Halloween Fun

Yesterday was a busy and fun day! Jon had to work all day so I decided to spend Halloween with my friend, Chelsea.

Around 8am I headed over to her house for a quick morning run. We took her dog with us so it was more of a run-walk combo so he could stop and sniff everything! After our run we went to her church to pack backpacks full of clothes, towels, and food for the homeless that they will be passing out later today.

On our way back home we stopped at Target and stocked up on Halloween candy for our trick-or-treaters. We were both super excited to pass out candy because we had never done it before. We anticipated that we would have a ton of kids come by so we bought 6 big bags of candy. At the end of the night we still had 6 big bags of candy because only 2 kids came by!

During the trick-or-treating hours and late into the night, we watched scary movies. Jon isn't into scary movies and I'm like them so I was so excited when she said she wanted to watch them. Three scary movies, 2 glasses of wine, and 5 huge handfuls of candy later, it was time to head home!

When I got home, it was time to put Hazel and George in their costumes. Hazel wasn't a fan but George loved it, as always.

Question of the Day

Do you dress up your pets in costumes? What were they this year?

Easter Candy Eraser Workout

With every holiday comes temptation to break our healthy habits and to eat things we normally wouldn't such as one several pieces of Easter candy. 

If the Easter candy got the best of you this holiday season, don't worry - I have a workout to get you movin' and groovin'. While this isn't guaranteed to shed all of those extra calories, it is guaranteed to get you extra sweaty! 

I suggest to complete it 3 times through but if you're up for a challenge try to complete it 4 or even 5 times!

5 Candy-Free Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

After the holiday rush it seems like we have a nice break before other holidays start popping up. In all reality, Valentine's Day comes up quick and almost passes you by before you can get a gift for your loved one. I know that I have found myself on several occasions in the card aisle at Walgreens the day before so hopefully these ideas prevent that from happening to you!

Don't get me wrong, I love my fair share of sweet treats, chocolate covered strawberries, and truffles but since this is a healthy-living blog I figured I would share some candy-free gift ideas for the special someone in your life.

All 5 of these gift ideas are great for significant others, teachers, friends, or co-workers and they work really well for the fitness-lover in your life.

Just click on the links and they will take you straight to the source where you can find all of the directions and printables to make these fun gifts!

Confetti Heart Mugs

Sugar Scrub Hearts

Thank You for "Bee-ing" 

This could easily be changed to be a perfect fit for anyone. You could change the wording to "Thank you for bee-ing amazing/a great friend/a great boss/my Valentine"

Golden Nail Polish Gift

Jump Rope Gift

For more ideas, follow me on Pinterest! I am always pinning cheap and clever gift ideas (along with a million other healthy treats, workouts, and more!)

Valentine's Day Treats

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Actually, it's tomorrow! Which is even closer!

I have been having some fun baking delicious treats, using tons of sprinkles, and crafting up some cute cards.

--- Happy Valentine's Day ---

from Truffles n' Treadmills

Being the broke college student that I am, I didn't have a ton of money to go out and buy fun presents for all of my loved ones. I also didn't have enough left over spending money to go out and buy more dipping chocolate so I had to do some improvising.

I had a package of Oreos that I wanted to dip completely in white chocolate but I only had one square of white chocolate bark leftover from Christmas baking. I decided to instead spoon some of the chocolate right on top of the Oreo and then decorate with sprinkles!

They're still fun, delicious, and festive. Oh, and they're "better" for you because they are covered in way less chocolate than if I were to dip them completely ;)

Pretzel Crisps® was so kind to send me 9 different varieties of their crisps so I could incorporate them into my baking and cooking. I have came up with a few recipes already but still have a few more up my sleeve so I am not going to share them all with you just yet!

I dipped the Original Pretzel Crisps® in milk chocolate and then decorated with fun Valentine's sprinkles. I love the sweet, salty, and crunchy combination that this treat has!

I found these cute treat bags at Target in their beloved dollar aisle. I also found the fun holiday paper straws there too! I stuffed the bags full of treats and then used washi tape to tie them closed. The washi tape also doubled as name tags for the treat bags.

On a side note, if you don't follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest yet, click HERE so we can stay connected and up to date! You will know of upcoming giveaways, be able to see some of my delicious meals, and see all of my favorite pins!

P.S. The LARABAR giveaway is ending today! Be sure to enter before it's too late.

Question of the Day

Do you have any fun plans for Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day LARABAR Giveaway

I have definitely been in the Valentine's Day spirit lately.

