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Naughty and Nice: The Baking Edition

If you're anything like me, Christmas baking is in full swing. I don't see anything wrong with plenty of delicious Christmas treats, but I do like to make sure I have some healthy snacks to turn to during the day as well. My mid-morning snack is usually something fast and easy to grab while I work. These bars are perfect:


I found the recipe online as part of Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet, so I won't bother reposting the recipe. Just click here to check it out. BUT - I will say that I replaced the coconut oil with peanut butter and it was just as delicious.


Those bars are certainly nice. Healthy, whole ingredients, and a great mix of complex carbs thanks to oatmeal and sweet potatoes. But for something naughty? 

Cadbury chocolates hidden in a chocolate chip cookie. I found these chocolates yesterday at the grocery store and quickly realized that they are Mini Eggs, but the Christmas edition!

Note - bought yesterday and empty today.

Each ball of dough got a couple of the chocolates hidden inside before baking:



Such a treat! It was so nice to have a little something extra hidden in the cookies. 

On the exercise front, I have been kicking butt (if I do say so myself) on the spin bike lately. Today I went completely by heart rate to try to have an intense workout. I spent 45 minutes with a heart rate above 175 - which for me, is basically a 5k race pace. Made me want to vomit just a little bit at the end, but it felt amazing. 

What is your favorite Christmas dessert?
I'm usually a candy fan more than baked goods, but at Christmas it just seems like you HAVE to start baking! I love crispy sugar cookies with pretty frosting and sprinkles best. So delicious!

Do you ever do your cardio according to your heart rate?
Lately I have been using my heart rate monitor to see if my biking workouts are enough to keep up my cardio without running. Pretty sure I can say that's a resounding YES. 

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Comments

  1. SamDecember 8, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    My favorite Christmas dessert is a basic chocolate chip cookie, but it's no ordinary cookie. They are my grandmother's recipe and they are the perfect cookie to dip into a glass of milk (or give to Santa!)

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  2. Beth @ RUNNING around my kitchenDecember 8, 2011 at 9:02 PM

    I looooove baked goods starting in the fall - first all of the pumpkin treats and then the Christmas ones :) I guess it just feels like part of the tradition! But my go-to all other times of the year is candy! Wa to go on the bike, I don't do enough with my heart rate monitor. At all!

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  3. Running RicigDecember 8, 2011 at 9:04 PM

    Holy cow, those look ridiculous!

    My favorite christmas treat is peanut clusters that my mom makes. They are peanuts and raisins covered in chocolate. AMAZING.

    I've done cardio with a heart rate monitor before, but I feel like it always chafes, so I don't do it regularly.

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  4. JamieDecember 8, 2011 at 9:10 PM

    Both of those look really good!

    I don't do cardio based on my heart rate, I just go on feel and pace.

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  5. ralconyDecember 8, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    darn you! i just made about 400 cookies over the weekend but now i want to bake more! :-P

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  6. Meg O @watchmegorunDecember 8, 2011 at 9:31 PM

    Oh dear god, now i want those cookies - stat! I never work out according to heart rate, but maybe I should....

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  7. Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's BlogDecember 8, 2011 at 9:48 PM

    Frosted sugar cookies are my favorite! Yum

    I love Cadbury eggs, i didn't know they made a Christmas version.

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  8. JuliaDecember 8, 2011 at 10:00 PM

    wowwwww girl! you are a rock star on the spin bike. i need to head down that way so you can teach me some bike workouts! i am terrible at pushing myself on the bike. ummm and sneaking those little cadbury chocolates in was genius! yummmy!

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  9. Sable WeismanDecember 8, 2011 at 10:01 PM

    Ohhhh man Cadbury Creme Eggs are the best thing ever. EVER.

    Because my intensity level is really important to my recovery from all my lifting, I usually monitor my heart rate during any & all cardio =)

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  10. UnknownDecember 8, 2011 at 10:05 PM

    I thought I was being so original posting a recipe for my sweet potato butter! And here you are with these fantastic bars! I must make them.

