recipe:raw peanut butter oatmeal bites

so let's be honest.
the holidays were rough on my will power.
i know i'm not alone on this one.
with outings, and family gatherings, and vacation..
it get's rough to stay sugar & gluten free.
i feel for those who are truly allergic or diabetic.
it's slim pickings.
so, i faltered a little. it took me until mid-february to get back on track.
i'm not guilting myself, i'm just going to pick up where i left off.
it takes a loonnng time to break 32 years of bad habits.

but let's be honest.
i like sweets.
and even cutting my addiction to sugar, doesn't kill that.
it's in my dna. it's a genetic thing.
my oma had a sign in her house forever that said 'a chocoholic lives here'.
i never knew what it meant until i was a teenager.
my dad? total chocoholic too.
and lucky me got the sweet gene.
my brother would pass over a candy bar for a big juicy rib any day.
so would my mom. i wonder sometimes if i'm not adopted...
then i remember that my mom always has a bag of dark chocolate peanut m&ms in the drawer for dad to snack on.
and that dad was the only other person in the house who would reach in & grab a piece of frozen cookie dough out of the freezer & eat it.

yep. that's me. my father's daughter 100%.
cookie dough is far better than the actual cookie in my opinion.
and it doesn't even matter what flavor the dough is.
peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip, chocolate mint, you name it..
i eat my share before they get baked.
(same goes for cake & brownie batter, they are much more alluring to me raw than cooked)

so anyways,
as a self confessed sweet tooth, it was absolutely necessary to find alternatives to refined sugar.
because if i'm going to be successful, i have to find a way to eat what i'm craving.
in walks these babies:

raw peanut butter oatmeal bites via triumph wellness
(i slightly altered this to my own tastes & what i had on hand)

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats (be sure to check labels for gluten free if you are allergic)
• dash sea salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• *3/4 cup pitted Medjool dates
• *2 Tbsp crunchy peanut butter (OK to leave out to make nut-free)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Put oats and salt in food processor.
2. Process until finely ground.
3. Add remaining ingredients and process until fully combined.
4. Add a few drops of water if needed to form balls.
5. Form into balls or press into a square pan and cut into squares.

i LOVED them. LOVED.

the hubs said they tasted like raw oatmeal cookie dough, and didn't like them.

uhm, hello? that's the best part!

anytime i make a new recipe i use this nutrition calculator @ spark recipes to figure out the calories

never in a million years did i think i'd be a calorie counter, but it's what is working for me.

that + cutting gluten & sugar, and minimizing the processed foods.

i use the 'lose it' app on my iphone to keep me in check.

i can pretty much guesstimate how many calories are in my meals now, but i still use it to keep me on track.

anyways, i thought i'd share this recipe.

i keep them in the fridge and pop one anytime i'm craving a little something sweet after dinner.

give 'em a try, even if you aren't dieting or cutting carbs & sugar, i promise, they are good!

have a great week!

xo-k

ps. i have never been diagnosed as having a gluten allergy. last april i did a 7 day fast, and after doing lots of research, i decided to try cutting gluten from my diet, as just counting calories wasn't working for me. i found that as soon as i worked back up to solid foods, and ate something with gluten in it, i felt awful after eating it. bloated, sluggish, and miserable. since then, i've opted for gluten free foods whenever possible. i've always tried to be carb-free cause it worked for me in the past, but now gluten free is working fabulous. i skip most carbs anyways, but when i want pasta, or a tortilla chip with dinner, i can have it using gluten free products. it's a win win, cause most of the time the gluten free stuff has less processed ingredients in it. and i don't have to miss out on french fries or sweet potato pancakes. i just eat them in moderation & with a protein.

pss. i don't think sugar is the devil. i was diagnosed long ago as having Hyperinsulinemia, which is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes, something that runs rampant in my family. i never really took the time to educate myself on it, but just tried to avoid the carbs & sugar, again thinking that was the problem. i took time last year to learn about alternatives to sugar, because cutting it out altogether was making me yoyo diet unsuccessfully. i love sweets, and i would fail miserably at trying to go without them. i mean, who wants savory oatmeal? i've learned how to mimic sweetness without the sugar, and couldn't be happier. i use coconut sugar, & honey mostly, but still in moderation. it's what works for me.