Day 26 - A Run in the Dark & PB Bites

Breakfast: oatmeal pumpkin muffin
Snack: an orange & a mini cookies n creme cupcake --Thanks Steph, it was delicious!!
Lunch: shrimp salad with peppers, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, parmesan cheese, croutons & light ranch
Snack: homemade chewy granola energy bar, hummus & crackers
Dinner: sweet potato hash (recipe below) & a broiled garlic chicken tender
Snack: smoothie pop
Calories Consumed: 1434

Exercise: 2.5 mile run with Josie....in the dark!

Well... I finished my Wonder Woman costume today!! WOO HOO! It turned out pretty neat! I'm super excited to wear it. :)

Also, today was my day with Matthew (my step-son for those of you who don't know)!!  I went and picked him up and right away he said he was 3!! His birthday was yesterday & he turned 3. It was so cute! Then we went home and he seen his new bath toy (A ship from the show Jake the Pirate) and insisted that he needed a bath, so of course...the sweet step-mom that I am I said OK!! ;) I think it's the longest bath that he's taken. I even played with the alligator that squirts water out of its mouth for a little while. --I'm easily entertained! Then he wanted to try his batman costume on again (he tried it on last weekend) and wore that for a good part of the evening. OH, and lets not forget that he did not forget about his monster truck!! He HAD to play with that. We even took it outside for few minutes while I took Josie out. We weren't out there very long though cuz it's a bit chilly tonight. Anyhow... we had a grand ol' time as usual!

Soon as I dropped him off...I was craving another good run!! I think my runners high is back. I swear, running is addicting!! So it was definitely dark and a little after 8 and I went for a run!! ...Ok motherly people...don't worry!! I only ran in well lit areas!! I didn't run through the park, as much as I wanted to, I refrained!! I had my trusty guard dog with too!! haha although I had to giggle when leaves blowing on the sidewalk would spook her! HAHA I dressed much warmer today than I did yesterday, as it was also 10 degrees colder. I'm deciding now that I'd like to invest in a good running hat that has a hole in the back for a pony!! I'd like one of those!! My headband was just not quite warm enough. To sum it up... it was a great run!!!

Now without further ado... the recipe I promised I'd share today!!! dun dun dun..

{ Peanut Butter Bites }

Ingredients:

(gluten-free and sugar-free too!)

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp raisins
• 2 tbsp roasted, unsalted peanuts (I used chopped almonds)
• 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Throw everything into your food processor and combine until very smooth. Roll into balls, cookies, or bars!

Dough can be stored on the counter, in the fridge, or in the freezer. Let me warn you...these are rich & delicious, like pb cookie dough, & addicting!!

I'm all about adding the recipes lately, so I figured I might as well give you the sweet potato hash recipe too since it was so yummy!! 

{ Sweet Potato Hash }

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato, wash and dice into small cubes (1/4” square)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped sweet onion
1/2 chopped green pepper, coarsely chopped1/2 chopped yellow pepper
2 cloves of roasted garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh group pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions:
1. Bring large pot of water to a boil and add diced sweet potato. Boil for 5-8 minutes, until potato cubes are cooked through. Drain the water and set the sweet potato cubes aside to dry while you cook the pepper and onions.
2. Preheat a large cast iron skillet to medium heat. Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil onto the skillet and add the onion and peppers. Stir often and sauté until the onion becomes translucent.
3. Scrape the mixture onto a plate. Drizzle the skillet with oil again and add the potato cubes, onions, peppers, roasted garlic, salt, pepper, and seasoning, arranging them in a single layer. Continue cooking until the sweet potato, onion, and peppers have browned.

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So that was my Thursday in a nutshell!! Hope yours was all equally as great! So I'm so I'm gonna say, as Shaun T (the Insanity man) always says, PEACE OUT!