chewy chocolate energy bites

The last few mornings, I've taken Carl for a walk. If you don't know who Carl is, he's my pet turtle. Just kidding, he's my huge 120 pound baby rottweiler! He's the cutest thing ever, despite the amount of toilet paper and other non edible objects he consumes on a daily basis. He's got quite the funny personality too. He loves to sit on people because he thinks he's approximately the size of a poodle. Carl's got identity issues.

Anyways, I think he has ADHD times a thousand, so we don't bring him for walks often {read: EVER}. That AND you know how the dogs are here… They bark at you like nobody's business and the owners just leave the gates open so that their dogs can so lovingly approach you. Or attack you. 

The last time we took him outside of the gate was probably at least 5 months ago. Poor guy, so anti-social like. That didn't go well… Our walk was like 5 feet long because he was going bonkers and decided he wanted to roll over and lay down in the middle of the road. Cool, Carl. Cool. 

You should see people's faces when they see us coming down the road. At one point in our walk the other morning, there were lots of people out walking. But when they saw Carl and I coming down the road, everyone moved to the other side. It was kinda hilarious. Because none of the dogs here are really taken care of let alone walked on a daily basis, we get some pretty funny and scared for their life looks. 

WELL! Turns out, his skills have improved over the months. I don't know HOW since he doesn't have much experience, but I'll take it. I took him on a route on a side of the neighborhood where the dogs are better behaved. Yah, the neighborhood is split up into areas of good dogs and bad dogs. But, he did WAY better than I expected. Baby boy didn't even bark the whole time and just kinda… Stared at the other dogs. "Yah, Look at me. I'm outside of the gate, suckers!" 

Towards the end of the walk, he's so pooped, so I decide to take advantage of it and run a little bit. First, he starts of walking and I'm pretty much dragging this dumb 120 pound dog down the road. But then, he gets little bursts of energy and pulls me with all his might. It's kinda like an "I pull you, you pull me." situation. So… my arms are pretty sore. 

In other news… I made you energy bites. They're chocolatey and healthy. Surprised? Perfect for a post-walk snack! Or any-time-of-the-day snack. 

chewy chocolate energy bites

makes 9 medium sized bites

1 1/4 c. dried pitted dates, finely chopped

3 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. oats

3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. dark chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the dates, honey, and vanilla. Add oats and cocoa and fold in dark chocolate chips. Roll dough into balls; about 1 1/2 tablespoons each. Place into an airtight container or plastic bag and store refrigerated.