Yesterday, the powers that be issued a “heat advisory” in the Seattle area. You see, summer arrived at long last and things were about to get a little bit crazy: 90 degree temperatures were predicted for two days among a string of at least seven sunny days. The public lost it – people started complaining about how it was “too nice” and about how annoying it was to have to remember sunglasses and that some clouds would really make getting work done a little bit easier. Someone actually had the audacity to tell me that she couldn’t wait to wear her rain boots again. Come on. Seattle-ites are incredibly hard to please.
While the general population freaked out at the rapidly depleting supply of air conditioners at Target, I reveled in the perfect weather that we have finally been blessed with. I live for summer in Seattle – it’s my favorite day or two of the year. For whatever reason, I did not have to work at all this weekend and spent every moment I could basking in the glory of a “real” weekend off from work. Blaze and I hit the park and played for two full days, mixing in long walks and good times with some of my favorite people. As an added bonus, having the weekend off from work allowed me to spend extra time in my trainers to heal a blistering case of plantar fasciitis that has kept me from running for about five days. Heading into the new week, I am super eager to tackle the next phase of my training schedules: 35-40 miles weeks lie ahead of me from here on out!
Tomorrow, I plan to beat the heat by tackling a 13-mile run at 6am. A much more satisfying option for beating the heat would be tackling a plate of these little buggers – my Paleo salute to Elvis’ favorite sandwich. I plan to down a couple handfuls of these as soon as midnight rolls around on August 7th, when my Whole 30 challenge ends. I seriously can’t wait to enjoy chocolate again – even if it means sacrificing my daily coffee habit once again.
Frozen AB & Banana Bites
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
3.5 ounce dark chocolate bar (I used Godiva’s 85% bar)
2-4 Tbsp. almond butter
2 Tbsp. raw honey
1 Tbsp. agave nectar (optional)
Method:
1) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice bananas into 1/4″ pieces and place onto baking sheet. Top each banana with a bit of almond butter and honey. Freeze for 20-30 minutes, or until honey hardens a bit.
2) Meanwhile, break the chocolate bar into pieces and microwave in a glass bowl for 1-2 minutes. If you’d like a sweeter chocolate coating, stir in agave nectar when chocolate has melted completely. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
3) Remove bananas from freezer and coat in melted chocolate. Return banana bites to the freezer and allow to set completely.
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: makes 24 banana bites (which will probably just serve me on Wednesday night)
