Part 1 | The wounds no one sees. Hitting rock bottom.
Tarah’s Peanut Butter Cups. fresh|simple|versatile
Say NO to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and say YES to making your own just the way you like. Why? Because they taste fresh, you can use your favorite chocolate, your favorite nut butter, you can decide how sweet you want them & you can use a touch of coconut oil instead of butter! ♥
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Ingredients: GROSS
INGREDIENTS: 4 ingredients
- 16 oz chocolate in block or chip form ( I prefer non-dairy dark chocolate)
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter ( I prefer natural with the only ingredients being peanuts and salt. You can use almond, cashew butter etc.)
- 2 tbsp butter, softened ( I prefer to use coconut oil because I can’t have butter)
- 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar ( more or less to your liking)
DIRECTIONS: 6 steps
- Line a muffin tin with 12 liners
- Divide chocolate (block or chips) into two halves. Put half in a bowl & microwave for 15 seconds at a time while stirring in between. DO NOT BURN your chocolate!
- Spoon out chocolate into muffin liners. No more than a spoonful. I tend to only make 9 peanut butter cups because I use too much chocolate. Lightly drop the pan on the counter & shake the pan around to help flatten out the chocolate. Then put in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Next, prepare the peanut butter by combining peanut butter, oil & sugar. I hand mix them until smooth. (Electric mixers just mean more dishes)
- Now put a scoop of peanut butter mixture onto the layer of chocolate & repeat the dropping & shaking racket. The peanut butter will freeze fast so don’t wait until you’ve filled all the liners to flatten. Return to freezer for 10 min.
- Melt the second batch of chocolate & add the last layer to the peanut butter cups and put back into the freezer. Enjoy soon after! ( keep refrigerated)
Melt your chocolate 
Mix peanut butter, sugar & oil 
After the first layer is frozen, get ready for layer 2! 
Add layer 2. Shake & drop pan to flatten out 
Layer 2 is frozen, now add layer 3 
Time to enjoy!
Wake Up Your Core- 2017
Carve out 10 minutes TODAY and start gaining the strength you’ve always wanted!
As promised, here’s a look at some of my favorite core exercises.
Coming soon: workouts ranging from beginner to expert and new YouTube videos on my channel. Tarah Cole YouTube
How to survive, after you survived a car/bike crash : week 1
Dedicated to the many cyclists who have been killed in Boulder these last couple of months who can never share their road to getting back in the saddle.
You’re spinning out the legs for your race the next day. You’ve done a few efforts but are about to start some one minute efforts in zone 4. You’re in your happy place. The bike is where you feel at peace. It’s the one place you feel safe and at peace with yourself. It’s the place where you work out all of your problems. It’s the place you celebrate the victories of life. Yeah, some days you get a flat or have tired legs. Some days you get rained on or you develop a saddle sore.
But being in the saddle is who you are. It defines you. It makes you a better person. You ride your bike because you love it in a way that you could never love anything else.
You stop at the light. It turns green. You start pedaling again and are back up to speed.
You see a car.
Blackness.
You wake up in an ambulance scared with no idea where you are or how you got there. You have no memory that you rode your bike that day.
You remember a beach or was it a wheat field?
Now you hear distant voices.
You feel pain. “Where am I?”, you whimper.
You have a face in your mind, a name you repeat over and over…
And then darkness again.
separated shoulder
Hitting head/shoulder first into a car at 28.2 mph is not how you envisioned the end of your season, the end of your 2016 goals. It’s not how you envisioned your next life chapter. You had so many races left, so many bike rides, travel plans and career plans.
Luna cuddling
But suddenly, the only thing that matters is healing and making a slow progression to the person you used to be.
In a matter of seconds your life is changed. Although, I have little memory of it now (thankfully I wrote notes to myself in my phone), here’s how I survived week 1:
- Celebrate the little things– It’s ok if finally pooping is the highlight of your day. Or week. Yay Vicodin.
