Good morning!
Date night was fun last night. Eric took me to the beach to watch the sunset.
It was such a gorgeous night out. Gotta make use of all these summer nights before they are gone!
Sadly the trees blocked the sunset, so we only got to see bits and pieces of it while biking home! But it was still beautiful.
Hmm how did my Raw Energy Cookie Bite end up in my pocket…the cookie fairy must have put it there!
Yum.
Biked home.
Removed sand from sneakers.
Ate a Frosty No-Bake Glo Cake.
Made Lavender tea.
Read Eat Pray Love.
Finished Book 2 India.
Dreamed about having an effortless run.
Woke up and did not have effortless run (maybe later?).
For the most part I enjoyed the India Book in Eat Pray Love. It has actually made me want to re-visit meditation in my own life. While many of the things Elizabeth talked about at the Ashram were a bit extreme for my taste, I realize that not every form of mediation is the same and one thing isn’t going to work for everyone. I appreciate the overall message of the book and I think it was a worthwhile read. I am really excited for Bali! I found by the end of the India book I was ready to move on.
Frosty No-Bake Glo Cakes (Trial 2: Carob Peanut Butter)
In this version I sweetened the cakes with carob powder, took out the maple syrup, cocoa powder, and chocolate and I added more peanut butter. It was delicious! For the original recipe, see this post.
Ingredients:
- 1 large very ripe banana
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/4 cup crisp rice cereal
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1-2 tbsp cacao nibs
- 1.5 tbsp carob powder
- Shredded unsweet. coconut, for garnish (optional)
Directions: Mash banana in a medium sized bowl (I use a potato masher!). Add carob powder and peanut butter, and stir until fully mixed. Now stir in oats, cacao nibs, and rice crisp. Divide into 4 Glo Cakes by spooning the batter into a muffin liner. I used reusable muffin liners are they worked perfectly. Sprinkle with coconut and place in the freezer for 60-80 minutes. Do not over-freeze them. You want them a bit chewy and not too hard. They will however melt quite fast so please serve immediately.
They also have a great nutritional profile!
[Includes all ingredients above except the coconut garnish]
The reusable muffin liners worked awesome!
I realized why I love these so much…they are basically like eating frozen vegan overnight oats!
All kinds of yum. I had one after the bike ride and it was so refreshing.
I am off to get back to work..have a wonderful day and I’ll see you later!
{ 79 comments… read them below or add one }
What a sweet guy and a thoughtful cookie fairy! I had been meaning to buy EPL for a long time so yesterday when my daughter and I were school supply shopping in Target I grabbed it. Can’t wait to join the EPL groupies. I need some focus and positive thoughts before the school year starts. My family knows that between August 1 and September 30 to “leave mom alone”. I get totally focused on school and barely breathe until almost Halloween!
Are the reusable muffin tins silicone? I have tried a few and everything I bake in them smells and tastes like silicone, even after multiple washings. Drives me crazy!
We have silicone muffin liners and they don’t interfere with the food we put in them. They shouldn’t, as pure silicone has a very high melting point. Other chemical additives must be causing the change in taste…throw yours out (please! They shouldn’t be doing that!) and get some really good quality ones (you might have to pay more, but they last forever).
Angela: where we live (germany) it is almost impossible to get carob powder or cacao nibs…any suggestions for adjusting your recpie for those constraints?
You could try breaking up a quality dark chocolate bar with a high cocoa % instead of cacao nibs and substitute the carob for cocoa powder.
Awesome suggestions! You will also need a bit of sweetener when using cocoa powder since it is bitter and carob powder is sweet.
That is strange, I second Ellani to buy some new ones. Mine don’t give off any weird flavour.
Maybe it’s because I’ve literally been going through a container of cocoa powder a month (mostly due to chocolate banana soft serve every morning) but I felt that they were perfectly sweet with just cocoa powder and no added sweetener.
I just got some silicone muffin liners myself and used them for this recipe. It’s so nice to just be able to make them and pull one out as needed.
Mmm, delicious Glo food!
I need to get around to making some of your recipes one day!
You’re going to love Bali! I can’t wait to see how you react to it!
mmm those muffins look tasty! gorgeous photos <3
Those look like muffin cookies…I like the textue.
Glad you enjoyed your date last night :) Sounds like a fun night!
Sounds like you had a great date night! I love the reusable muffin liners.
The picture of Eric looking away is really cute :)
That first photo is so beautiful :-) I’m from Melbourne in Australia and we’re having SUCH a cold winter. Loving the idea of beach and biking and t-shirts. Also, I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and feel like it’s probably time to leave a comment to say thanks for all your interesting posts and also for being so honest about disordered eating, job anxiety, depression, and a million other important topics. I think you’re very brave!
Thank you Abbie! :)
I couldn’t agree with you more about enjoying summer as much as possible while we can!
My hubby and I are trying to reintroduce date nights during the week. It’s the little things that matter and have the longest lasting impressions ;) Good job Eric!
They make a big difference…!
you guys are so adorable…what a beautiful date! way to go eric :)
Sounds like a fun night– sorry the sunset was partially blocked!!
Your glo cakes look so good!! Yum!
The glo cakes look great! Your date night sounds so nice and relaxing. Sunset, a good book, what a way to wind down!
