30 Day Paleo Challenge, plus Dark Chocolate-Peanut Butter and Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

I love this quote because it's so true.  I definitely plan to keep going, especially

now that I'm getting back to being able to workout!

Well, my 30 day Paleo Challenge is officially over!!!  Ok, it's actually been over for almost a week.  Sorry that I haven't posted lately, I guess I'm a little bit of a slacker in that department.  Unfortunately though, I have to admit that I kind of slipped towards the end.  I could lie and say that I was good up to the very last day, and stayed strong, but I'm an honest person.  Sadly, the temptations (and no, not the musical group) got the best of me.  It was especially difficult when I was making things for the wedding cake the other weekend and Jeff wasn't around to help sample.  I kind of just felt that if 120 people were going to be eating the cake, and I was getting paid for it, I had better make sure that things tasted ok and were actually edible, which they were.

On the brighter side of things, (yes, I'm always positive) I'm proud that I stayed true to the paleo challenge for as long as I did, even over my spring break.  I also feel that if I'd been able to exercise during the challenge,  I might have actually lost some weight.  During the first two weeks or so, I was feeling really good, both physically and emotionally.  After that, I'd honestly have to say that I didn't notice much of a difference.  However, this could be due to the fact, that I was already growing accustomed to feeling healthy.  I'd love to (and plan to) retry this challenge once I'm back to my old self and am able to run and workout at the gym again.  I miss my trainers.  As of the other day, I've been very slowly getting back into my routine, but am not quite there yet.  I don't want to overdo it and injury myself again.

So now it's time to share something sweet........

What other way is there to end a challenge like this one, then with a delicious and incredibly unhealthy, but addictive recipe.  These Dark Chocolate-Peanut Butter and Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies are beyond addictive.  Just remember that you've been warned, because truthfully, the whole batch could disappear before you know what happened. 

Dark Chocolate-Peanut Butter and Oatmeal No Bake Cookies
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Makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk (I used skim, not that it matters with all that sugar)
4 Tbsp. Hersey’s Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa powder
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla
3 ¼ cups Quaker Old Fashioned Oats

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder.  Place the pan over a medium heat, whisking until the ingredients are smooth and come to a boil.  Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute and then remove the pan from the heat.

Add in the vanilla and peanut butter and whisk around until the mixture is completely smooth.  Lastly, add in the oats and stir until they’re well coated with the chocolate and the mixture begins to slightly thicken.

Now, lay some wax paper flat on the counter top.  Then drop 1-2 Tbsp. of the cookie mixture onto the paper.  Allow the cookies to completely harden, and then serve.  (I stored the extra cookies in a Tupperware container and placed the container in the refrigerator.)

 

 Source: Running Upward