Homemade Twix & How Weekends Ruin My Digestive System

Hey guys,

As promised, albeit late, I am here to report on the Twix bars I made. Unfortunately I did not photograph them, but I'll include the photograph from the blog where I found the recipe (it is much prettier than any I could have taken anyway). First off, they are super easy, but take time. Each layer has to cool off, two in the fridge or freezer, so a recipe that only takes 30 minutes to prepare is stretched into two hours.

I found them initially on pinterest (basically where all my recipes are found now) but here is the blog with the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 cups caramel, cut into small chunks
• 3 Tbsp. heavy cream
• 3 cups chocolate chips
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (Optional)

Directions:

For the crust:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degree Fahrenheit.
2. Spray a 9x13 in pan with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and vanilla.
4. Add the flour - at first the mixture may seem dry, but will come together quickly.
5. Take the dough and press it evenly into the pan. (Lightly flouring your fingertips will help with any sticking.)
6. Prick the crust all over with a fork - this allows steam to escape so the crust will bake evenly with fewer bubbles.
7. Bake until lightly golden brown on top and edges - about 30-35 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edges to loosen the crust. Set aside to cool completely.

For the caramel layer:

1. Melt the caramel and cream in a small saucepan over low heat.
2. Pour the caramel over the cooled crust and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.

For the chocolate layer:

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave using ten second increments - stirring every time.
2. If the chocolate seems too thick, add a tablespoon of shortening to thin it. (Just know that this will leave your end-resulting chocolate a little softer than normal. I don't use it for this very reason. )
3. Pour evenly over the chilled caramel layer and spread until it covers the entire surface.
4. Return to the refrigerator (or freezer) until the chocolate is well set.
5. Cut and serve.

 I ended up making them twice this week. Yeah, twice. I made them on Thursday and took them to work and then the leftovers to a friends house after. The next day I was with the same friend and we decided we needed to have them again. I would like to point out that I was very good in only eating a small one each day. However, on Thursday everyone seemed to have the same idea of bringing food to work (what does that say about our coping mechanisms? see last post) and so while I was good in only eating one twix bar on Thursday I also had a delicious homemade pretzel as well as a small slice of cake from The Bakery.

I've been kind of struggling the past week and a half with my dieting habits. I plan really well and then don't always follow through, or I have a really rough weekend and eat pizza and oreos and drink dr. pepper. Last week I was pretty solid on the weekdays. Then this weekend I had pizza on friday, plus a couple oreos, and two dr peppers. Saturday I had a muffin at work (despite my "healthy" lunch I brought), steak nachos for dinner, three oreos and a churro. Plus last night at about 11 I was hungry and had some microwaveable mac and cheese.

I feel like some days I have the resolve and then others I don't, but I am thinking it's all about convenience. The days when I put work into my meals I stick with them but then I usually don't have much planned for the weekends because something in my head tells me I can have some "cheat" meals, or that I have the will power to make good choices at restaurants or drive-thrus. I need to just stop with the drive-thrus altogether. I know that seems pretty obvious, like, why would I still even go there when I have these specific goals? It's all the effing convenience and my laziness. I think that's the key here, as long as I plan and keep it up I'll be okay, and that might mean having to bring something pre-prepared to a friends house but right now I feel like that's my best option.

On Friday night as I was leaving my friends house my tummy was not happy. I felt sick, like I had a stomach bug sick (and even though I developed a cold, I feel like it was unrelated as it only lasted a couple of hours). I am pretty sure I can relate this to my horrible food choices that day. I only wish I could remember that feeling each time I am presented with the opportunity to have a treat or pizza.

Any tips on staying focused on the weekends?
I would like to point out that last week I was able to muster up the motivation to go to the gym three days! woot! However, I developed a cough over the weekend and didn't go running yesterday :(

This week is boyfriends birthday, plus we are babysitting two of my nieces this week so I'm a little concerned about my meals. I haven't been to the grocery store or planned anything out yet which already spells disaster. I need to do that tonight. And, I'm gonna try and convince myself not to splurge on boyfriends birthday, it's his day to splurge not mine (I did that last week). Hopefully I can maintain that mentality on Wednesday.