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  11. NicoleDecember 8, 2011 at 10:50 PM

    Those bars look amazing and the cookies sound TDF. Did you sample the eggs before putting them in the cookies? My friend bought them and said they tasted different than the Easter ones. I used to use my heart rate monitor when I did all exercise, but my Polar died so I only use my Garmin when I run outside, I miss knowing my heart rate.

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  12. AlisaDecember 8, 2011 at 10:50 PM

    I love love love Cadbury chocolate. When they started selling the little eggs my life changed. I buy bags and bags of them at Easter and Christmas to last all year!

    Yeah, I should probably bake those bars instead of eating the Cadburys.

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  13. ElleDecember 8, 2011 at 10:53 PM

    Those cookies are a great idea. Love the surprise inside!

    You really are going crazy on that bike! I think HBBC has your competitive juices flowing.

    Yes, I do check my non-running cardio from time to time with my HRM. If I am working out, it had better be worthwhile!

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  14. JulieDecember 8, 2011 at 11:28 PM

    Those cookies look AMAZING! When it comes to Christmas I all of the sudden start drinking hot chocolate, especially with peppermint. I'm not a huge fan of fudge but for some reason at Christmas it tastes extra good. hahaha.

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  15. Cory ReeseDecember 8, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    Pardon me while I wipe the drool off my lip. Those cookies look so, so good.

    (My wife has a stash of secret Cadbury chocolates that the kids don't know about. Pure heaven.)

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  16. Neon Blonde RunnerDecember 9, 2011 at 12:09 AM

    JUST started using my heart rate monitor on my Garmin. LOVE it. Although I tend to ride at the very top of my target zones (not on purpose) even when I'm feeling completely fine, so I wonder if my zones are a little different from the average person...my resting heart rate is in the low 40's so I think maybe my zones are just a little higher? I don't know, I'm still trying to learn about it all!

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  17. ChristineDecember 9, 2011 at 12:21 AM

    Oooooh- those look good!

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  18. KarenDecember 9, 2011 at 12:48 AM

    I'm into candies more too. Like the chocolate covered peanuts and PB balls variety. Homemade, all the way.

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  19. Charissa SteynDecember 9, 2011 at 1:11 AM

    ohhh i love the christmas colored candy- so much more fun to eat for some reason ;)

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  20. Cait the Arty RunnerchickDecember 9, 2011 at 1:55 AM

    oh man, anything with a cadburry treat inside has my name all over it! :)

    dang girl, way to rock that bike!! ya, since i've been injured i've just had to go by effort/feel for the hard stuff. i don't use a HR monitor, but i believe that for cross-training it can be a big help in figuring out wat kinda effort u're doing. annnnd, if u felt like barfing i'm sure u had a heck of a workout. ;)

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  21. Run Stephie RunDecember 9, 2011 at 2:01 AM

    My favorite Christmas dessert would be leche flan. Only once a year do i get to eat it because its got like a dozen eggs, lots of sugar, and topped off with caramel.

    The cookies and bars look so yummy. Im gonna bake a batch of those bars. Thanks for posting a link to it.

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  22. AmyDecember 9, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    So if you have naughty in one hand and nice in the other, that equals a balanced holiday diet, right?
    I love spiced things at Christmas time. Chewy ginger and nutmeg cookies (recipe on my blog soon), or good old fashioned gingerbread people, all spice cookies with sugary frosting - oh I could go on for days....

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  23. Jenny December 9, 2011 at 8:28 AM

    I am a Cadbury egg addict around Easter. They are not safe anywhere near me. I had no idea they have a Christmas version too. Great. I'm doomed. ;)
    I love cookies around Christmas but I still haven't made any yet. I better get on that!

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  24. MeganDecember 9, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    Peppermint bark is a must for me. I'm thinking of making my own this year to take to a cookie exchange party. They could count as cookies right??

