A Rainy Day Calls for Eating Brownie Batter...right?

I can't be alone in hating rainy days, can I? Something about the gray, dark sky just tends to make my mood plummet into the deep, dark depths of despair (yes, I like alliteration!). The good thing about rainy days, however, is the comfort you can get by just trying to ward off the blues. You know... that perfect "read a book, bake some cookies, batten down the hatches and snuggle up with a blanket watching Disney movies" feeling. Why don't we do that on every other day?

Well, in any case, we don't, so at least rainy days give us a reason to really rest and take care of ourselves. Even if we can't shake the blues. (Seriously, I think I really might have weather-dependent moods. Any one else like that?) 

What's an awesome mood-booster? CHOCOLATE! 

It's true... at least for me. There is some science behind it also, but even if there wasn't.... I think I could support this claim on experience alone. And what makes chocolate even better. Oh, I don't know... maybe eating it in the form of

FUDGY PUMPKIN BROWNIE BATTER 

This picture just doesn't do the creation justice!

1/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup water/milk or combo of the two
3 T. Egg Whites
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1-2 T. Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
Pinch Cinnamon
Sweetener, to taste
(or leave out for DEEP INTENSE COCOA Flavor. It won't be sweet... but...)

1. Cook oats on stove top by boiling water/milk, then adding oats and reducing heat to medium. Stir occasionally until majority of liquid is absorbed.
2. Add egg whites and STIR CONSTANTLY while adding. I can't emphasize this enough... otherwise you will end up with some scrambled egg whites in your brownie batter, and that's just not very tasty. After the eggs are incorporated into the oats, continue cooking until even more liquid is absorbed.
3. Stir in cocoa powder and sugar/sweetener as desired. The cinnamon should help bring out the flavor a bit, especially with the addition of pumpkin
4. Stir in the pumpkin, and allow to fully heat. The pumpkin is the real 'secret' ingredient here, making this oatmeal EXTREMELY fudgy and brownie-batter textured. You CAN still taste it, which I like because I love pumpkin, but just be aware if you don't like it. You could sub banana for a milder flavor, I would expect.
5. Serve in a nice little bowl and ENJOY!

Nutrition wise, this is a pretty thick, filling recipe with plenty of protein and some good antioxidants from the cocoa. The oatmeal provides the fiber, and the pumpkin gives you a  little serving of veggies as well! The entire recipe (which can easily be doubled!) is only 130 calories and yields about 8 grams of protein! YUM!

Banana Bread Pudding and a Long Run

Let's cut to the chase... since once again, I SHOULD be doing homework and am instead writing a blogpost, because the things I made this morning was really, really good.

It was pudding...or maybe more like soft serve ice cream....or a super thick smoothie (you decide!) but it had the taste of banana bread. Really. I kid you not. EXACTLY like it... and then that added cold, frozen dreamy creaminess that 'banana soft-serve' has, for those of you who have just blended up frozen bananas know.

I STRONGLY recommend this. I think it may be my favorite thing I've made thus far! Sweet, refreshing, fruity, and really... banana bready :)

BANANA BREAD FROZEN PUDDING

1 frozen banana

1/3 cup almond milk

1/8 cup rolled oats, ground in food processer to powder

Dash Cinnamon

Dash Nutmeg

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:

Coconut Flakes

Chocolate Chips

Chopped Almonds

Peanut Butter

Caramel Sauce

1. Put everything into your blender and blend on high until you get a creamy, soft-serve ice cream/pudding consistency.
2. Top with whatever your little heart desires. I went with coconut flakes (overcoming my fear of saturated fats!) and some cocoa roasted almonds, which were awesome because a little bit of chocolate got in there in the almond bites but I also got the plain-banana bread taste in others, which I LOVED. ENJOY!

Here she is! All topped up!