My mom gave me a bag of Dove chocolates (my favorite), a cute personalized notebook, and a pretty red casserole dish for the holiday. Today I used the new dish and baked up a delicious Quinoa Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bake that I found on Pinterest - I will share the recipe with you all soon because it was delicious.

In the mean time, how about a giveaway? Wow, when was the last time I hosted one of these? I can't even remember because it's been so long.

If you aren't familiar with LARABARs here's a little bit about them - LARABAR is a pure and simple bar made of fruits, nuts, and spices. The bars are gluten, dairy and soy free, have no added sugars, are vegan, and have no preservatives. So pretty much anyone can love and enjoy these bars even if they have allergies or special eating habits.

They have so many yummy flavors from apple pie to peanut butter chocolate chip so there is a bar to meet everyone's liking!

The winner will win a case of 16 assorted LARABARs. Talk about awesome!

All you have to do is enter and a winner will be announced on Valentine's Day next week! Also, you may earn extra entries by tweeting each day - just make sure you come back to the blog to enter each time ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Three Ingredient Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's fall and you know what that means...pumpkin! Pumpkin everything.

Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin bars, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cheesecake, but most importantly, pumpkin pie chocolate chip cookies!

Yep, you heard me. Pumpkin pie and chocolate in cookie form! No, you are not in heaven but it's pretty close.

My roommate Jessica whipped these up in a matter of minutes! The secret to her speediness? Three easy ingredients. A can of pumpkin pie, one box of spice cake, and a handful (or two) of chocolate chips.

You just mix everything together in a big bowl, place spoonfuls of batter on a cookie sheet, and pop them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Once they're cool, enjoy them as is or top with cream cheese icing. We chose to go the homemade icing route but a jar of store bought icing will work just as well!

Enjoy these ooey, gooey, warm, and delicious cookies at your next fall party or on a night in with friends (like we did!)

Question

What is your favorite way to enjoy pumpkin during the fall?

Rockin' Ribbons Headband Giveaway & Discount

I hope all of you have been having a great week! I have been busy with the summer semester winding down and working out! I was so busy for awhile that working out wasn't a priority. I am going to Cali to visit family soon so I am making it a goal to do some sort of running every day and a plank a day! If you want to stay up to date with my progress you can via Twitter.

My 21st birthday is this weekend and 4th of July is coming up so I am ready to celebrate and have some fun! To keep it fun here on the ol' blog I am offering up a fun discount code and giveaway to all of my readers!

First: the discount.

To see all of the available headband patterns and colors click here. And check out the photo albums on the site. Then message or email rockinribbonsheadbandco @ aol.com to order!

Now: the giveaway.

One lucky winner will win a Rockin' Ribbons Headband of their choice. A winner will be chosen on July 3, 2013 and will be contacted via e-mail. To enter complete use the Rafflecopter widget below. Remember, you can earn extra entries each day by coming back here and tweeting about the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Happy entering and have fun celebrating the holiday!

Question

How do you celebrate 4th of July?

Favorite Pinterest Finds: Memorial Day

Are you having a small get-together or a large celebration to celebrate Memorial Day this year? No matter what your plans are here are a few fun Pinterest finds that are sure to please!

Red, White & Blue Parfaits

Patriotic Strawberries

Red, White & Blue Mocktails

Fruit Flag

I hope these Pins help to inspire some of your party favors and recipes!

Question

How will you be celebrating Memorial Day?

Mother's Day Coupon Book

I'm back! Finals are officially over and I can blog my little heart out (at least for the next 2 weeks until summer classes start back up!) I hope you enjoyed Brittany and Miranda's guest posts while I was away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mother's Day is just a few weeks away!

If you need a quick, and creative gift idea then why not print out one of my fun coupon books? This is perfect especially if you are busy on Mother's Day and can't spend one-on-one time with your mom because you can plan a few fun mother-daughter dates!

I know that my mom would rather have a lunch date at her favorite restaurant and a Starbucks break during one of her busy days at work than get a bouquet of flowers this Mother's Day.

Just print out the page, cut on the lines, and staple or tie together with a bow! Your mom is sure to love it.

Question

What are you getting your mom this Mother's Day? Do you like buying or making gifts better?

Jelly Bean Chiseler

Tomorrow is Easter! Can you believe it is already here? I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow full of travels, family, celebrating, and eating healthy food decadent desserts.

