Staying Away from Sugar + a Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Energy Ball recipe! (2024)

Hey! Well, I’ve been stickin’ to my “Healthy Plan” for about a month now. Woot! I’m so glad I’m doing it and I know I’ll see it through to the end! I’m 4 weeks down with 7 1/2 weeks left to go!

I still haven’t lost much weight and it’s quite discouraging. My body just feels a little “off” lately and I know I just have to be patient. That’s why I’m so glad I’m doing this healthy plan until Thanksgiving. I’ve learned that sometimes my body can just be jacked, hormonal or both and it really helps to stick with somethingfor an extended period of time.

NOW…..if by Thanksgiving I’m still lookin’ the same and the scale hasn’t budged, THEN I’ll be ticked and will have to get creative.

Even though I haven’t lost much weight on the scale, I have noticed a few changes in my body. There are several things in my closet that I’m noticing fit me better now! That makes me very happy. It’s subtle, but also very significant to me. I can also tell that I’ve gained some muscle.

I’m just frustrated that I’ve felt so poofy and fluffy lately. I’d like to believe that I’m still losing fat and in a few weeks, my hormones will reset, my body will chill and I’ll see some significant results. I’ll of course, let y’all know!

Well, I’m happy to say that I haven’t had ANY mega sugary treats the past month. That has been my number #1 goal because sugar always derails my healthy goals quicker than anything else! I’m certainly still eating foods that contain sugar, but I’m just staying away from the dessert type things and obvious bad forms of sugar. It’s been great and has seriously helpedmy appetite and cravings to chill. I’ve still had a few mega cravings here and there, but it’s usually when I’m hungry. If I just eat a decent meal/snack, the cravings always go away.

Really, the number one thing that helps me to stick to my guns is my mental state! I just try to be mindful of what I’m eating, acknowledge my cravings and weak moments and take it a day at a time. Simple as that. AND, it really seems like each day that goes by, my motivation, persistence and determination increase.

I won’t quit.

I’ve been at several social and family gatherings this past month where plenty of incredible looking treats have been present. I also attended THREE get-togethers in which I was asked to bring the dessert! Auuughh! But again, it’s been all about the mental state. I just know I’m not going to eat itright now and that is that.

I did snap a few pictures that I want to share so y’all can feel my pain. 🙂

I was asked to bring dessert to a family dinner a few weeks ago. It was right around my son and my parent’s birthdays, so I decided to make some cakes.

Oh guys! These cakes looked so good to me and it was tortuous to make them, but it was also fun to make them too! The chocolate one wasa marble cake with chocolate chips topped with chocolate frosting and a little buttercream frosting. The white cake was achocolate cake with vanilla frosting and a little buttercream frosting too. Holy YUM!

These types of cakes are seriously some of my all-time favorite treats!

At thatsame get together, my mom pulled out a box of chocolates from my very favorite chocolate store and passed them around (that’s a two layer box too!)

GUYS! Those chocolates are tradition and my mom has pretty much bought my dad a box of them for his birthday every single year for as long as I can remember. Of course, he always shares with all of us!

Do you see that chocolate coconut one on the bottom (it’s a Haystack.) Ya, that’s my fav. I’m also a sucker for the caramels and pretty much every single chocolatein that box!!!

Kev also brought these home from work the other day…

Yes, he had a very sweet client give them to him. Those chocolates were a couple layers deep too! AND, they sat on my counter calling my name for a couple days. Thank goodness I have 6 kids, so they polished them off fairly quickly!

I also went to a little church social last weekend with Kev. We had a wonderful potluck dinner and several of our neighbors brought incredible looking homemade desserts!

Oh man. Homemade desserts are my favorite too!! I didn’t have any. 🙁

I also went out to dinner a couple of weeks ago with my mom, daughter and niece.

We went to Kneaders and if any of you guys have been to Kneaders, YOU KNOW about their incredible desserts!

Seriously though!! That picture doesn’t even include all of the desserts they have. I think I would have chosen that amazinglooking cupcake thing on the far left. Oh wow! Oh and my mom, daughter and niece all got dessert and it looked dang good.

My kids all begged me to make chocolate chip cookies last Sunday, so I did. There’s something about Sunday night and making treats that I love so much. Even though I didn’t have any cookies, I still enjoyed making them and watching my family enjoy them!

I didn’t feel deprived either; I felt strong and determined.

One of the many reasons I love doing crazy challenges like this is that it really teaches me to have self discipline and willpower. I always remind myself that I WILLhave all of my favorite treats again one day, but I’m just staying away from them for now. It’s nice to exercise thatwillpower muscle and realize that I AM in charge of what I eat, I AM in charge of the quality of food I put in my mouth and I AM mostly in charge of my overall health!

I haven’t been eating 100% perfectly healthy and I’ve definitely allowed myself plenty of carbs and a few crappy food items (chips, fries, crackers) from time to time, but it really is so helpful for me to just cut out all of the sugarycrap. When I cut the sugar, I just eat much better in general.

Ya know, I try to keep my sugary indulgences in check all the time, but there are a lot of times when I just suck at it too. That’s usually when I come up with a healthy challenge! It really is a life long learning thing…I’m just constantly trying to find that balance that allows me to enjoy good health and a fit, active body AND also enjoy life a bit too.

One thing that has definitely helped me stick to my guns is to have the occasional healthy treat once in a while. There are just times when I really want something a little sweet.

I have several healthy treat recipes listed in the recipe section of my blog, but protein balls are some of my favorites! My cute little 6 year old actually begs me to make them all the time. He loves them! All my kids love them.

Anyway, I really love the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip ones so much, but I decided to experiment with them a bit and make them a little more filling and with more substance.

I love how they turned out and I decided to call them Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Energy Balls!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Energy Balls
(makes 26 balls)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I’m sure you could use other flavors if you like!)
• 2 Tablespoons ground flax seed
• 2 Tablespoons chia seed
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa
• 1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. You can use your hands to mix it up. It really helps!

Roll into 26 balls.

Refrigerate or freeze to firm them up! I like to freeze them for about 1/2 hour on a plate and then transfer them to a large Ziploc bag or plastic container.

These are seriously so good! I like to take one or two out of the freezer and nuke them in the microwave for about 20 seconds before I eat them. Sooooo good!

I also want to mention that I’ve experimented with this recipe a bit. I subbed oat bran for the oatmeal once and it turned out okay. I didn’t like it quite as well (it make it a little too dense), but they were still good. I also tried making themwith less honey; I used only 1/4 cup. Theystill turned out good, but the balls were a little more crumbly and not quite as sweet. They were still good though!

I’ve been very grateful to have these in my freezer when a sweet craving hits. I’ve been having them about 2-3 times a week. I am also happy that my kids enjoy them as well. They are definitely more filling than your average sugary treat and pack a lot more nutrition!

Well, I think that’s all I have to say today. I do want to share a couple of fun pictures…

Over the weekend, we had a mini reunion with some of the kids/leaders that went on that Humanitarian Trip to Fiji with Kev and my oldest son in July. It was so fun to meet a lot of them and everyone had such a great time getting together again!

This was only about half of the group that went. Such an incredible group of people!! <3 <3 <3

Also, my darling nephew got home from a TWO YEAR church mission to Scotland/Ireland on Saturday! It was so great to see him. He looked so so so so good and it was so fun to hear about all of his experiences!

We snapped this picture up at my parent’s house on Sunday. He’s the one in the navy and white t-shirt. He is such a doll! His dad (my bro) is standing to right of him and couldn’t be happier to have him home! I love my family!!

Well I really think that’s all I have to say today! I hope each and every one of you are doing well and are healthy and happy! <3

You May Also Like...

• Real Life Stuff + The Power of Momentum
• Christmas Craziness + a Whole Ton of Healthy, Easy Meal Ideas!
• Reevaluating my Goals + Starting another Challenge!
• Craziness + Setting Some Legit Goals