Tag Archives: oats

The Last Three Days

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The last three days have been great. Summer school is over! I’m a senior! (again!) We went to Ohio! Yep, I wasn’t blogging because the summer of weekend fun has officially begun. Let’s back up to Friday morning first.

I stayed up late on Thursday (Adam was studying and I was doing nothing) so waking up was rough. Somehow I did manage to get out of bed and make it to the gym. And then I did strength training! I walked on the treadmill for 7 minutes to warm up and then spent 30 minutes rotating though a cycle of strength machines plus stretch moves on the mat.

Since I actually did weights work it seemed like the perfect time for the Honey Core Power protein drink I bought on sale.

It was fine, not great, but 26 grams of protein in a few minutes is nothing to sneeze at.

To celebrate our last day, our teacher brought in garden chili.

I had a bowl topped with cheddar,

and another glass of lemon sweet tea.

When the day was over a few friends and I celebrated on our own. First we grabbed the dog,

and then we walked to Dolci,

for bourbon cinnamon gelato.

Eeeeee, this tasted so good! The cinnamon was pretty subdued and it had the best texture, almost airy.

Then Adam and I were in the car for weekend #1 of summer fun.

I packed us leftovers for dinner.

Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta.

We both agreed that this dish is one of best things I make.

Saturday morning I managed to sleep until 11:30 …on the living room floor …while people screamed at the top of their lungs playing Battleship! Tired much?

For lunch I did my best to pick and choose a meal from McDonald’s.

Two packs of apple slices,

and a fruit and yogurt parfait.

Plus a (mini) S’more Monster Cookie for dessert.

I thing I like these cookies even better when they are regular sized.

We spent the afternoon at our niece’s dance recital. There were kids of all ages, including a class of three-year olds twirling around in giant tutus. And now my ovaries hurt!

Dinner was re-dic-u-lous.

Salad with honey mustard dressing.

French fries. With butter for the …

Crab legs!

All you could eat. Apparently I could eat five clusters. And then I was very, very full.

Though not too full for candy at the movies a few hours later.

We saw Prometheus and I do not recommend it. The “Alien” nerds on all of the forums were right, the characters are dumb and I didn’t care what happened to them.

The parents made us all breakfast this morning before we had to hit the road. I had a glass of skim milk,

and a pancake (with butter and syrup) and fresh fruit.

The opposite of fresh, Adam and I snacked on this cookies and cream Chex Mix on the road.

I ate ~2 serving’s worth.

We had to stop at the mall on the way home to get the husband new sandals so we got froyo too.

I got a tiny bit of tart yogurt with tons of fruit and popping boba.

We we’ve been home about an hour and I’ve already eaten two of the Hawaiian rolls that Adam brought home.

Clearly it’s time to rustle up dinner!  See ya tomorrow.

Cows, Elephants, And Buffalo

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After two days of waking up before 6 am, today’s 7 o’clock alarm felt like a breeze.  That’s a lie, but I did manage to get out of bed and go for a run.

2 minutes running/ 3 walking, x 11 (plus a little extra to finish the loop) for 4.8 miles and 56 minutes.

I brought 20 oz of water with Lemon Lime Gu Electrolyte Brew with me on my run.

I didn’t fuel so well for breakfast. There was no time to pack any proper meals for school but the endorphins were worth it.  Running (and run/walking!) puts me on cloud nine.

Psst, Mom – I wore the sweet flowered top that you got me over a t-back tank and it was cute and didn’t look dorky like you told me pairing it with a t-shirt did.

Self photos are hard, self outfit photos are almost impossible.

For “breakfast” (quotes because this was not enough food but it was the only thing I managed to grab and I drank it at breakfast time) I had a Sneaky Pete’s Apples Away.

The SP’s were on sale at Wegman’s and looked interesting, so I took a chance and was rewarded.  The flavor was mild – just a little apple and no oat – and I liked the slightly thick texture.  For 40 calories it was packing 3 grams of fiber.  I would definitely drink one again.

Lunch featured apple as well, in juicy Pink Lady form.

I also packed a cucumber with two Laughing Cow Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese wedges.

Trying to prep that with a plastic butter knife was a little messy but the flavors were delicious.

I also bought a doppio espresso, with vanilla sugar and lots of skim milk.

The vanilla sugar at the cafe at my school is ridiculous good.  The spot is just a Barnes and Noble Starbucks but the vanilla powder is so much better than the stuff you see at the “real” Starbucks; it has little flecks of vanilla bean!

Speaking of tasty beverages… I poured myself a beer when I got home this afternoon.

Tusker (a Lager brewed in Kenya) is in my “top 3” list for favorite beers.

Dinner was an old favorite too.

My Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta recipe page was updated.

Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta, serves 4

  • 8 oz rotini pasta
  • 8 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 1 T butter
  • 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts; chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • ½ cup plus ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce
  • 8 oz 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese
  • ¼ cup blue cheese dressing
  • ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.  Set up your colander or strainer in the sink and put the raw spinach inside.
  2. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.  Pour cooked pasta over the spinach (the heat will “cook” it) and return pasta and spinach to the cooled pot when all of the water has drained off.
  3. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken to the pan and cook until done, about 4 – 6 minutes on each side.
  4. Add ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce to the chicken and cook 1 more minute.  Remove chicken from pan to the pot with the pasta and spinach and reduce heat to medium-low.
  5. Combine cream cheese, blue cheese dressing, and remaining ½ cup buffalo wing sauce in the pan.  Heat until melted, 3 – 5 minutes.
  6. Remove pan from heat and pour sauce over the pasta.  Stir until all ingredients are well-combined.
  7. Pour the pasta mixture into an 8×8 inch casserole dish.  Top evenly with the shredded cheddar.  Bake 8 – 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned.

It is spicy, creamy, cheesy, and even a little bit healthy.

The rest of my evening includes a walk with the dog and hopefully some polishing time with the “Minted” I’ve been eyeing all week.

I hope everyone enjoyed the official first day of summer!

I know it’s like trying pick a favorite child, but if you had to choose – Buffalo sauce or Sriracha?

Wet Hot American Breakfast

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Warrant might have sung about cherry pie but my breakfast was as American as apple.

I topped a Plain 0% Siggi’s with cinnamon apple and 1/4 cup of 18 Rabbits Gracious Granola.

The apple I chopped and microwaved with 2 tsp agave syrup, 1 tsp water, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

I want to say that this was like a big bowl of apple pie a la mode, but I hate apple pie and I loved this so I’m not sure what to call it!

We are in the classroom all this week (we were supposed to be in the hospital so this sucks) and it should be an easy day.  I’ll “see” you around noon for WSW and then later with homemade soup for dinner.

What is your favorite kind of fruit pie?

Gluten-Free Cowboy Oaties for Camille

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Does anyone remember my gluten rant?  While I hate that gluten-free is “trendy,” I deeply sympathize with anyone who has to follow a GF diet for medical reasons.  People like my cousin Camille – one of the smartest, funniest, people I know, who took her new diet completely in stride.  Her sister is awesome as well so clearly my aunt and uncle are doing something right, but that’s beside the point.

Camille occasionally reads the blog and knows that I like to bake.  Awhile back she texted me a request for a GF update to Cowboy Cookies.  I don’t think I’ve actually ever eaten a Cowboy Cookie but I did some Googling and gave it my best shot.  I’m positive that the texture is different but the taste components of Cowboy Cookies are all there – chocolate, coconut, pecan, and oats.

Gluten-free Cowboy Oaties, yields 12 dozen

  • 2 cups pecans
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup gluten-free oats
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Prepare a cookie sheet with baking spray.
  2. Spread pecans in a single layer on prepared cookie sheet.  Spritz with a bit of baking spray and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Toast pecans, about 10 minutes in the oven, watching them carefully so they don’t burn.  Remove from oven and allow toasted pecans to cool completely before moving on to the next step.
  4. Place cooled, toasted pecans into food processor along with olive oil.  Process until smooth, 1 – 2 minutes.  You are looking for a consistency similar to natural peanut butter.
  5. Place pecan butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl and use a hand-mixer to mix until well-combined.
  6. Use a spatula to fold oats, chocolate chips, and coconut into batter.
  7. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.  Roll batter into heaping teaspoons and place in evenly spaced rows on prepared cookie sheets.
  8. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees Farenheit, until firm.

If you do not have a food processor you could probably substitute 1 cup of store-bought pecan butter for the pecans but I make no guarantees that this substitution will work.  If you are following a gluten-free diet for medical reasons please make sure that the ingredients you purchase are appropriate for your diet.

Rested Recap

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Hey there!  It’s been a busy few days so I’m having to do a multi-day recap post here.  Thankfully I don’t have too too much to say.  It’s been fun though.

Thursday I did breakfast to go.

The last of a jar of crunchy pb (~ 1-2 Tbsp) filled with a 0% strawberry Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of raw oats, and 1/4 cup of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk.

Lunch was roasted broccoli with peanut sauce.

This combo was delicious, even cold.

And some gummi cola bottles.

The amount shown there is about 1/2 of what I brought back from Canada; I should have bought more!

When I got home Adam and a nice surprise for me –

The hospital he’s doing his current rotation at has a great cafeteria that sells our favorite pizza in Buffalo (legit!).

And then I fell asleep at 5pm.  I was feeling super tired throughout the day and the minute I sat down on the couch I was done for.  I slept from 5 – 10, got up to get ready for bed, and went back to sleep!

Don’t worry, I more than made up for any missed dinner calories on Friday.  The amount of junk I ate was so disgusting that it ended up being almost impressive!  Everything was delicious (duh!) but I think my body would appreciate a few more veggies.

It was National Donut Day and I had to partake.

That donut was rich I couldn’t even finish it.  I’m just not a donut girl, my consumption for the year is officially over 🙂

But sweet coffee?  Dont’ mind if I do.

I got a large Black Cocoa iced coffee with skim milk.  Adam got this (Men in Black!) special the other day and I was so good I had to have one of my own.  The lady who served us told me they were only making them through this week so taste one while you can.

Lunch was fresh-cut pineapple,

and a Cherry Cobbler Larabar Uber.

It was good but not as tasty as Bananas Foster.  Again, lots of big nuts and almost no date flavor.  And the cherries were tart and sweet.  Somehow it didn’t have quite enough flavor though.

School went really well on Friday.  I am ServSafe certified, woot!

Some friends and I celebrated after class.  Bloody Mary at Pano’s.

x2.  And then I was drunk.

I also took them to check out Nickel City Cheese and Mercantile.  In addition to having great stock the owners are fantastic.  My friends bought an aged cheddar and a gouda each and the man behind the counter had us do lots of swoon-worthy tasting.  I also brought home a treat for Adam.

He brought a treat for me too!

I happily ate that slice but then I had to tell him to stop bringing me pizza so I don’t get fat…ter.

Then we tried my treats.  A blue cheese and dark chocolate and goat cheese honey milk truffle!

We took one bite of each but I think I was a bigger fan than Adam.  They were a little strange but sooooo good.  The creaminess of goat cheese makes a perfect truffle center.

We had a gift certificate to use so we went on a dinner date to Romeo and Juliet’s Cafe.

I started with bread; one slice with garlic and a second with butter.

And for my meal I ordered the Baked Eggplant Parmigiana.

Oh. My. God.  I left the pasta to the side (who eats pasta when there are layers of eggplant and cheese available?!), shared a few cherished bites with Adam, and then demolished the rest.

We took dessert to go.

That ball was a peanut butter mousse with chocolate ganache.  Ridiculous.

I wanted to post last night but unfortunately I passed out then as well.  The dog has been shedding a lot more recently (this is our first June with him) and I may be the tiniest bit allergic to him.

So now it’s Saturday.  I’ve eaten a bowl of Maple Brown Sugar Mini Wheats with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk,

and I’m ready to conquer the day.  Conquer may mean errands or may mean tv, we shall see.

Memorial Day BBQ And Tropical Fruit White Sangria

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Happy Memorial Day!

We started our day with a workout.  We also started our day late because I was up until 4 am writing my Canada recap, but that’s another story.  Once we were out of bed we did 10 sets of 1:30 running/3:30 walking.  The same route as the other day, but this time I sprinted for the last 20 – 40 seconds of each run.  My sprint is the husband’s jog, but what can you do?  50 minutes and 4.2 miles.  I covered .3 miles more than the last time I did this workout!

I didn’t have time for breakfast because I was frantically baking, but that’s not a bad problem to have.  We went to a bbq this afternoon and came bearing gifts of Tropical Fruit White Sangria and S’mores Monster Cookies.  I’m typing the cookie recipe up to post tomorrow and the sangria recipe is at the end of this post.

I will mention now that the sangria was damn delicious.

I had two big glasses over the course of the afternoon.

It went down like water but it really packed a wallop; Michelle ended up having to lie down!

Our friends Ethan and Hannah invited us and another couple over for a backyard bbq.

The weather was perfect!  We got hot and sweaty playing badminton.

And Ethan was a master behind the grill.  I followed Patrick’s lead and topped my chicken sausage with bbq chips.

Plus onions and ketchup.

I also had a skewer of pineapple, green pepper, and chicken that Michelle marinated with some Asian flavors.

Watermelon balls.

And a S’mores Monster Cookie.

Mmmn!  Everyone gave the cookies two thumbs up and Adam and I came home with an empty container.

When the fun was over I finally got down to business and set up my binders from last semester.

That has been on my to-do list since the first day of vacation!  Better late than never?

Dinner was a veggie affair.

Roasted green beans.

Plus a hash of sorts.  Made with 1 Tbsp butter, 1 yellow onion, ~ 1 cup of sliced okra, a 6 oz potato, several glugs of apple cider vinegar, a few dashes of Green Tabasco, and ~ 1 tsp each brown sugar and smoked paprika.

The “hash” ended up tasting exactly like I wanted it to!  I love the tang of vinegar with potatoes.

And I had a tiny bowl of mint chip for dessert.

Summer school starts tomorrow and I’m meeting a friend to workout beforehand (at 6am!) so I’ve got to get to bed.  Hope everyone else had a good day.

Tropical Fruit White Sangria, serves 6 – 8

  • 4 cups sliced fresh pineapple
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 750 mL bottle Riesling
  • 1 cup Cruzan Guava Rum
  • 20 oz lemon lime soda
  1. Place pineapple in a large pitcher.  Pour in sugar and muddle with a large wooden spoon.
  2. Add wine and rum and let sit for 24 hours.
  3. Pour in soda just before serving.

Toasted Marshmallow Cheesecake Oatmeal (For Dinner)

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My book and beers were great last night but I woke up in a funk.  Adam and I both just didn’t want to get out of bed.  I snoozed for so long that suddenly there wasn’t enough time to both go to the gym and make the fun breakfast I was looking forward to.  I knew I had to get it together before my bad mood ruined the whole day so I tried to pinpoint what was making me cranky – I was cold, I was tired, I was hungry.

Time to problem-solve!  I decided I would make a mug of hot chocolate (calories, warmth, caffeine), go to the gym (endorphins), and eat my fun breakfast for dinner (anticipation).

The cocoa was pretty weak but my workout felt rewarding.  10 minutes on the treadmill (1 mile) and 20 minutes at level 6 random on the stationary bike (7 miles).

I had to hurry, but somehow my hair air-dried perfectly today!

Often one side curls under while the other flips up so this felt very fortuitous since I had to look nice for clinic.

For breakfast I cashed in the last of my Ashker’s smoothie Groupon on the walk to school.