If you are like me then you are probably going to eat one too many jelly beans, Cadbury eggs, or Peeps at your Easter party. Don't worry if that does happen! This quick workout is sure to make you sweat and the best part? It can be done anywhere. Jancee and I both did it at the same time in our dorm room the other day so trust me, you don't need a lot of room and you don't need any fancy equipment.

Now go enjoy some Easter candy this weekend and come back here when you're done so you can complete this quick and fun workout!

Question

How are you celebrating Easter?

An Easter Treat for You

Do you ever struggle with coming up with different meal ideas? Tired of having the same thing over and over? Do you need healthier low-fat, gluten free, vegetarian, and/or recipes for portion controlled meals? Then eMeals is perfect for you!

eMeals' goal is to simplify your life. When you sign up for eMeals you will receive a weekly meal plan that is tailored to your eating style, the number of people in your family, and the grocery store you shop at. Each week they email you a meal plan with recipes and a shopping list. You can use any or all of these recipes to help make meal time easy. According to their website, eMeals helps families save 4-5 hours/week and $1,000/year!

I recently signed up for the Portion Control plan for 1-2 people and have been loving some of the things they have been sending me. All of the recipes are super easy and I love that they tell you exactly what and how much to buy at the grocery store. Since I am not cooking much while living in the dorms, I have been writing down my favorite recipes so I can use them next year when I live off campus!

This week they even sent out an Easter menu with a handful of different recipes! Here is an example of one of the delicious recipes that new and current members will receive in their Easter menu: Orange Muffins with Orange Glaze.

They also sent a little Easter surprise for my readers which includes 10% ANY eMeals meal plan! You just have to use the discount code at the checkout.

Now just click on the following link to start receiving amazing recipes from eMeals!

Be sure to check out the eMeals blog which is always full of great tips and recipes.

Question

Have you heard of eMeals before? Are you already a member?

Favorite Easter Pins: Treats & Decor

Time has been flying by so if you didn't realize that Easter is less than a week away until you came across this post then you're in the right place for some Easter inspired ideas and recipes that are sure to make your guests "ooh" and "ahh". Here are some of my favorite Easter pins from Pinterest! Also, if you don't follow me on Pinterest already click on this link so you can.

Hand Drawn Easter Eggs

 

A fun twist on the normal hand-dipped Easter egg. A tutorial can be found on Confetti Sunshine Blog. I love how the design possibilities are endless with these! Another fun idea would be to write your guest's names on the eggs and use them as name plates at Easter brunch.

Easter Basket Cupcakes

 

A chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla icing, colored coconut, jelly beans, and chocolate Twizzlers are just what the kids need after a day full of candy, right? :) Directions to make these adorable treats can be found on A Night Owl's Blog.

DIY Easter Sign

 

If you haven't started decorating for Easter, it's not too late! This sign is cute and easy to make and would be perfect on your dessert table or to have next to the front door! Check out the full tutorial on A Little Tipsy Blog.

Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs

 

Everyone loves chocolate and peanut butter so why not surprise your guests with these homemade eggs? Your guests will think they took you forever to make when in fact they are so simple and easy! Find the complete recipe on Texanarin Baking Blog

Easter Flower Arrangement

I love this flower arrangement! It makes such a cute centerpiece and is so easy that anyone can put it together! Find out what you need on Craft-O-Maniac Blog.

Question

What are some of your favorite Easter treat recipes?

Valentine's Day Recap

Yesterday my Instagram and Twitter feeds were overflowing with pictures of flowers, chocolates, and couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Alex and I had both decided that we weren't going to get each other anything and keep it low key and do something together over the weekend. I had to work until late last night so we couldn't really do anything by the time I was off. Even though we both said we weren't going to get each other anything, neither of us followed through.

He came over for a little bit between classes and I surprised him with a little gift I made him. I couldn't resist not getting him anything. As you know, he loves fishing with a passion so I did a little Pinteresting and then came up with this idea..

I filled up the goodie bag with a bunch of gummy worms and Swedish fish and then decorated the banner that I put on the top of it. He said he really liked it and liked the creativity!

Later that day he picked me up from work and we were on our way to Pita Pit. My roommate, Alex, and I were planning on going there to get a Pita because 1) Alex had never been there and 2) they were having a Valentine's Day special. In the car on the way there he handed me a tiny box of chocolates. I wasn't expecting anything from him and thought it was sweet he gave me them.

