cocoa peanut date balls

Yesterday was a glorious day.  I had no plans, no teaching and no agenda.  Hunter’s been a little under the weather the past couple of days so it was nice to be able to be home to give him lots of opportunity to sleep.  I woke at 5am with the hubs (not normally when I get up), made him coffee and food to take and then instead of going back to bed, I was awake and got to the day!

Coffee, first breakfast (toasted whole wheat english muffin sandwich with cream cheese, an egg with cheese) and my daily devotional to start the day.

It was perfect for that day, because while I did have lots of busyness going on, I didn’t feel rushed or overwhelmed like I normally would.

After that,  I turned into a crazy cleaning lady.  First I started inside by making the bed and folding + putting away two loads of laundry.  I also picked up the clothes, empty glasses and random things around our bedroom.

Then around 7am I went outside.  I watered the front lawn, cut down a bunch of black berry vines, pulled weeds, trimmed a tree + some bushes and even picked up dog poop from the back yard.  All before it got too hot outside and prior to Hunter waking for the day.

Around 8:15am Hunter woke.  We had breakfast (breakfast #2 for me) then went for a walk outside.

Hunter started to fall asleep right before we got home, so I put him into bed when we returned.  Then I continued to clean!

It was time for the downstairs bathroom.  Shower scrubbed, shower liner replaced, outside shower curtain washed (because I accidentally squirted bleach on it… whoops!) toilet cleaned, sink and mirror cleaned, and the floor swept + mopped.  Then I showered myself.

Before lunch I made some healthy treats, which I’m going to share after all my ramblings + I cleaned up the kitchen.  Hunter woke around 12:15pm and we ate lunch – grilled avocado and cheese + orange slices + a green smoothie for him.

I put the peel from our orange slices + some rosemary from the yard into a pot with some water and turned it on low.   The house smelled divine.

We went to a couple stores to get out of the house, but by 2pm Hunter was sleepy again, so back home.  He went down for his long nap around 2:30pm and that lasted until around 5:45pm.  That boy sure is sleepy when he doesn’t feel well!

During that time I only did a few more things: picked up the downstairs hall a bit, unloaded the dishwasher from running it earlier, took out all the recycling, emptied the garbage cans throughout the house, relaxed for quite some time on pinterest, folded two more loads of laundry and made these peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

YUM.

It was a packed day, but since I didn’t have any kind of agenda it actually felt pretty relaxed.  I didn’t feel busy, I just did what I wanted to do.  And normally I never clean this much… so this was not very Heather like.

Now onto the treats!  I’ve had a hankering for some chocolatey date balls.  Last week when I was in the bulk section I stocked up on dates and peanuts.  I remembered to soak my dates early on in the morning (which is key!), which made them come together quickly.  They are best stored in the fridge to harden up.  Enjoy!

Cocoa Peanut Date Balls

makes about 20 balls (depending on size)

Ingredients

• 2 cups dates (soaked for at least 2 hours in water)
• 1.5 cups dry roasted peanuts (unsalted)
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• pinch of sea salt

Directions

1. In the food processor pulse the dates (excess water from soaking drained) until they turn into a smooth paste.  Remove and place in a bowl.
2. Add the peanuts to the food processor and pulse until they are broken into small pieces (just don’t go too long or it will turn into peanut butter!).
3. Add the dates back in, along with the cocoa powder + sea salt.  Pulse until everything is combined.
4. Place plastic wrap on a baking sheet or cutting board.  Roll into balls (slightly smaller than golf ball size), and place on baking sheet.  Store in the fridge to harden up.

Do you ever have days like that where you just go crazy cleaning?  Have you made date balls before?  What’s your favorite flavor combo?  Another recipe I love are these almond, date and coconut balls.  Sooooo good.

Not much cleaning planned for today… 3 classes to teach.   Have a wonderful Thursday all!

Heather