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  25. MarleneDecember 9, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    Both recipes look great but I LOVE those "surprise" chocolate chip cookies!!

    Awesome on the intense bike workout. I've never trained using my heart rate... one of these days I'd like to.

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  26. LisaDecember 9, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    I have REALLY enjoyed your immersion into a new cross training activity and your openness in sharing your experience. You said you didn't know anything about it at the beginning and you've gotten more and more data from each of your sessions (how far, how fast, how hard) and now you've evolved to having a training session based on heart rate (that's a smart way to more be able to compare your workout with how intense it would be to a running session). Cool! Great job and thanks for sharing. I think I'll have to learn from your evolution into a spinning queen as in 2012 I try new fitness activities as well :)

    Frosted cut out cookies, peppermint bark, and buckeyes (OMG -YUM!).

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  27. KaraDecember 9, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    I like the idea of training by HR, but my HRM strap chafes.

    I don't do any holiday baking because my husband already accuses me of making me fat and I'm not fueling that fire.

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  28. KaraDecember 9, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    *making him fat, not me. I wish.

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  29. Ali McDecember 9, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    I have to get all my baking ingredients this weekend....and allow the Christmas baking to commence! I am more of a naughty girl all around....including in treats. I always allow myself to gain over the holidays b/c I know I'll burn it all off afterwards :D

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  30. Rose @ Eat, Drink, and Be MeiriDecember 9, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    Cadbury mini eggs are the greatest candy ever invented.

    I wonder how they'd be inside brownies? Hmmmmmm

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  31. CautiouslyAudaciousDecember 9, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    I love training with my HR monitor and using my HR Zones! I can be a little bit of a DQ sometimes so my HR keeps me in check. If in my head I'm thinking "this is so hard I'm about to pass out" then I look at my HR and it says "no you're not kick it up a notch" then I listen to the numbers. :-) on the other hand though I need to learn how to run naked b/c if I don't have my HR monitor I freak out and don't know what to do with myself...

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  32. Jerilee E.December 9, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    I love soft frosted sugar cookies! Yum yum yum. I am so going to find those Christmas Cadbury eggs!

    I have never done cardio based on heart-rate.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Running GirlDecember 9, 2011 at 11:52 AM

    Dude, you so shouldn't have told me about the Christmas version of those Cadbury eggs. Now I need a trip to the store!

    And, I'm a huge sucker for sugar cookies. We made some last weekend & they were a fail, so I'm planning to try again this weekend. Eating the dough works for me no matter what. ;-)

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  34. JDecember 9, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    THOSE look so good! I want cookies now! Ugg it is going to be so hard to get through this afternoon of work without cookies!

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  35. Rachelle WardleDecember 9, 2011 at 1:38 PM

    I am obsessed with mini eggs. I must see if I can get my hands on some of the Christmas edition in Utah. Both treats look amazing I must say. And I agree that baking during the holidays is a must.

    ReplyDelete
  36. JCDecember 9, 2011 at 2:21 PM

    I'm about to get my christmas time bake on this weekend! can't wait!!

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  37. UnknownDecember 9, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    yumm! I am home today from work, I might just be running out to get some baking ingredients!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Rach @ Girl on the RunDecember 9, 2011 at 6:33 PM

    omg i'm totally stealing your candbury egg cookie idea!

    ReplyDelete
  39. AnonymousDecember 14, 2011 at 2:00 AM

    Hiding Mini Eggs in cookies = brilliant! I've stirred them into the dough before but this sounds much, much better. I think my favorite Christmas dessert is chocolate chip cookies made with mint-flavored chocolate chips... or my Mum's shortbread, of course!

    ReplyDelete
  40. AnonymousDecember 14, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    I like you on Facebook

    ReplyDelete
  41. AnonymousDecember 14, 2011 at 8:56 PM

    I'm a follower!

    ReplyDelete

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