Okay, so I ate the toppings first :)

 At practice today we got the pleasure of getting in a long run. I love long runs, because you can really let loose and get the acid out of your muscles but still get in a bit of a workout. I find that my mind really clears up and I start to get in touch with my body more and more as the run goes on. Plus, you can talk with your teammates! We played a little game in which we speculated where all the people we knew would be in 10 years. It's funny, but according to us, it seems that we will all be doctors or physical therapists or physchologists. That tells you a bit about the kind of girls on our team, haha....fun-loving but also loving. And smart. I love my team. They are always there for me. Plus, when I shared the embarrassing fact that yes, I started a blog, no one laughed. They were very interested in learning how to make a smoothie taste like banana bread, I'll say that!

Question of the Day: Where do you see YOURSELF in 10 years?

Strawberries and Cream yOATgurt

All right, then. I posted about these in my WIAW post, but it just didn't seem the appropriate place to put a recipe, you know?

So let's get on with it :) Besides, I like posting pictures of yummy food, despite lacking photography skills on my part. But you do what you can... If it tastes good, I think I'm satisfied.

These are super creamy and they really warm you from inside out. Especially when you add some delicious toppings...like peanut butter. Because that improves everything. I pity those with nut allergies.

CREAMY STRAWBERRY yOATgurt (easily doubled)

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds (optional)

1/2 cup almond milk+ 1/2 cup water (or some combo of the two)

2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt (plain, vanilla, or strawberry)

1 cup frozen strawberries, partially thawed

Sweetener (optional)

Toppings (optional)

Peanut Butter

 Kashi GoLean Crunch or Granola

Slivered Almonds

White Chocolate Chips

1. Combine liquid, oats, and chia seeds on stovetop in medium size pot. Heat on high until it begins to boil, and then stir constantly for 2 minutes to make sure the oats do not burn.
2. Reduce heat to medium and let cook until about half liquid is absorbed (about 4 minutes). Stir in yogurt and let cook again until it begins to thicken.
3. Add your somewhat frozen strawberries and stir. (It turns pink!)
4. You may cook for a few additional minutes to thicken, but I liked mine runny because it was more like warm yogurt/oatmeal. Sounds weird, but delicious.  
5. Top with whatever you like, and ENJOY!

Natural Food Store Review +WIAW

Yesterday, I fell in love. With a store.

To be fair, it was a cute little store, stuffed to the brim with organic and vegetarian products. I had never seen anything like it near me- the closest I'd come was the giant Whole Foods monolith an hour away in West Hartford. But this was in my very town! Sadly, my new crush and I did not have much time together, since my mom had to go to the bathroom and kept reminding me to 'make my choices and get out'. But I could have stayed for an hour. Maybe two. Just LOOKING at all the possibilities. It was my new health food dream come true.

Maybe if you live down in shoreline CT you should stop by. It's called, quite literally, 'The Natural Food Store' in downtown Niantic. But that's enough of that. Here are some of my new finds, which I'm excited to try out:


Arctic Zero Ice Cream- High Protein and looks sooo good. (If you can't tell, this is the coffee flavor.)

Nutritional Yeast. I've been searching and searching and FINALLY found it!



The Uber-cool bag....



Ultra Energy Bar- with 22 grams protein. You know me and protein. It's good stuff! And look at this! Cookies and Cream! I can't wait to sample all my new goodies!

  On to WIAW. The theme is 'FALL into good habits'. What's my good habit? Well, mine is pretty simple, actually. It's...eating. For those who don't know my story, check out the food philosophy page. In short, though, my eating habits these past few weeks have fallen apart. I've really been giving in to restricting urges and it's time that I took control back. My body deserves to be fed, and it deserves a healthy, balanced diet that can fuel my running and daily activities and not leave me an emotional wreck. So the goal for me this Wednesday, and days to come, is to EAT. More. More calories, more often, more nutritionally-concious. It will be good for me.
 

