Easy Crispy Energy Bites

I hope everyone is having a beautiful Friday, hopefully staying warm! I know my weak, Florida-born self is struggling in this 40-degree weather, which may seem like a nice break to everyone up north. So, I wanted to share this with those of you who aren’t on Instagram or Facebook and may not have seen this yet: I’m doing my first ever The Blissful Balance Giveaway! It’s smaller compared to some, but it’s full of little knick knacks that I love, and want to share with my readers and followers. It contains 4 KIND Snacks Granola Bars, TAZO Zen Green Tea, bubba big straws (so big and bendy, perfect for smoothies!!), eos vanilla mint lip balm, Archer Farms donut shop ground coffee, and 2 packs of Justin’s organic dark chocolate peanut butter cups! Here’s how you can win:

1. Head to The Blissful Balance Facebook page, click the “More” tab under the “sign up” button. Click “Giveaway”. Fill out the information and you’re done! OR…
2. Head to original The Blissful Balance Giveaway Instagram post, repost the photo and include the following in your caption: one reason why you love yourself, the hashtag “#tbbgiveaway”, and tag @theblissfulbalance! 3. Do so by February 24!!! :)

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Moving on to a couple updates… I haven’t checked in with what’s going on with my life in a little bit, so here’s what’s going on, what I’m loving, and what I’m loathing.

Gasparilla Distance Classic 2015! I’ve lived in Tampa since 2000, (minus moving away for college) and have yet to ever run the famous Gasparilla Distance race! Finally, my mom and I are giving the 8k a try this weekend. I’ve been so excited since I signed up a month ago. Today I visited the fitness expo in downtown Tampa and it was overwhelmingly impressive. Music was bumping, hundreds of people were scurrying around getting their bibs, t-shirts, shopping for new fitness gear. The last time I went to such a big expo was in 2011 at the Disney Princess Half Marathon, which, ironically, is the same weekend as Gasparilla. I picked up a few goodies at the expo, one goodie in particular was a pair of New Balance sport compression sleeves for my right shin. Which leads me to what I’m currently loathing…

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Shin splints. I had such a great week of running last week. I got in a little over 20 miles for the week (I am slowly increasing because I know from experience that increasing too quickly can result in injury), and ended the week with a great, long(er) run on Saturday. Monday rolls around, and I can’t run more than three miles because it felt like someone had lit a fire on my right tibialis anterior and I just could not run through it any longer. I took the next day off and tried again on Wednesday…same thing. So I’ve stayed off of it, excessively foam rolling and stretching everyday and it’s only gotten worse. I did some research, and found this podcast and list of references to be insanely helpful! If you suffer from shin splints, as well, I recommend you check it out! Enough of me complaining.

Lent. Every season of Lent, I usually try to give up something that is a real challenge for me, and this year I continued that tradition, with a little added leg room. I decided to restrict myself to eating dessert only on Fridays and Saturdays. Now before you roll your eyes, I know this sounds soft, but it really is a challenge for me. I consider myself to be someone who has sweet TEETH. Not just one. Just about every night after dinner I have a desire to eat something sweet that feels as though it MUST be quenched or else I won’t survive. At times, I may eat a little too much dessert after I’ve eaten a little too much dinner. I realize this is unhealthy and not the ‘balance’ that I so often promote, so I want to do something about it. After forgoing dessert the last couple nights, I already notice a difference in the way I feel. NOTE: this has nothing to do with weight loss or the way I LOOK, but about the way I FEEL.

New favorite snack. I’ve always loved Greek yogurt, but I’ve definitely been eating it a lot more lately. I love the combination of Chobani 0% fat Vanilla and KIND Snacks granola, with a sprinkle of chia seeds. This instance, I combined those three with chopped strawberries and banana. If you’re like me and love your sweets, this is a good way to satisfy that craving without sacrificing health.
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Sweet & Crunchy 5-Ingredient Energy Bites. Here I go again with the sweetness. I shared the recipe for these on my Instagram the other day, but wanted to share it here, as well. These came out SO good and were extremely easy to make. The title says it all: sweetness from the dates and agave with the crunchiness from the peanut butter and granola! Perfect combination.
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fitlife foods New Menu. I recently tried fitlife foods for the first time and absolutely loved it. They invited me in to try an item off of their menu, so I decided to try a crowd favorite that they brought back: the Tuscan Chicken. It has all-natural herb grilled chicken breast with fresh broccolini, and a roasted tomato pesto. The chicken was so juicy and tender, and the broccolini was perfectly cooked. Such a good option for a weeknight meal or after a workout! I popped into the SoHo location and the staff was just as friendly and welcoming as the last time. Check them out here!
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I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend and takes advantage of the time off! If you’re racing this weekend I would love to hear about it in the comment section :)

Stay hungry,
CV

 

 

Comments

  1. Janelle says

    Hi Christina – I know this is an old recipe but I just came across it now! I was curious what the measurements are for the granola and the agave? Sorry if I missed it in the post!

    Thanks!

    • says

      Hi Janelle! Sorry about that! Clearly I’ve gotten a bit better at recipe writing – ha! I would start with 1/4 cup agave and if the mixture isn’t sticking, add it by the tablespoon until you’ve reached your desired texture. I’m going to revamp this post soon and have a more updated recipe. Thanks for checking in, I hope you enjoy!

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