Carrot Cake Energy Balls

Ask me what my favorite cake is and I’ll immediately exclaim, “Carrot Cake!” This is my adult answer. My inner 10-year-old silently responds with “Funfetti Cake.” Not gonna lie, that pure white cake scattered with rainbow sprinkles makes me smile. But carrot cake? That’s just pure goodness. Or as Tom Haverford would say, “a big ole cookie.”

This is one excited face ready to devour a carrot cake:

I’ve made my own carrot cake once. It took a long time and I made a huge mess. Was it worth it? Yes. Would I do it again? Maybe for someone really freaking special. In the meantime, I’ll keep making a (much) healthier and quicker version.

Carrot Cake Energy Bites

adapted from Baking Serendipity

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 raw almonds, quartered (or chopped)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup milled flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

Preparation

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together oats, shredded carrots, almonds, raisins, flaxseed, and cinnamon.
2. Add almond butter and maple syrup and stir until evenly combined.
3. Place mixture in refrigerator for at least one hour.
4. Shape mixture into one-inch balls. Makes about 18-20.

This is the next best thing to carrot cake, I promise. Not only do you get a similar flavor from them, you get natural energy! Toss one back before a workout and you’re golden.

Toss two back and you might explode with happiness.

The Weekend of Baking and Running

Surprise, surprise! My weekend was full of two of my favorite hobbies. Hanging out in my kitchen and pounding the pavement are definitely high up on the list of things I love to do. You all know this. Judging by the amount of food I made this weekend, you’d think I was feeding an army. Judging by the amount of miles I ran this weekend, you’d think I was training for something.

Oh, wait. I am.

In the past 72 hours, I’ve made Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Crisps:

Carrot Cake Energy Balls:

Crispy Tofu in a Honey Basil Dressing:

And, drum roll, please…two Sriracha Cheddar Loaves:

Here’s the mini one:

It pairs extremely well with a bottle of Malbec and my best friend:

As much as I didn’t want to leave my oven’s side, I received some motivation to put my sneakers on. Sunday morning, my grandpa sent me this:

And Danielle (who completed her first half marathon on Saturday!!), sent me this:

So back to training it was, with a 5 miler on Friday:

And an 11-mile run on Sunday.

That was the farthest Amanda and I have ever run and it felt pretty darn good. Especially the inappropriate stretching outside of her apartment, haha.

We are so ready for our race in 2 weeks!

Now if this post doesn’t epitomize hungry meets healthy, then I don’t know what does!

Questions for you:

• Which of the aforementioned recipes would you like to see most? I’ll post it tomorrow!
• Half marathoners: While training, what was the farthest you ran the week before your race? Some people stop at 10, some people continue…talk to me.

Oh, Hey There.

I’m alive and well! Going over a week without posting has been, well… awesome. As rewarding as blogging is, it can be very tiring. Posting on a regular basis, coming up with material, and making sure readers are happy puts the pressure on us bloggers. Breaks are necessary!

But I’m back and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the past week (ish) since I lasted posted…

I celebrated my 28th birthday dinner with friends at O-Ku.

We enjoyed the most delicious carrot cake by Kinsey Sattane from The Indigo Road restaurant group.

I spent time with my very best friends…

…and the wonderful friends I’ve made in the past couple years. I can thank the blog for the connections I’ve made with these wonderful people.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the sunshine, despite the scorching hot temperatures (that I love!).

Happy Birthday America!

And of course, I’ve been eating pickles.

So glad to be back. What have YOU been up to?

The Friday Five–Birthday Style!

On Saturday I will be turning…older. You can just pick a number.

1. What I’m Reading: My grandparents sent me The Glamour of Grammar for my birthday. I love it!

Brief description: This widely praised practical guide demonstrates everything from the different parts of speech to why effective writers prefer concrete nouns and active verbs. Above all, Clark teaches readers how to master grammar to perfect their use of English, to instill meaning, and to charm through their writing. In a world where we communicate more and more through emails and text messages, how you use language matters--even in 140 characters.

2. What I’m Listening to: I guess this kind of makes sense for my birthday. Okay, not at all. Maybe? Regardless, I love the song.

3. What I’m Eating: Well obviously I’ll be inhaling this Carrot Cake that Kinsey’s making for Saturday. That’s actually her in this pic! : )

4.  Pic I’m Loving: This picture is from 25 years ago. It’s like an ancient artifact!

5. GIFs I’m Loving:

WHEN I REMEMBER THAT MY BIRTHDAY IS APPROACHING:

Related links:

• 27th birthday
• 27th birthday part I
• 27th birthday part II
• 26th birthday
• 25th birthday

New Bars from Gnu Foods, Workout Motivation

In June of 2010, I reviewed Gnu Foods Flavor & Fiber Bars. They recently offered to send me a package of their three new flavors. I was overjoyed when I found out what they were: Blueberry Cobbler, Carrot Cake, and Blondie. Those are three of my favorite dessert flavors! I was checking my mailbox daily.

Before I tell you about the new flavors, let’s talk about Gnu Foods Flavor & Fiber Bars. The bars contain 6 whole grains – grains that have not milled or processed, which strips them of the grain kernel that contains nutrients, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.  Each bar contains 12 grams of fiber and is 140 calories or less. All of the bars (aside of the Blondie flavor) are vegan. In addition to the new flavors above, the bars come in the following flavors: Banana Walnut, Chocolate Brownie, Cinnamon Raisin, Espresso Chip, Lemon Ginger, Orange Cranberry, and Peanut Butter. My two favorites are the Banana Walnut and Cinnamon Raisin. Each bar tastes exactly like what they’re named after, so rest assured, you’ll get what you want.