Eric wins the prize for sweetest food blogger husband :) Summer IS half way over (it actually never fully came to Northern CA I feel), so good for you for soaking it up!
hehe I will have to tell him this! ;p
Mmmmm, frozen overnight oats! I will have to try your recipe. Thank you!
Do you have planned date nights every week?
Nope, this was a first in a while! hehe. We do get out for a walk every night though. I loooove summer walks. They are addicting. I find that I crave them after dinner now.
I also love summer walks — especially when it is 9pm and not dark out, but really nice and cool out. We will definitely need to get out and walk tonight after dinner!
what a beautiful date night! summer sunsets are just magical :)
Thank you for the recipe :) Your bike ride had beautiful scenery!
Now that you’ve been talking about Eat Pray Love I’m thinking of buying it myself to read.
what a fun date night!!!!! and total yum on that new treat!
Those Glo Cakes look amazing! I can’t wait to try them. :)
What a great date night!
Can’t wait to try these – some of my favourite foods combined and I love the fact that they’re like mini overnight oats! I just need to get some muffin liners.
That sounds like such a perfect evening….
All your nature pics make me so envious :)
So when you make the Frosty Glo Cakes you just make a small batch that will get eaten right away? Or do you freeze them for an hour and then store them in the fridge?
I was going to make them last night but I had carrot cake left over from our surprise engagement party and couldn’t resist that cream cheese frosting – - i bet you have a vegan version of that though :)
Yes you are correct…you can keep the rest in the freezer and then just pop them out to soften up (maybe 5 mins) before eating! :)
Aw man, they look so good! I think I might make them soon :) The sunset is indeed beautiful. I hope you’re having a wonderful day :D
Wei-Wei
Date night, on a weekday?!? Sounds crazy, but it just may work. Looks like you had a great time!
Glad you’re enjoying EPL. India was definitely my favourite part of the book, since I could definitely relate to her having trouble with meditation at first. Bali is also great – enjoy!
yea it was wild, we were home by 8:45pm! lol
Meditation is SO hard. I’ve tried it again and again and I cannot quiet my mind! I’m starting a yoga teacher training program so I hope that helps. My studio also has a couple of short guided meditation podcasts on their website. I want to start with those. Good luck with your meditation!
I will be talking about some of the tips in the book that helped Liz…I cant wait to try them out, they make so much sense to me.
These cute-little glo cakes look amazing! I think I will look into getting some reusable muffin trays and make them immediately aka this evening LOL. They sound like the perfect summer treat.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! =)
Those sunset pictures are beautiful! It sounds like a really nice night! I think every runner wants an effortless run *sigh* but it seems to be a very rare thing most of the time :P
ohhhhhhh soooooo romantic!
You always look so radiantly beautiful.
Thank you :)
I wish I had a cookie fairy! lol
Lovely date night! I’ve often thought about getting into meditation because of the good things I hear it can do for you, but like you say, I find some of it a bit extreme. Still though, I’m willing to give it a try. The no-bake glo cakes are so cute! :)
Angela,
You’re so right that there are all kinds of meditation. I found the India-book of EPL a bit myopic. It’s like looking at a teeny weeny part of a mighty creature through a microscope! I hope it will not deter you from trying out meditation at some point in your life. If you can change to accommodate beets in your plate, I’m sure meditation deserves another (and another, and another…) chance too :)
Yoga, ayurveda and meditation have been around for thousands of years. I find that so cool!
I myself go to an ashram that emphasises on the ‘fun’ in meditation – there’s celebration, singing, dancing and clean, good-natured fun. I too never thought I could quieten my mind. I cannot claim to meditate every time I sit down to do it. But once in a while, it happens effortlessly and Wham! It’s like a glimpse of eternity :)
You guys win my vote for most-romantic-in-a-buddy-sort-of-way couple. It’s easy to see that you’re good buddies first and then husband-wife or whatever else.
Have a great day!
I agree with your points…I totally get that there are soooo many forms of mediation, unique not only by type but by the individual doing it. I appreciate her experience and that the book caused me to ask myself what ways I could fit certain things into my own life. If a book can do that, it is worthwhile.
Those look ahhhmazing. I’m very impressed at the nutritional stats too!
What a cute date night all nicely rounded off with frosty glo cakes – score!
Okay, I definitely have to try those cookies!
Bali IS wonderful!! Reading that part of the book made me wanna go to that location more so than the other two (though eating my weight in pasta in Italy sounds awesome!). I can’t wait til you read it…she makes it sound AMAZING!!!!:)
those glo cakes look so refreshing!! I’ll be making those soon. Btw your sunset bike ride is too cute! you guys are adorable together
The no bake cake looks great! So simple too! That makes it all the better. ;)
I found that the India part of EPL was a little… well… yeah, I was ready to move on too. But I thought that her time in the Asham was intense and would be SO challenging if I were to face the silence, as she did. Makes you appreciate all that you have and all that you can do, when you put your mind to it. Makes me want to get back into yoga too.
Bali was amazing- excited for you to read it!
The part about the bugs biting her and she just sat there was incredible wasn’t it??? I still can’t believe it…
I feel like I am in book club with you as I have been reading EPL as well. I also just finished India. This section has really shown me that you must be open to what is different and the possibilities that are inside of you. Even for Elizabeth, who had been working on Yoga and dealing with her own issues for years, there were still more ways she could open her heart and her mind. I’m excited to move on to Indonesia.