Plus this…

Should not equal this…

(which is down 2 pounds from my weigh in last week of 179). I did a horrible job on my Weight Watchers points this week, but made up for it with keeping up with my exercising. Even got up at 6am on Saturday to exercise… I purposely got out of my very warm, comfortable bed on a weekend to exercise. Not sure what kind of crazy got in me, but I’m glad it did. I actually even enjoyed it and it was a great start to my weekend!

The topic of Eat.Live.Be this week is “Your Biggest Challenge”. I am like so many others and can answer this with great ease. The biggest challenge I have in fulfilling my wish for a healthy lifestyle is… me. No one else. I have a very difficult time with the “all or nothing” mentality I talked about last week. If I mess up in the morning, I throw in the towel for the whole day because that’s how I am. I am that way in so many aspects of my life and it is something I am working desperately hard to overcome! Check out the list of Eat.Live.Be Bloggers at the bottom of this post to see how they are doing on our healthy lifestyle initiative. There are some really great, thought provoking posts.

Now, in the meantime, I’m going to share this Chocolate Malt Krispie Bar recipe with you. I made this for our Happiness Project group last week. It was quick to put together and different enough to get everyones attention. On top of that, I love malt (if you couldn’t tell from my Triple Chocolate Malt bread from yesterday) so these are pretty darn tasty! Enjoy (but in moderation… remember we are trying to be healthy around here!)

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Chocolate Malt Krispie Bars

Chocolate Malt Krispie Bars (from Taste of Home)

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 4 cups malted milk balls divided
• 1 package 10 ounces large marshmallows
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 5 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1 cup malted milk powder divided
• 2 cups 12 ounces HERSHEY’®S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Instructions

• Chop 1 cup malted milk balls; set aside. In a Dutch oven, combine marshmallows and butter. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until melted. Remove from the heat; stir in the cereal, 3/4 cup malt powder and chopped candy. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. pan.
• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in remaining malt powder. Spread over cereal bars. Top with remaining malted milk balls. Let stand until set. Cut into squares. Yield: 2 dozen.

Eat.Live.Be. Bloggers:

• Sarah Caron from Sarah’s Cucina Bella
• Joanne from Eats Well with Others
• Maris Callahan – In Good Taste
• Chris Arpante – Melecotte
• Faith – Blog Appetit
• Kristen – Dine and Dish
• Jenna – Stop, Drop and Blog
• Casey – The Starnes Family
• Patsy – Family, Friends and Food
• Tri-Fit Mom
• Claire – Cooking is Medicine
• Allison – Sweet Flours
• Jen – NJ Epicurean
• Leslie – The Hungry Housewife
• Rivki Locker – Healthy Eating for Ordinary People
• Claudia – Journey of an Italian Cook
• Jennifer Schulz – Lick-a-Plate
• Sarah Rogers – Sarah’s Sweet Creations
• Denise and Lenny – Chez Us

The post Eat.Live.Be Week 4 {Recipe: Chocolate Malt Krispie Bars} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I dropped my kids off at school today, got in the car and practically cheered. I love having my kids home, but for the past three days there has been nothing but bickering and meanness coming out of their mouths towards each other.

It’s funny how when you have kids, you have the first one and you think you have it all figured out, then you have another one and you realize, “hey… God sent me someone different!” I have four kids, as many of you know, and they are all about as different as can be. Jacob is my shy, goofy, smart, loving one. Kelly is my little mama… she is a nurturing, caring, sweet martyr. Ella beats to her own drum… she is so funny, spirited, snuggly and warmhearted. Leah is still growing into who she is going to be, but right now I would describe her as inquisitive, charming and spunky. 4 kids blended together in one family, all with completely different personalities. It’s no wonder they bicker so much. However, you know what? They have an equal number of days where they get along splendidly… best friends that can’t be separated. They want to sit by each other at dinner, sleep in the same bed, do everything together. Best buds.

Sometimes when you blend together certain ingredients, you would think it wouldn’t be good because the flavors are so different. Then you take a taste and discover that yes… as different as those ingredients are, they certainly blend well together.

This recipe for Triple Chocolate Malt Bread is kind of that way. Chocolate, malt, cinnamon…flavors that are certainly bold enough to stand on their own but blended together they create a beautiful medley of flavors that is so different, subtle and so unexpected you go back in for another bite just so your mouth can explore some more.

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Triple Chocolate Malt Bread

Triple Chocolate Malt Quick Bread

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chips melted
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups cinnamon applesauce
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chocolate malt powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Glaze:
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate mini chips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup chocolate malt powder
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 cup chocolate chips; set aside to cool. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and cooled chocolate; mix well. Add applesauce and vanilla; set aside. Combine the flour, chocolate malt powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips.
• Spoon into four mini loaf pans sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks.
• For glaze, melt chocolate chips and butter in a small heavy saucepan; stir in cream. Remove from the heat; stir in confectioners' sugar, chocolate malt powder, vanilla and salt. Drizzle over warm breads. Cool completely.

The post Differences {Recipe: Triple Chocolate Malt Bread} appeared first on Dine and Dish.