Healthy Peanut Butter Balls

I don't know about you, but I have a serious sweet tooth! Sometimes its hard for me to say no to all of the cookies and candies that seem to be lurking everywhere this time of the year! I decided that I would try to "clean up" Peanut Butter Balls, my favorite holiday treat, so that I could enjoy them guilt free this holiday season. I think that they came out great, and my taste testers agree. I hope you'll make your own batch, see my recipe below!

Healthy Peanut Butter Balls

• 1/2 cup PB2
• 1 scoop vanilla Shakeology (a vanilla protein powder would also work)
• 2 tbs Smucker's Natural Cream Peanut Butter
• 1 tbs Natural Honey
• 3 tbs Coconut Oil
• 2 tbs Chocolate Chips

Nutrient-rich ingredients make these peanut butter balls not only "not bad"
for you, but actually quite healthy for you. An excuse to eat candy? Sign me up!

Process

• Combine PB2, Shakeology/protein powder, natural peanut butter, honey and 2 TBS of
  
  the coconut oil (heated to liquid) in a bowl
• Form small balls (about 1 inch in diameter, recipe should make 10 balls) with the mixture and place them on parchment paper. When finished, put them in the fridge 
• Meanwhile, combine remaining 1 TBS of coconut oil with chocolate chips in a microwave safe container and microwave 2-3 minutes (taking it out and stirring every minute)
• Once you have heated up and combined the chocolate mixture you can remove your peanut butter balls from the fridge to coat them
• One at a time, insert a toothpick into each ball to pick them up and place them in the chocolate to coat, then place them back on the parchment paper 
  
• Once they are all coated put them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes (you may have to repeat the coating step once more after the first layer has hardened, I did and had plenty of the chocolate mixture left to do so)
• Once the chocolate has hardened store in the fridge, or enjoy right away!

Nutrition (per one ball)

108 Calories

10g Carbohydrates

 6g  Protein

 6g  Fat

Happy Holidays!

Happy, Healthy & Here to Help

My ambition in my high school yearbook was pretty straight forward. Three simple words- to be happy. Simple words, yes, but not always a simple achievement. Happiness looks different for everyone. To me, being happy and being active have always gone hand in hand. My lowest times have been my most sedentary times. In high school inactivity was never a problem for me. I played on the soccer and softball teams and spent a lot of my free time at the gym or going for runs. Then I graduated.

What do they say, freshman fifteen? Not for this girl! Quadruple that. Yep, you read that right. In only a year’s time I gained sixty pounds. My clothes didn’t fit, I felt horrible about myself and exercising hardly even interested me anymore. I was in complete denial until one day I stepped on a scale. When I looked down and saw the number 190 staring back at me something clicked. I was not willing to find out what 200 pounds felt like, so I dusted off my sneakers and hit the pavement. The first couple of runs were tough but before long I got myself back into running regularly and started to feel like myself again. Happy.

In the six years since that not-so-fabulous time in my life I have continued my on-again, off-again relationship with fitness. But we’re never “off” for very long. When I feel myself slipping back toward that place I was at in 2008 I am always quick to get back on the exercise wagon. In 2013 I came to the realization that fitness isn't just a hobby for me, it's a passion. It's the key to my happiness, my sanity.

I decided then that I needed to do something more. If health and fitness are so important to me shouldn't I share that with the rest of the world? If being healthy and active is my recipe for happiness maybe that's true for others as well.

October 2014

On November 14th I earned my personal training certification and am eager to help other people fall in love with fitness like I have. So, if you struggle to stick to a routine or you're overwhelmed and don't know where to begin your fitness journey.. I have walked in your shoes and I want to help you get healthy, be happy and reach your goals.