Today's breakfast started off nice and hearty with some Creamy yOATgurt on the stove (recipe to follow). The flavor I settled on was strawberries and cream, topped generously with some peanut butter to make a little PBandJ yOATgurt.



I may also have had some ah-mazing coffee. Another new obsession. It's fall and pumpkin is everywhere, what can I say? It's simply delicious, and the smell just makes you want to hug someone. Spread the love, won't you?



Lunch included a veggie burger on toasted whole wheat bread, Spicy Pizza Hummus and cauliflower for dipping, and some cocoa roasted almonds to snack on before practice.

Haven't gotten to dinner and evening snack yet, but I'm pretty sure the agenda will include some fresh roasted spaghetti squash and Spinach N Veggie Wraps.



And dessert? Well, I'm thinking that coffee ice cream looks pretty good ;)

Savory Oats?

The idea has always turned me off, quite honestly. I mean, I love my oatmeal and my porridge, but I don't get much savorier with it than plain. I guess that's the natural thing to expect from someone with a huge sweet tooth...I swoon over chocolate, peanut butter, cookies, fruit, and coffee (ok, so that's not really sweet at all. But it deserved to be included). And funfetti. I just devoured ate the final funfetti protein oat cake tonight, and they do get better with age after freezing and then thawing in the fridge, FYI.

Here's that little oatfetti cake again! YUMMY!

I've been eating slowly through my butternut burgers all week, but I was starting to get tired of them. Luckily, when I looked today, there was only 1 left (I usually eat them as a pair, so of course I had to find a different use for it!) What could one do with a little lone veggie burger? The real question seems to be: what can one do with just about ANYTHING?

Oatmeal. The answer is ALWAYS oatmeal.

But for a burger? Really? Was I going there, after all this fuss about keeping my oatmeal sweet and fruity? Apparently....yes. I was.

Because it's me, I had to make it high-protein, to give it even more staying power, but in this situation I doubted vanilla or chocolate protein powder was really going to work. What savory option did I have for a good low fat, high-protein addition to oatmeal? It's another miracle ingredient, folks:

EGG WHITES. Among other things, of course. Enough chit chat, though. Here's what I did.

SAVORY PROTEIN PORRIDGE

2 and 1/4 cups water or milk

2/3 cup rolled oats

6 T. egg whites

1 leftover Butternut Burger

Dash Ginger

S+P, to taste

1. Heat water on stovetop to boiling. Add oats and reduce to medium.
2. Cook until most of the water is absorbed (it may take a while.) Stir every 3-4 minutes to prevent burning on the bottom of the pot.
3. Once liquid has been absorbed, add in egg whites and stir constantly, or you will get some scrambled egg bits in your porridge. Because it is savory, this will be okay, but you want most of the egg to go to making a thicker liquidy part of the oatmeal.
4. After another 2 minutes, and all liquid absorbed, remove pot from heat and turn off stove. Crumble up the burger into it and add ginger and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well, and pour into 2 dishes to serve (or makes one hearty serving, like I did!)

*ANOTHER NOTE. You can refrigerate this for about 3 days after cooking both for thickening purposes and if you just aren't ready to eat it yet. Make sure you heat it up, of course, and ENJOY!

So, it doesn't look very yummy. I'm well aware of that. But it was actually pretty good. I was surprised at how much I actually liked it. I still prefer my sweet oats, but, well...it's worth a try if you haven't been brave enough yet!

The Daily Grind

School, you shall be taking over my life for the next 10 months. I submit. With 4 APs, a couple of clubs, and afterschool sports, I officially have no life again.

SO WHY THE HECK AM I WRITING A BLOG POST?!!

It's a good question. And I have really no idea. Basically, since it's just the first day, we don't have any homework yet, so I figured this would be one of the last opportunities I would have to make a longish post of any kind. Not that I have anything life-shattering to share today... I was sitting in a seat for 6 hours after all!