Then later when we went to his house I had walked into his room and set my things down. His room has a nook in it where his desk is and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I was in his room. I was in his room for a few minutes before he told me to walk over there. At first I was nervous and thought something was going to jump out at me! Then when I turned around I saw this...

I was completely shocked and loved it! He is a pretty special guy and I feel so lucky.


I also want to take a minute to say Happy 21st Birthday to my cousin Rema! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Giveaway winner

As you know today is the day that a winner is chosen for the LARABAR Giveaway. I just love doing giveaways and I have another one up my sleeve that is going to happen in the next few days :) But for now here is the winner of the LARABARs...

Congrats to Michelle! Please email me at trufflesntreadmills [at] aol [dot] com with your shipping address so we can hook you up with this awesome prize!


Did you do anything special for Valentine's Day?

A Little LÄRABAR Love

* This giveaway is closed *

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I thought that I would spread the love to all of you! And what better way to spread the love than a giveaway?

LARABAR is a pure and simple bar made of fruits, nuts, and spices. The bars are gluten, dairy and soy free, have no added sugars, are vegan, and have no preservatives. So pretty much anyone can love and enjoy these bars even if they have allergies or special eating habits.

They have 20 yummy flavors from apple pie to peanut butter chocolate chip so there is a bar to meet everyone's liking!

One lucky winner will win a variety case of 16 different LARABAR flavors. 

How to enter

Mandatory: Head on over to LARABAR's website and comment below telling me which bar you would like best!

Optional: Tweet about this giveaway "I want to win a variety case of @larabar from @trufflesntread http://bit.ly/Vg5Uf4" and comment telling me you did

Optional: Follow Truffles n' Treadmills on Pinterest, Facebook, and/or Twitter and comment telling me you did  

A winner will be chosen on Friday! Good luck and Happy Valentine's Day!

PB Chocolate Heart Cookies

With Valentines Day right around the corner, this cookie is perfect to make for your loved one. Make a batch for dessert or package a few up in a goodie bag to send to work with your loved one. Either way they will be sure to thank you for this peanut butter chocolatey treat!

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
30 Hersheys chocolate hearts or Hersheys Kisses, unwrapped

*Makes about 30 cookies

 

Directions

First mix together sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours.

When the dough is firm heat the oven to 375ºF. Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls. Place on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper (cookies won't stick and it makes cleanup easier). Gently flatten the cookie down with your hand instead of using a fork like other peanut butter cookie recipes call for.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately place a Hersheys chocolate heart in the center of each cookie and lightly press into the cookie. Cool 5 minutes and then remove from cookie sheet and let cool on wire rack. 

Be sure to sneak a few while they are cooling! You won't regret it :) 
 

G.B.L.

A quick way to sum up today would be G.B.L!

I am watching Jersey Shore right now and they are always saying G.T.L. - Gym Tan Laundry - but because I didn't go tanning I figured G.B.L. - Gym Blog Laundry - would be more fitting for this post!

Yesterday when I was getting ready to get dressed to go workout I noticed that I only had 2 clean sports bras in my drawer! You know you need to do laundry when you only have 2 clean ones! I was going to try and hold off until next weekend when I went home but there was no way I was going to wear the same sports bra every day for a week and a half. That's just gross.

Now don't think that I was just going to wait to take my laundry home so my mom could do it I mean that is part of the reason. Laundry at school is expensive and you have to pay with quarters.

Just to do two loads of laundry it cost me almost $5! I think that laundry should be included in the room and board but of course it's not. It's just another way for them to make a little extra cash off of broke college students.

Workout

Instead of waiting for my laundry to get done and then go and workout, I threw my clothes in the washer and headed to the workout room which is conveniently the next room over in my dorm. After I completed 2 miles on the treadmill I went and switched my laundry over to the dryer and then came back and worked on arms. I didn't go too crazy today and just did some basic arm workouts. I can already tell that my upper body is getting stronger as today I was able to do 20 regular pushups and last week I could only do 10! Woo-hoo!

Fun Fact

And in case you didn't know - today is National Peanut Butter Day! Eat up!

 

(Image Source)

Here are a few yummy recipes to celebrate!

No Bake Peanut Butter Protein Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie
Mini Chocolate and Peanut Butter Dessert Shooters

Also, right now I am at 95 Twitter followers! Can I get 5 more!? Let's get to 100!

When do you know that you need to do laundry? Do you wait until you are completely out of socks, do you have scheduled laundry days, or do you wait until the hamper is piling over?