New Lara-ball Flavor

Nuts and dried fruit are a great snack, especially pre-workout.  Nuts contain protein which provides energy.  Specifically, protein is best for "long haul" energy as oppose to carbohydrates which are more immediate.  Dried fruit, such as raisins, provide similar performance benefits when compared to sport gels.  Nuts and dried fruit are also extremely portable, cheap, and easy to find.  This is a huge reason why they are my go to pre-work out snack.

As much as I love the Lara-ball flavors that I posted here, I needed a change.  I checked out the different Larabars and decided to try Peanut Butter and Jelly.

I checked out the back of the label to see what ingredients were included.  Just 3 simple ingredients: peanuts, dates, and cherries.  While I love cherries an cherry flavor, I'm not a huge fan of the cherry and peanut butter combo.  I opted for strawberry flavor instead.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Lara-balls
Ingredients:
3/4 cup dates
3/4 cup peanuts
1 tbl sugar free strawberry jelly
-you could also use any other sugar free jelly or a small handful (ex: 5 cherries, 2 strawberries, a couple of blueberries)

Instructions:
1. Blend all ingredients in blender
2. Form into 6 balls.

Since this recipe uses jelly or fresh fruit, store it in the fridge.

PB Crave Recipes

Keep entering the PB Crave giveaway HERE!  You can enter the giveaway until midnight on Sunday.

When I received PB Crave, I was so excited to try some new recipes.  PB Crave's flavors are a great way to change up an old peanut butter recipe favorite.  Do you have a go to peanut butter cookie recipe?  Try making it with Razzle Dazzle to make your cookies extra special.  Do you crave smoothies on a hot summer day?  Add CoCo Bananas to your smoothie to give it some extra flavor.

I'm going to share two different recipes that I made using different PB Crave flavors.  The first is Cookie Nookie Rice Krispie Treats.  It's definitely a classic sweet treat with some pumped up flavor.  I brought these to a friend's apartment while watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies and they were a huge hit

Cookie Nookie Rice Krispies:

Ingredients:

3 tbl margarine

4 cups mini marshmallows

3/4 cup Cookie Nookie

6 cups Rice Krispies

Instructions:
1. Lightly grease 9 x 13 pan. Set aside
2. Put Rice Krispies in a large bowl.  Set aside.
3. In a medium pot on low heat, melt margarine and marshmallows. Stir constantly.  Add Cookie Nookie and stir until incorporated.
4. Add mixture to Rice Krispies.  Stir until Rice Krispies are completely coated.
5. Pour and press into pan.
6. Let cool, cut, then enjoy!

CoCo Bananas is my favorite of the peanut butters, so I obviously had to make something with it.  The second recipe is CoCo Bananas Granola Bars.  I decided to try and go a little bit healthier with this one and change up an Elvis Granola Bar recipe that I saw here. 

CoCo Bananas Granola Bars:
Ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
2 tbl flax seeds (or chia seeds, both add texture)
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup unsweetened banana chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup CoCo Bananas
1/2 cup + 2 tbl honey

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9 x 13 pan and set aside.
2. Combine oats, flax seeds, peanuts, banana chips, and chocolate in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
3. In a medium pot on low heat, melt and combine honey and CoCo Bananas.
4. Add melted peanut butter and honey to bowl.  Stir until combined.
5. Pour and press into pan.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.
7. Let cool, cut, and enjoy!

There are so many other delicious recipes to make with the PB Crave flavors!  Be sure to enter the giveaway HERE for your chance to win all 4 PB Crave flavors.

GIVEAWAY!

Today is Sweet Tooth Runner's first ever GIVEAWAY and it's an awesome one (if I do say so myself).

A few weeks ago, I read about PB Crave and immediately knew that I had to try it.  PB Crave is a natural peanut butter that combines honey and incredible flavors to make four amazing, unique, and addicting peanut butters.  They use actual chunks of Belgium chocolate and and pure, natural MEL-O honey to make these peanut butters stand out.  The flavors are:

Choco Choco: Semi-sweet and dark chocolate with peanut butter and wild honey

Co Co Bananas: Natural banana flavor with peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate, and wild honey.  This flavor is also lactose free!

Cookie Nookie: Natural cookie flavoring with peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate, and wild honey.

Razzle Dazzle: Natural raspberry flavoring with peanut butter, white and semi-sweet chocolate, and wild honey.

I love that the flavors have a just a hint of flavor and pieces or swirls of chocolate throughout the jars.  The flavor is not too overpowering so the peanut butter flavor still comes through.  While all of the flavors are amazing (and trust me I quickly tried them all), my favorite was the CoCo Bananas.  I have always loved the combination of peanut butter, chocolate, and bananas.  CoCo Bananas truly finds the perfect balance in these flavors.

Not only does PB Crave make incredible peanut butters, but it also gives back.  PB Crave donates 2% of its profits from every jar to Project Peanut Butter, a non-profit organization that serves hundreds of thousands of malnourished children.

PB Crave can be found at some Whole Foods, Fresh Market, or Earth Fare....

BUT one lucky winner a ChocoChoco Variety Pack of $20.97 value shipped to their door!  The giveaway will end Sunday at midnight.  I will randomly select a winner and contact them for their information so that they can receive their PB Crave prize!

Includes a jar of each flavor!

To enter the giveaway:

1. Like PB Crave on facebook here

2. Like PB Crave on their website here (enter your email in the "join our family" section)

3. Follow PB Crave on twitter here

4. Follow PB Crave on Pinterest here

Be sure to comment on this page for each Like or Follow you do.  In each comment include what you liked/followed as well as what flavor you are most excited to try and/or how you would enjoy your PB Crave.

Good Luck! Be sure to post, tweet, and share this giveaway with your friends and family!

Look forward to tomorrow's post when I will share two recipes I made using PB Crave.

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time

It's probably one of the most basic and well known combinations.  Sure there are other incredible foods to pair with peanut butter, but you have to love a classic.  I mean, who didn't have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in their lunch bag every couple of days.  Weird fact about me...I loved when sandwich got squished.  I thought it tasted better after being stuffed into my backpack and shoved into my locker.

Every family had their peanut butter preference.  My family was a JIF family.  We always had crunchy (for my dad) and creamy (for my sister and I).  For jelly, it was hands down Smuckers grape.  Now, I would never think to choose grape but for some reason I would only eat my PBJ sandwiches with grape jelly.

It was time to re-create this classic combination.  Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins.  Originally, I thought these would turn out to be a great snack....wrong!  These muffins turned to be huge, dense (in a very good way), and filling.  They are definitely meant for breakfast and not just a post work nibble.  The peanut butter flavor stood out without being too overpowering.  Warning...you will be tempted to eat these straight out of the oven.  The warm peanut butter and gooey jelly will be calling you name.  Resist the temptation!  You will burn your tongue and make a huge sticky mess all over your kitchen counter.  I promise that they are just good when they have warmed a couple hours later.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbl baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup skim milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 jar jelly or preserves

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400.  Spray or line muffin tin.
2. In large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add peanut butter.  Mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add milk, oil, and eggs.  Stir.
5. Spoon muffin cups half full with batter.  Top each with 1 tbl of jelly.  Distribute remaining batter over the jelly.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes.