twoyacks said:

in lieu of a food processor....will a high quality Kitchen aid blender do the trick on dates?

I'm going to take this as a question for me re a previous recipe post.  Short answer: give it a shot!  I'd recommend soaking them longer, in warm water, to get them as soft as possible before blending.  It's unlikely that the blender will do the same job as a food processor, but that might be fine.  How fine the dates are ground is mostly important for hold, so if your final product (granola bar or bonk breaker or whatever) is too crumbly, perhaps compensate with a little extra peanut butter.  

Thanks....I just bought the Mac-Daddy of blenders...a Kitchen Aid Diamond Jar....those dates haven't got a chance !!!!!

Observations on blending dates from my new liquid diet. Soaked about 1/4 cup date pieces overnight in almond milk and then tossed them in my high quality blender w/ almond milk and greek yogurt. After significant blending time...chunky results. Not horrible. Drinkable, but not straw-able. Nowhere near as smooth as the next batch I whipped up with the food processor I subsequently fetched from storage.

This is the answer...

That is to blenders what Mad Fiber is to wheels...

This is the mac daddy of blenders (with a bike theme):

http://youtu.be/L5NjeNUVkYE

I am a regular Betty Crocker over here...

I went with a dash of cinnamon and a dollop of nutella.

BikeTiresDirect keeps sending me free 5-Hour Energy bottle-eenies.  Finally broke down and tried one.  Will post effects here.

I used to dump it in with my water for races to give my heart rate an extra kick in the ass.

Now I mix Osmo powder with a teaspoon or two of green tea matcha powder.  Doesn't have the same caffeine content as EXTREME 5 HOUR ENERGY but that's probably a good thing.

Jules said:

BikeTiresDirect keeps sending me free 5-Hour Energy bottle-eenies.  Finally broke down and tried one.  Will post effects here.

Taste: Rhino-dung blended with the venom of an elderly gorgon.

Effects after 5 minutes: regret.

Effects after 60 minutes: ...still watiing

in Wikipedia, "In 2012, Forbes magazine commissioned an independent lab to analyze the contents within full bottles of 5-Hour Energy. The findings showed that the regular strength 5-Hour Energy contained 157 mg of caffeine, whereas the Extra Strength version had a caffeine content of 206 mg, very close to that determined by ConsumerLab.com ^[9] The regular strength bottles sold in the United Kingdom contain 156 mg of caffeine.^[10]"

or this

No way, JP, if anything I'm switching to POWERTHIIIIIRST.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs

...and it is made by Canadians, eh, so you know it will be good stuff, eh?

https://powerthirst.ca/

I was active all day. Whatever, the stuff is nastier than Bantha-snot and didn't do diddly. To the bin with it.

I've heard that B12 affects people differently. I know that it does nothing for me, but it lights up my friend. That's what these energy boosters like 5hr energy are all about.

Incredibly, this story is from today...

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/oregon-sues-5-hour-energy-over-ad-claims

Round 2 for bonk bars. This time I put coconut and dried pineapples in...yummy

*tips hat

Scroll back there is a long discussion on caffeine and it's "allowed" then "banned" then "warned" and finally "allowed" status according to WADA.

Good writing re the sweet spot of intake of kinds of nutrients/foods.
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/08/finding-the-sweet-spot-with-sports-nutrition/

Speaking of sweets; I'm dangerously close to a 1:1 ratio of jars of Nutella & bottles of Wine over here.

Hey!  Allen Lim stole my matcha idea!

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/skratch-labs-exercise-hydration-mix-slb0001?ti=UExQIEJyYW5kOjoxOjE6MTAwMDAxNTUyX251bGw&skidn=SLB0001-MAT-ONESIZ

more on the drawbacks of caffeine

Whatever, JP, more Konditori for me!

@JohnnyM - re: Beta-alanine - the ONLY thing that ever did for me was the whole-body tingly (pins/needles) effect. Which is actually quite pleasant and is a great reason to use it often.