oil, milk and cocoa.
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
- Combine salt, protein powder and oats in separate bowl.
- Mix everything together!
- Mix well and drop by rounded spoonfuls onto wax paper (I pushed them down a little bit with the back of the spoon.)
- Allow cookies to cool. Enjoy!
Those cookies look delicious!! I love chocolate and peanut butter and I LOVE that you didn’t use banana. I am just so over all the no bake banana cookies that are everywhere on the internet. I know they are healthy, but I mean, banana makes everything taste like banana, no matter what you add to it. Yuck! lol! Anyways, they look delicious and healthy!
I totally agree with you about the banana! I’ve seen so many banana cookie recipes out there and I agree, they all taste like BANANA!
I like the photos taken at the pool the boys are very cute.
Awww, thanks so much! We’ve been lovin’ summer!
You’ll be back to that tough class in no time! I love pushing my body, too. Feeling sore or being super sweaty is the best!!! Definitely making those cookies asap! TGIF
I can’t wait until I can work out like I used to! It’s so funny how feeling sore and being sweaty can be so rewarding!
I adore NO BAKE recipes!!!!! 🙂 Screw the oven… Especially during the warmer months!! I don’t need my house feeling like a sauna, thanks! ha ha.
Amen sista!
I love the pictures of your beautiful children.
You should be a fitness motivational speaker!
Thanks so much Deborah! I love health and fitness (obviously), but I think my kids think I talk about it WAY too much, lol!
I LOVE the background mountains of your walk photos!! GORGEOUS. Equally gorgeous are these cookies,….YUM!
Thanks! I really love the mountains so much!!
Love that y’all turn a trip to McDonalds into exercise – I’m pretty sure I could justify a few more fries that way!! I love the scenery y’all have!!
The walk actually made it fun and I loved it! McDonalds fries are some of my favorites, dang it.
Wonderful lesson for your kids about being mentally strong. These are things kids take with them into adulthood.
Thanks so much….now let’s just see if they remember anything I “teach” them, lol!
The cookies look delicious (and super easy to make)! 🙂
Thanks! They are so yummy!
Those cookies look so yummy! I’ve been curious about sucanat for awhile….what exactly IS it? Is it sugar? What is it derived from? Sorry for all the questions….
Sucanat is sugar, but it’s very minimally processed. It’s pretty much just dried sugar cane juice. It tastes a lot like brown sugar because it keeps it’s molasses content. Since it’s still sugar, I don’t consider it “healthy,” but I think it’s a better alternative to refined sugar for sure!