- Keep the anger away– Feeling angry won’t help you heal. Anger felt by your cycling buddies and family isn’t healthy either. It’s better to embrace that fact that you ARE ALIVE and your injuries are not worse.
- Let people show they care– It’s not the time to be stubborn. Let him wash the blood from your hair, let her comb your hair. If mom wants to mop your floors, let her. It’s a beautiful thing to have people who love you.
- Take your concussion seriously– That means maybe the phone interviews aren’t a good idea. For now, give up all of that texting, thinking about memories, loud noises, multi-tasking and adding numbers. Your brain is in pain. It will function slowly. If you don’t relax, you’ll get confused, tired and angry.
- Wash your armpits– I couldn’t believe how bad I smelled. Take the time and energy ( and help from others) to change your clothes and put on deodorant. It WILL make you feel better and like you aren’t rotting away
- Forgive yourself when your body/ mind aren’t working– Mixing your medical appointments up, miscalculating the distance to the shelf, walking super slow, blurry vision, suddenly crying,not being able to put your socks on, stopping mid-sentence and feeling like you can’t remember anything, . It’s frustrating but don’t get down on yourself.
- It’s ok to be freaked out be cars– What you experienced was traumatic. Even being in a car may scare you. You may feel like there’s going to be a crash at any given moment. That’s where I am at today. I don’t know what will happen when I can ride a bike again but don’t be ashamed if you have anxiety.
Most importantly, don’t let fear stop you from love.
Johnathan washing out blood
My mom making me smile again
COCOA ELITE sending me great stuff!
I’m fortunate that I can even write this.
I feel fortunate for the immense amount of love and support I have received. The kind words, the flowers, cards, visits from friends and gifts from cycling sponsors. There are not enough thanks I could ever give in return.
I want to thank the man, Jim, who was at my side 10 seconds after the crash holding my head\neck and taking care of me while I lie on the double yellow bleeding. There are no words to express my gratitude.
Lastly, thank you Johnathan for washing blood off me for days, learning a pony tail, convincing me I wasn’t in line in Disney world, convincing me that I was still pretty, dressing me and loving me.
Race.Recover.Repeat.with COCOA ELITE
e, 
Recovery is equally important as training (to those who know me, I’ve been learning that the hard way for a while now). Recovery takes on many forms and one of the most important aspects of recovery is WHAT YOU EAT.
I’m headed to North Star Grand Prix (NSGP) this week, so why not share one of my favorite ways to recover!
North Star is on the Pro Race Tour Calendar and is a SIX stage race over five days. When racing multiple days in row, it’s crucial that you refuel and be ready for your next race. I like to recover with COCOA ELITE black bean brownies. Check out the recipe below!
Use discount code “QCW-1115” to order your COCOA ELITE products.
![IMG_5525[1]](https://growfuelperform.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/img_55251.jpg?w=320&h=569)
Black bean brownies with COCOA ELITE
1 can black beans rinsed
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup COCOA ELITE cocoa
1/3 brown sugar ( add to taste)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
Peanut butter to your liking ( or try almond, sunflower, cashew etc.)
Dark chocolate chips
- Rinse the beans thoroughly
2. Throw everything but the peanut butter and chocolate chips in the food processor. (If you don’t have a large one then do the beans separately and then add to the other the ingredients)
3. Stir in peanut butter ( maybe a half of a cup) . I prefer the crunchy all natural kind. Then stir in a bunch of dark chocolate chips.
** You might want to add some more sugar. It really depends on how bitter the chocolate chips are and if the peanut butter has added sugar. This recipe is very flexible 🙂
I pour the mix into an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. I still spray or oil the paper. Cook at 350 degrees for about 12-18 minutes. ( cooking time will vary so keep an eye on them)
Take them out while they are fudgey still. Let them cool in the fridge COMPLETELY before cutting them. They are best when they are cold as they hold their form better.
