Will Run For Chocolate

The Hot Chocolate 5K & 15K was this weekend in Chicago.

 I won't lie, the motivation to run this race came from a cute sweatshirt for finishing and a free after party consisting of a giant mug of chocolate fondue and hot chocolate! I decided that gorging on chocolate post race is an example of a "healthy balance".  And man was it good!

So true!

The race was VERY cold and VERY crowded. Over 40,000 people ran it, including the Mayor of Chicago! BUT it was well organized with corrals based on estimated pace and staggered start times, which made the actual running of the race really easy. I set pace with the person next to me, and had a radius of least 2 feet between me and the closet runner!

Waiting in the corral for the race to begin, and the sun to rise.

Corral G, a 10 min mile pace, totally reasonable! 

It was my first race since moving to the city. I know,  I promise to do more, weekends off have been limited but there is already a plan in the works to run the Shamrock 8K shuffle in March. 

The course itself was really scenic, through downtown, under the bridges and alongside the water. It was also essentially flat, perfect for your first race (which for some of my friends it was!). I could have done without the uphill trek to the finish line, but running past the Field Museum and seeing the Shedd made it worthwhile. 

Hot Chocolate 5K finishers. It was the first race for all these girls except me, so proud of them! 

Again, here's to whatever motivates you to get moving! 

See there is a banana, that's healthy!

After the race, my sweet tooth was raging! Eating that delicious chocolate fondue just sparked more chocolate cravings, so I baked cookies! Don't worry -- these cookies have no eggs, no flour and no butter. Just whole, delicious ingredients, a bit of chocolate to satisfy my craving and of course, fruits AND veggies!

Banana Oat Drops

Hands on time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

What you need:

• 3 ripe mashed bananas 
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk (or any milk of your choice)
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1/2 cup of raw zucchini shredded or chopped in food processor (about 1/2 a small/medium zucchini)
• 2 Tbs mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 oz chopped walnuts (or any nuts you prefer)
• 2 Tbs shredded coconut (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mash up the ripe bananas (one of my favorite parts, gets the aggression out). Coarsely chop the nuts and grate the zucchini or pulse it in a food processor.  Mix the bananas and zucchini together with the applesauce, cinnamon and vanilla. Next, stir in your oats and wet the mixture with your choice of milk. Finally, fold it all your mix-ins. The best part of these recipes is you can get creative, don't like raisins? Try chopped apricots! Don't like walnuts? Try pecans! Don't like chocolate? Wait what?! No such thing! :-) Shape the cookies into golf ball or walnut sized drops and place them on your cookie sheet. Press them down a little bit, they will stay in whatever shape they are on the sheet. Bake for approximately 18 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let cool completely and enjoy! 

Super close up to see all the goodness!

What you get:

The perfect fix for your chocolate and cookie cravings, full of whole grains, protein and fiber! These cookies are great for the paleo diet too, you can substitute the oatmeal for an almond or flax flour, or just not be that strict. Moderation. :-) We've talked about bananas and walnuts in the past, and of course, my favorite, cinnamon. I just switched over to using almond milk. It has more calcium and vitamin D than cows milk for about half the calories! I love it in coffee, on cereal, on it's own and in my recipes. The real hidden nutrient knockout in these is the zucchini. It has folate, potassium and vitamin A. A half cup of zucchini also has approximately 20% of your daily needed Manganese. Manganese is important for the functioning of one of your bodies greatest antioxidants. It also helps to keep your bones strong and create the collagen that helps wounds heal! But be careful, as with many vitamins and minerals (and anything really), it isn't good for you in excess.

My recipe made 2.5 dozen cookies! That makes each cookie approximately 50 calories! Yes, please!