A Fitness Themed Celebration

Unbelievably, it has been four years since my friends and I started working out together after work.  Four years!  As a thank you to our leader Coach Dana and our company Community LIFE for supporting our group we wanted to bring some treats into our morning meeting.  Since we're a health focused group, we wanted our snacks to have a fitness theme, but also be fun.  So often work celebrations consist of donuts or bagels and cream cheese.  While those are easy and don't take much time (depending on how long the drive-thru line is!), they are not the healthiest option.  Here's the menu we came up with:

Protein "Ball Slams"

Pineapple "Chair Dips"

"Bicep Curl" Krispies

"Goblet Squat" Granola with Yogurt

"G2O"-J

Coach Dana was very surprised and the food was a hit!  The Protein Balls and Pineapple Dip were the stars of the show.  Both were very simple to make - they, along with the rice cereal treats, didn't take much time nor were they expensive.  Here are the recipes from our celebration:

Protein "Ball Slams"

adapted from Chef Savvy's 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Energy Bites

www.chefsavvy.com

1-1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup honey

Place all five ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.

Roll into 24 balls If they are difficult to roll, place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and try again.  Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Protein Ball Slams

Pineapple "Chair Dips"

adapted from Belly Full's Pineapple Nilla Dip

www.bellyfull.net

8 whole Nilla wafer cookies

1 -8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 - 20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed of its liquid

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Using a food processor or Ziploc bag and a rolling pin, blend/smash cookies until they are finely ground.

Place all ingredients (including the ground cookies) into a medium bowl.  Using a hand mixer, beat until well combined.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Serve with Nilla wafers, graham crackers, celery or the dipping agent of your choice!

Pineapple Chair Dips

"Bicep Curl" Krispies

1 - 9 oz box of Crispy Rice Cereal

2 - bags of mini marshmallows

1 stick of butter

Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray.

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat.  Once butter is melted, add the 2 bags of marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted.  

Once melted, remove from heat and add rice cereal.  Stir until coated.  Press into the greased 9X13 pan.  

Allow to cool.  Cut into bars and serve. 

Bicep Curl Krispies

We concluded our celebration at the end of the day with a fun workout, gifts for our Coach and of course - CAKE!  The delicious fresh fruit filled layer cake was from Oakmont Bakery (www.oakmontbakery.com).

I've learned over the past several years that "healthy" food is tasty, but it tastes even better and is more fun when you share it with friends!  

Happy Four Years Team Muscle!!

Coach Dana

Tank from www.toughcookieclothing.com