cookie monster

So it is a week into my current diet and I am feeling great! I have been on countless diets before and some have worked, some haven't. Never the fault of the diet, always the fault of the dieter. If you stick with a program, it will work, the trick is keeping up the hard work until the weight comes off. Believe me, I know, it is hard work. Always before I have decided that I didn't like the way I look (usually after seeing myself and all of my chins in random pictures that friends took, in awkward poses, usually 2.5 sheets to the wind-not pretty under any circumstance-but I digress...) this time, my motivation is different.
I used to work with a girl, she was average. Her hair was normal, her face was pretty, her belly was jiggly-you know, my kind of girl. Just like me in fact. She just posted some pictures of herself on facebook (or the downfall of civilization, as Alan calls it) the other day, and she is a knock out! Seriously, it's ridiculous. I looked at her, and then I looked again.
Here was a normal girl, that I knew, that had lost 65 pounds by just getting it done. (sounds easy right? HA!) Well, feeling my pants get tighter and tighter wasn't a strong enough motivator (plus I totally ROCK yoga pants, so why bother with jeans anyway-right?) but besting this girl was. Leave it to me to find a bitchy way to find my muse. (it's a gift) I decided right then that if she could do it, then you bet your sweet ass that I could do it too. It was ON!
So here I am, a week in and doing fine. Better than ever before on a diet even. Any time I need to remember what my goal is, I can peek at her gorgeous skinny pictures and remember right away. She is now a super model and I am rolling around in stretchy pants. (please note that later when I fall off of the wagon, I will need support and lots of cookies. Also note, PMS is rapidly approaching..that of course needs no further explanation)
I have been spending all kinds of time swapping recipe ingredients to make yummy things that I can eat and still feel full and have the foods I want. (and need, let's just be honest here for a minute-why do you think I am in this position in the first place? cookies=need)
Without further ado, I give you

diet friendly kick ass almost peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (WHUT?!-OH YEAH!)

1/2 C sugar free maple syrup
1/2 C Better n' Peanut Butter (fake peanut butter, find it at Trader Joes)
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used almond, I'm a freak like that)
1 C whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp mini chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350*. Put parchment on your big cookie sheet. In a large mixing bowl whooge together syrup, nut butter, and vanilla. When it's nice and smooth, stir in flour. When it's a nice stiff dough, add chippies. Use your cookie scoop to plop it all onto the parchment (I got 21 this time, they don't grow much so you can crowd them) and stick it in the oven for 10 minutes. They will slip right off the parchment no problem, so you can eat them right away. (I know this is important!)

these little babies will knock your socks off and they are only 40 calories each! even less if you leave out the chips-but why would you EVER do that? These whip up in minutes-please learn from my mistake and make them when no one is looking, or you will have to share. (which really isn't fair at all)

that's all-j out