An oxymoron of sorts.

I have two recommendations to share with you today. And they are polar opposites of each other.

First, I'd recommend The 30 Day Shred DVD by Jillian Michaels. I am almost done with all 30 days and yikes, it's still hard. I don't do fancy choreographed workouts and this DVD is no nonsense. You will sweat (a lot) and do a lot of old school exercises (jumpjacks and pushups, anyone?) and do a ridiculous amount of plyometrics. But, hey, they work! The best part is the DVD is less than 30 minutes long. Anyone can workout for 20 minutes. I added it to my morning run, and I definitely can feel a difference in my strength. I know I've lost a few pounds too, but I don't monitor closely enough to know the exact amount.

Second, I'd recommend the Barefoot Contessa's peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies. YUM. If you like a reece's peanut butter cup, you will love these. I'm thinking I would get more toned from The Shred if I stopped making baked goods. Oh well. Recipe follows!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies, recipe courtesy Barefoot Contessa's book Parties!

Ingredients

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1.5 Cups light brown sugar, packed

3/4 Cup granulated sugar

2 extra-large eggs at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 Cup good smooth peanut butter (I used Kroger brand, not sure if that qualifies as "good")

2.5 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound good semisweet chocolate chunks (c'mon splurge on the ghiradelli, it will taste that much better)

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and peanut butter, and mix. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the batter, mixing only until combined. I never sift my dry ingredients. I'm sure you should though! ;)

Fold in the chocolate chunks. Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using either a 1-3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands, flatten the dough lightly, then press the tines of a wet fork in both directions. Bake for exactly 17 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

I had a smaller ice cream scoop (believe it is 1.5 inches) and I baked mine 15 minutes and they were perfect.