The first bar I tried was the Blueberry Cobbler.

As soon as I opened the wrapper, I could smell the blueberry juice. The bar also contains plums and raisins which give it a great texture and overall flavor.

The next day I tried the Carrot Cake. Yep, it sure did taste like Carrot Cake. The cinnamon and nutmeg flavors were strong, but not overwhelming.

Finally, I tried the Blondie. This one had the least amount of flavor, but was still really good. I have no complaints about a nutrition bar that tastes like a dessert!

Overall, I loved these bars just as I expected. The blueberry was my favorite and I’m excited for them to hit the shelves. In the past, I’ve enjoyed them on their own, or crumbled into oatmeal or Greek yogurt.

Gnu bars can be purchased online or in a store near you. For my Charleston friends, you can pick yours up at Whole Foods. They’re on one of the higher shelves that I can barely reach. :)

For more information, check out their

• website
• facebook page
• twitter

Have you tried these bars before? What did you think?

On a completely different note, the weather here in Charleston is incredible. I’m talking sunny and in the low 80s. Absolutely perfect. This is a slap in the face gentle reminder that Summer is right around the corner. In fact, on Sunday, I went to the pool with my friends Brandy and Lynn. The three of us got sunburns. That’s right, I said" “pool” and “sunburns” in MARCH.

With that said, enjoy some workout motivation as you prepare for bikini season!!

See you tomorrow!

Baking Carrot Cake Cookies in Gym Attire

Around 5 a.m. this morning, a nasty storm came through Mt. Pleasant. It was so loud that it woke me up and I thought the world was ending. No joke! It shook me up so much that I couldn’t go back to sleep. I must also mention that I didn’t fall asleep until about 1 a.m. So running on 4 hours of sleep, I decided to start working at home.

By the end of the day, I knew I should go to the gym, but I was exhausted. I know better than to go to the gym when I’m overtired. I end up doing a pathetic workout and feeling like crap rather than energized. Boo.

So I skipped and baked instead. This makes total sense, right? I decided to leave my gym clothes on and get in the kitchen!

The dough was so good, I didn’t really want to bake it. I just kept looking at it.

And then I ate some.

And some more. Even though it looks like I’m kissing the dough…

I present to you…

Carrot Cake Cookies!
adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: 18 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup raisins
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and cinnamon.
3. With a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another minute. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.  Carefully mix in the carrots, coconut, raisins and walnuts.
4. Spoon cookie dough onto a baking sheets. Baking for 15-18 minutes or until slightly browned.



These cookies are tender but full of texture from the carrots, coconut, raisins and walnuts. They taste very similar to carrot cake, but almost in soft muffin-cookie form. I used much less butter than the original recipe which made my cookies softer. If you’d like a crumbly cookie, use the original recipe. 

While I was baking, Santo sent me a message saying I needed to meet him later to pick up my birthday present. I love experimenting with new cookies and Santo is my go-to cookie taster! He is always honest and I’m glad to provide him with sugar. He’s such a great friend – it’s the least I can do!
Now my present from Santo…oh my goodness, another pickle present!
Not only do these say “Tickle my pickle” but they glow in the dark. Hahahaha.

I must admit, if I met a guy and he wore these, I’d be a tad bit concerned, wouldn’t you? However, rolled over 3 times and worn by me, they are pretty stinkin’ cute!

Ignore the rather large bruises. I am a clumsy mess.
Thanks Santo!! 

Basil and Babe-Hunting with Boding

Today I met my old roommate, Boding, for lunch at Basil downtown. I hadn’t been in so long and was seriously craving their Pad Thai. Neither of us even looked at the menu – we just automatically knew we both wanted their signature dish. Rice noodles stir-fried with chicken, shrimp, eggs, bean sprouts, scallions, peanuts and Pad Thai sauce. I also asked our server to bring out some of “whatever they use to make this dish spicy.” She knew what I meant.

After lunch we frolicked around King St. in the beautiful weather. Today was sunny and in the 70s – perfect for babe-hunting and shopping. I stopped into The Vault for the first time. They have a lot of pretty shirts and adorable Summer dresses. I tried on a few things while Boding played with my camera. What was behind this curtain? ME! haha.The lady that worked there was ridiculously friendly but kept bringing me those most hideous things to try on. Like this shirt…It looks like Mother Nature threw up on me.

Next, we went to Dumas for Boding. This store is really something. Really Southern. We found the most incredibly patterned bow ties. Among my favorites were shot guns, butterbeans, cotton, and okra. Who puts food on ties!? And can I get a man in a cookie tie?

I do love the South, but if I stay here much longer, I could end up with THIS MAN.Hopefully mine would have a head though.

Our last stop was a sweet fix at Godiva. Did yall know that if you sign up for the Rewards Club, you get a free piece of chocolate each month? We can thank Lucy for this vital information. I left with a Carrot Cake truffle and a Honey Almond truffle for later.

On the way home, I stopped by Eco and did 35 minutes of HIIT plus 25 minutes of arm/chest exercises. The guy who gave me unsolicited advice last week said “Hi gym rat!” and then spoke to me in Spanish. He is a character.

After the gym, I attacked the Carrot Cake truffle, but it wasn’t at all what I expected. Instead of a cakey center, it had a cream cheese and cake batter-like filling. It was good, but I wanted cake!

I can almost guarantee that I will be eating the honey almond truffle with my breakfast tomorrow.

Any suggestions on what/where to eat while in NYC? One of my top reasons for going is for a Levain Bakery cookie. Priorities, priorities.