These Coconut Caramel Bars are rich & decadent, yet light and fluffy. They are made with oats and coconut, which pack a nutritional punch, yet the caramel & chocolate chips add a perfectly sweet touch. 

I had so much leftover caramel from when I made my Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake, and I was anxious to create something else with it! So I bring you...Coconut Caramel Oat Bars. These bars are filled with oaty goodness, healthy fats from the coconut and delectable sweetness from the chocolate chips and the caramel. 

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Happy Hump Day!! I have a new workout to share with you all today that takes less than 30 minutes! Now that's efficiency.  Before I share, here's a short recap of what my workouts looked like last week. I was a little on the slow side all last week after the half marathon.

Monday:

Taught 6 a.m. spin class - actually not as bad as I thought it would be after the half! After work, I got a deep tissue massage. I may have cried a little bit. That shit was painful. I'm SO tight everywhere! New priorities: mobility and flexibility. 

Tuesday: 

Rest day - wanted to make it to a yoga class, but I was exhausted.

Wednesday: 

Was going to go to a 5:30 barre class after work, but couldn't leave the office in time. Ended up going to a 6:30 boot camp class with two of my co-workers and it ended up being a great workout! Really tough, but I needed it. I'm actually subbing this class tonight, I'm pumped! 

Thursday:

5:15 a.m. sculpt class (UGHHH so early)

Friday:

Rest!

Saturday:

Taught Super Circuits - this was a fun one, I programmed a workout revolving around the stability ball, which I don't use often enough! 

Sunday:

I loved not having a long run planned and went to the gym and kind of dilly dallied around. I did some squats, deadlifts, a whole bunch of TRX exercises, some kettlebell stuff - I felt like a kid in a playground and I didn't have to rush! Don't you love that?

Below is a workout that I did last night with Chelsey after work. We were tired and wanted to get in and out in less than 45 minutes and we did just that. I'm still getting used to this darker earlier thing. At 5:30 it feels like it's 11! This took us about 20 minutes. Feel free to modify - you don't need to add in the box jump with the burpee, you can do regular squats instead of squat presses, squat jumps instead of KB swings, etc.I'll leave you with a fun little playlist I used for my Monday morning spin class! 

XO- Rach

What's everyone else doing to sweat this week?

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I've got a great fall recipe to share today - Turkey Black Bean Chili!  Before I share I'll talk about my weekend a bit (because I know everyone just cares so much ;].) It was low key over here. After a month as busy as October it felt GREAT to relax and reset a bit. I taught my super circuits class on Saturday at Sweat Fitness in Old City - missed that class so much because I haven't been able to teach for the past two weekends! I will share a similar workout here in the next week. The rest of Saturday consisted of some Trader Joe's shopping, chili-making & a whole lot of chillin'. 

Yesterday was the first Sunday since the end of August that I didn't have a long run on my schedule and it felt AMAZING. I slept in (until 7:30...) and then Michael and I grabbed coffee and a rugelach from High Point Cafe before coming back to make pancakes. I took advantage of my time and headed to the gym for a long workout. I didn't have a plan, I don't really remember what I did, but it felt so good to move my body and not have to be in a rush to go anywhere! Ah, Sunday's I love you. 

Getting on to the fun stuff. This chili recipe is real easy to make. I don't like to do complicated. It's got a lot of hearty protein & fiber and it's very delicious. A little fiesta for your taste buds.

My favorite part about chilis like this is that there are a lot of ways that you can dress them up. I have the dish pictured here with cheddar cheese and cilantro, but later on I added greek yogurt, avocado and hot sauce. SO good. Give it a try! So excited to eat the leftovers for lunch in my very 'chilly' office. 

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