![IMG_5470[1]](https://growfuelperform.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/img_54701.jpg?w=335&resize=335%2C447&h=447#038;h=447 "IMG_5470[1]")
Why COCOA ELITE??
Current research is finding that the cocoa flavanols might even be contributing to athletic performance by increasing endurance and improvements in recovery.
Why not other cocoa?
Check out the website to learn more about why there is a significant reduction in flavanol content in other brands. /www.cocoaelite.com/
Thanks to COCOA ELITE for sponsoring QCW Women’s Domestic Elite Cycling Team!
A week in the life of pro cyclist: Johnathan Freter
Because who doesn’t love crunchy chips?? { apple & banana }
I crave crunchy things. Sometimes I want to eat a whole bag of chips and sometimes I sort of do. People will suggest eating carrots because they are crunchy. Um no. I love carrots but carrots are not chips and there’s way I can convince myself they are.
Best alternative: make your own chips. Apple and bananas make for excellent chips that are healthy, sweet and crunchy. Using a dehydrator you can make them yourself and you’ll save a lot of money.
sliced apples
buy your fruit
sliced bananas
How?
- Buy some apples and bananas( not overripe ones)
- Slice the apples in equal widths. Do the same for the bananas. You don’t want some crunchy apples and some still soft so this is important.
Optional: spray a bit a lemon juice to prevent browning. I don’t mind the browning of the bananas though.
- Place them on the dehydrator at temperature suggested ( usually 125 -135 F)
- They should take between 8-12 hours**. I usually start them before I go to bed and check them in the morning. If you aren’t sleeping you should rotate your trays for even drying
** It depends on how crunchy you like them
** It also depends on how thin\thick you slice them
- Let them cool and put them in a Zip lock and suck the air out so that they won’t get soft.
Enjoy within the week. They aren’t filled with preservatives so they won’t last forever 😉
You can also dehydrate tomatoes, mangoes, pineapples, carrots and potatoes!
Questions? Just ask!
Videos: Core exercises with kitchen towels & bar stools! {no gym nor fancy equipment required}
If you feel that don’t have time to drive to the gym, if you have an infant at home, if you work from home or if you like to do core exercises at commercials like my mom THEN this is the workout for you!
In conjunction with my other core videos, add these to your workout for a new and exciting challenge.
Be sure to check out my other videos posted on my blog and YouTube channel by searching “Tarah Cole” and subscribing to my channel!
Video clips: The Core exercises that will give you results + detailed workouts for all skill levels
COMPLETE NOVICE (very little experience with planks, core and\or weight training )
1 set:
10 reps reach planks (total)
10 reps raised knee ins (total)
10 reps reverse crunch
10 reps knee planks (total)
10 reps crisscrosses (total)
10 reps step out planks (total)
10 reps leg raises
1x 15 sec side plank- each side
** if you can’t do the planks, try to just do a 15 second normal plank until you build the shoulder strength
** start with one set of these. If you can do 3, that’s great. As you progress, try to either add another set or do 12-15 reps
BEGINNER (has some experience with core exercises )
2 sets of these 7 exercises:
15 reps reach planks (total)
15 reps raised knee ins (total)
15 reps reverse crunch
15 reps knee planks (total)
15 reps crisscrosses (total)
15 reps step out planks (total)
15 reps leg raises
After the two sets do,
2x 30 sec side plank- each side ( four total)
** if you can’t do the planks, try to just do a 30 sec normal plank until you build the shoulder strength
** start with two sets of these. If you can do more, that’s great. As you progress, try to either add another set or do 20-30 reps
INTERMEDIATE (good fitness level . Can hold 30 sec plank)
1 set:
20 reps reach planks (total)
20 reps raised knee ins (total)
20 reps reverse crunch
20 reps knee planks (total)
20 reps crisscrosses (total)
20 reps step out planks (total)
20 reps leg raises
Then 1 set:
20 reps knee planks (total)
20 reps leg raises
20 reps reverse crunch
20 reps reach planks (total)
20 reps crisscrosses (total)
20 reps step out planks (total)
20 reps raised knee ins (total)
Try repeating both of these sets!