I got a Lemon Zinger sans ginger; aka a carrot, peach, mango, and lemon smoothie.  It was great!

Lunch included more carrots so it’s a good thing I’m a fan.

Also a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thin with two slices of Applegate Farm’s Smoked Turkey and a wedge of Light French Onion Laughing Cow.

And a 120-calorie pack of Skinny Cow Dreamy Clusters.

These were on super-sale so I took a chance and I ended up quite liking them.  The serving was small but the caramel was nice and I liked the bit of crunch.

But I probably should have packed an additional item for lunch because I was inhaling this 100-calorie bag of kettle corn the minute I walked in the door at the end of the day.

My clinical hours today were at a Diabetic Education Course.  The RD let me teach the portion on reading nutrition labels.  She said I seemed knowledgable and confident which is awesome because on the inside I was screaming my head off!  I’m considering becoming a certified diabetes educator (cde) some day so it was neat to get a taste of the experience.

I had to get through night class and then I finally had my much-anticipated breakfast dinner.  What combination was I so excited about?

Toasted Marshmallow Cheesecake Oats!

So flipping good.

cooked: 3/4 cup skim milk, pinch salt, 1/4 cup oats

stirred in: 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese (cheesecake), 4 toasted marshmallows (marshmallow!)

topped: 1 Tbsp melted Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter (crust)

The toasted marshmallows stirred into the mix and the bowl was like a giant, toasty, marshmallow!

When I originally planned this meal for breakfast I wanted to make sure it was nutritionally ready to get me through the day so I plugged the ingredients into an online calculator –

Not bad, not bad at all; especially for something that tasted like dessert.

What is your favorite decadent breakfast?

Humbolt Fog

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Last night’s sleep session was a disaster.  Usually my sleep issues are related to falling asleep but lately if I get woken up I can’t fall back to sleep either.  The dog woke us up in the middle of the night and it took me at least another hour of tossing and turning to get back to rest.  The husband brought home some sort of bug from the hospital and my throat was killing me.

I overslept today and the morning was rushed but I managed to do what I needed to do, mostly.  I was heading to the gym after 9 am so sticking with my monthly goal I ate a small breakfast before I left.  A few sips of strawberry Powerade Zero,

and a half of a Vanilla Almond Luna Bar.

I didn’t have much time at the gym but something was better than nothing.  20 minutes on the elliptical at random level 7.

After a quick walk home and an even quicker shower I made a Lemon Cookie Smoothie for breakfast.

The last time I made it was apparently a dark and stormy night and I wanted a chance to get some better less awful photographs for the recipe page.

It probably wasn’t my best use of time though; I made it halfway through my smoothie before I had to throw it away and rush out the door.  I didn’t have time to pack lunch and having half a smoothie digesting in my stomach just made my hunger stronger all afternoon.

I got out of clinic a bit early and when I spotted a Manhattan Bagel on the drive home it felt like an oasis in the desert.

I was eating the chips that came with my meal before I was even out of the parking lot.

But chips only seemed to anger the beast (aka my stomach) and I ended up eating my bagel on the ride home!

Eating while driving is sort of nice because instead of dreading red lights you can use them to shove food into your face.  And my bagel was quite enjoyable; I got a veggie sandwich on a rye bagel.

Red onion, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, veggie cream cheese, and a little bit of chipotle mayo.  I thought the veggies were pretty weak but the bagel was super chewy and good.

I had my 2nd to last shift at work this evening and then I came home to an easy salad dinner.

I needed a vehicle for a veggie, a fruit, and this amazing looking cheese, and salad fit the bill.

This Cypress Grove Humbolt Fog Chevre was delicious.  Sadly the blue cheese and goat cheese were in layers and not the hybrid mixture I was hoping for, but both were quite tasty.

Along with chunk of cheese I had romaine lettuce, groats, chopped honey crisp apple, and Stubbs BBQ Sauce for dressing.

Those ingredients sound strange together but it worked.

I’ll see y’all in the am for some running and some baking!