lake darling trail run & peanut butter mocha

Saturday mid-morning was the perfect time to hit the trails for another trail run.

The destination:: Lake Darling State Park

The distance:: 9 miles

The feeling:: refreshing, amazing, relaxing, and again - rejuvenating.

The sites::



I love the fact that when trail running (at least for me) pace is something not to worry about. For me, it is more about just getting out there, enjoying the sites and change of pace from road running, exploring new paths and trying to remember the way back to the car.

I feel that I could trail run for miles and miles. Which is awesome, considering I would like to run a few trail ultras someday.

This morning, we slept in until 6:00 (seriously!) and woke up to a rain soaked lawn - a dreary Fall morning. Mornings like this just scream curl up with a good book and a piping hot cuppa joe and read until you can't stand it any more.

Instead, we bundled up and took Maia for a long walk and then came home and made peanut butter mochas to warm up our chilled fingers and toes.

Peanut Butter Mocha



In the mix::

• 2 cups dark chocolate almond milk*
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups strongly brewed coffee, or 2-4 espresso shots

*alternatively you could use 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk (or any other dairy/non-dairy milk for that matter), mixed with 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc). 

In a small saucepan, heat the almond milk and peanut butter until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour heated milk into a blender and blend on high until frothy, about 30 seconds to one minute. (Be sure to leave the top open a little to allow steam to escape. I cover the top with a towel, just in case.)

Pour coffee into two large or four small mugs and slowly stir in milk. 

Serves:: 2-4

These peanut butter mocha are super rich so I would recommend serving four. That being said, Nic and I had no problem sipping down the entire batch ourselves.