Then 4x 30 sec side plank- each side
** if you can’t do the planks, try to just do a 30 sec normal plank until you build the shoulder strength
** start with two sets of these. If you can do more, that’s great. As you progress, try to either add another set or do 25-30 reps
ADVANCED ( has a core regimen in place. Already doing planks. Can hold a 1 min plank)
Do 2 sets. All 15 are considered a set. If needed rest after each group of 5.
30 reps reach planks (total)
30 reps raised knee ins (total)
30 reps step out planks (total)
30 reps reverse crunch
30 reps knee planks (total)
————————————–
30 reps knee planks (total)
30 reps leg raises
30 reps reach planks (total)
30 reps crisscrosses (total)
30 reps step out planks (total)
—————————————-
30 reps step out planks (total)
30 reps raised knee ins (total)
30 reps knee planks (total)
30 reps reverse crunch
30 reps reach planks (total)
Lastly after the sets, 4x 45 sec side plank- each side
** if you can’t do the planks, try to just do a 30 sec normal plank until you build the shoulder strength
** start with two sets of these. If you can do more, that’s great. As you progress, try to add another set and take a shorter break
EXPERT ( planking and core exercises on a very regular basis)
Do 3 sets. All 15 are considered a set. No rest until all 15 are complete! Wear ankle weights to make it harder.
30 reps reach planks (total)
30 reps raised knee ins (total)
30 reps step out planks (total)
30 reps reverse crunch
30 reps knee planks (total)
————————————–
30 reps knee planks (total)
30 reps leg raises
30 reps reach planks (total)
30 reps crisscrosses (total)
30 reps step out planks (total)
—————————————-
30 reps step out planks (total)
30 reps raised knee ins (total)
30 reps knee planks (total)
30 reps reverse crunch
30 reps reach planks (total)
Then do 9×1 minute planks ( rotate left side, right side and front)
“Throw a bunch of $h!t in a pan” recipe that always saves the day.
“What should we have for dinner?”
“I dunno. What’s in the fridge?”
{Insert lengthy list here}
Solution: Put it all in a pan
Just choose what you have\like and mix and match.
VEGETABLES/BEANS\LENTILS/GRAINS
Broccoli, carrots, black beans, chick peas, spinach, kale, butternut squash, quinoa, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, green beans…
SPICES
Paprika, onion powder, pepper, garlic. (whatever you like!)
MEAT (optional)
Here’s a secret. I love meat. What’s better than a pork chop for breakfast?! But I often eat this medley without meat. If you want pair it with some chicken, venison or BACON, go right ahead.
OIL
A splash of olive oil or no oil works just fine. I usually choose a splash of water.
TOPPINGS
Sriracha, feta cheese, avocado, verde ( in my house it’s always verde) and the list goes on.
This is the most versatile ‘recipe’ ever! You have the liberty to use what vegetables, spices, meat, grains etc. that you like best.
Cooking doesn’t have to be hard! When I finish a 100 mile ride I want to eat the kitchen so that’s what I do. When I’ve had a long day at work and don’t want to cook, I throw some $h!t in a pan.
Note: You might not really be able to put it all in the pan at one time. If you are cooking onions I would cook them first. Broccoli, spinach and kale soften up fast so you’ll want to add them last. If you’re using sweet potatoes or squash, cook that separate in the oven or pan as it takes the longest. And lastly, grains…cook them separate too.
Also note: Use some common sense and don’t mix soy sauce and black beans. Not everything belongs in the same meal 🙂
Perfect for: eating for one, busy parents, athletes, lazy cooks, those wanting to eat better.
EASY. HEALTHY. DELICIOUS.
Grow.Fuel.Perform 