Coming at ya with a recipe AND a workout this morning. It’s a two-for-one! Both were amazing and I just had to share. Plus food and fitness are two of my most favorite things. I could read about and talk about both for hours, but most of my family and co-workers don’t share the same enthusiasm for health topics as I me. So I just post it out here and hope someone else will find it useful :)

First, the BITES!

I’ve made and posted some clean energy recipes here a time or two…

These types of recipes are SO easy, so versatile, so convenient to have on hand and so much better than a similar processed packaged snack! One batch easily makes enough for a few weeks, especially when you keep them in the fridge or freezer. I’m all for these portion-controlled clean snacks before or after a workout :)

This recipe is 4 ingredients, unless you prefer to leave out the chocolate chips which aren’t considered “clean.”

Clean Blueberry Almond Energy Bites:

• 1.5 cups raw almonds
• 25 pitted medjool dates
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate mini chocolate chips

1.) In a food processor, pulse the raw almonds until it is a coarse chopped texture.

2.) Add the dates to the almonds in the food processor and pulse until they are well-combined.

3.) Add in blueberries and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips until the mixture is a soft, dough-y texture.

4.) Transfer the mix into a larger bowl, stir in the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

5.) Form into 1-inch balls; place the bites on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.

6.) Store in a ziplock bag or airtight container in the fridge.

These little guys are like a fruity cookie dough. Without the whole salmonella thing. They’re also very similar in texture and taste to Larabars. I don’t know what I’d do without a food processor <3

Part II: Body-Weight Strength Circuit

This post is a little hodge-podge. Switching gears….

My weekly workout schedule is pretty cardio-heavy (increasingly so, as I’ve begun training for marathon #2). So I make my way into the weight room and strength machines at the gym at least at least two times per week. Last night, the place was PACKED and I didn’t feel like waiting in line for equipment. So I found a little corner, wrote out 8 exercises on a post-it, and completed a 25-minute body-weight strength circuit that focused on CORE (glutes, low back, obliques and abs). I kept the post-it because I definitely plan to repeat it. I was sweating half-way through, and I think I’ll be a little sore tomorrow (which my fellow gym-rats will understand is the best kind of pain).

And since this post is already a complete hodgepodge, why not add one more music video of another running playlist favorite :) Hope your September is off to a fantastic start!

XOXO