I woke up late this morning, due to an alarm clock that decided NOT to go off at 6:00AM. My bus supposedly comes at 6:52, and when do I wake up (no thanks to YOU, unhelpful alarm clock)? 6:45. I panicked, of course, because that seems to be what I do best, but because I had already packed my bag the night before, everything turned out okay. I threw on clothes, shoved contacts in my eyes (again...not a good decision. Sorry, corneas!) and grabbed a Nature Valley Bar package for a breakfast to go. (I was pretty bummed because I REALLY wanted more of my pumpkin protein oats...they're awesome. Really. Check out this for the recipe:YUMMM

And my stomach was DEFINETELY rumbling by the time lunch rolled around 3 hours later. Note to self: even if in a hurry, grab something in addition to the granola bars. They don't have the staying power! Before a workout... yeah, but only because you eat AFTER it too. B-fast? No can do.

We were also informed of the school's new policies during each one of our 8 classes that day: you will lose credit for a class if you miss 12, you will lose points for being tardy 3 times, you need a swipe card to the bathrooms...blah blah blah.

Wait. A swipe card to the bathrooms?
Yup. It's real. Apparently, to handle any possible vandalism, this way the school can track who's been using the bathroom at different times to pinpoint the students behind it. Sounds like a good idea, except for MY concern.... what about if you lose the card and you just GOTTA GO? I think any one of you can see why this might be a slight worry... I have noticed that runners need to pee way more than the average person!

Practice was enjoyable. A 40 minute run at different speeds every 10 minutes. In the 100 degree weather. Which equals lots of sweat. And some really hot, thirsty teenage girls! To celebrate surviving, one of my friends and I headed to Starbucks and got some nice, cold drinks to refresh us. Like I said, it's okay to indulge yourself from time to time!

And that coffee frappacino was worth it.

Here's a nice quote today for anyone getting more active and hesitating to embrace 'the athlete identity':
I AM A RUNNER because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far. I AM A RUNNER because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not.
John Bingham, author and runner

Question of the day: What's your breakfast on the go or breakfast in a rush? AND... how do you feel about the identity of being a runner? Are YOU?

Saving the World with FUNFETTI!

Boy do I have something special to share. I think I may burst with the excitement of holding it in. This kind of thing can't be kept to ones self, after all. Not when funfetti is involved. The whole world needs to know. Funfetti just seems to make everything better.

Lately, I've been really swept up in all the funfetti craze. I've been pinning recipes right and left: funfetti puppy chow, funfetti blondies, funfetti cookies, funfetti milkshakes, funfetti dip... it doesn't end. But the one thing I haven't seen are a lot of healthy funfetti adaptations. Especially protein-chocked ones.

A girl's gotta have her protein.

So I was in a dilemma. Often, all my recipe creations are inspired by other things I have seen or heard about. But with the funfetti...there was nothing. It was an open market. I was on my own. So, with much trepidation, I went off to the kitchen to concoct

Baked Oatfetti Protein Cups!

Makes 4 mini cakes

EAT ME! RIGHT NOW! I LIVE TO SERVE!

2 scoops (27g) vanilla whey protein powder

1/2 c. funfetti cake mix

2/3 c. oats

1/2 c. almond milk

3 T. Egg Whites

1/3 c. Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

Extra Sprinkles

*Optional: for a topping, you could put on some frozen Greek Yogurt, ice milk, whipped cream, or try Katie's Vanilla Fudge Frosting or Creamy Dreamy Frosting (add some sprinkles in it to make it funfetti of course!)

1. Combine Dry Ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another (no extra sprinkles yet)
2. Pour wet ingredients into dry ones and mix very well until batter begins to thicken as oats absorb a little bit of liquid. (If you wanted, I bet you could just increase the milk amount and cook on the stove to make funfetti protein oatmeal!) If there doesn't seem to be enough sprinkles, add some more (and let's be honest... are there EVER enough sprinkles in the world? No. So go ahead and pour 'em in)
3. Transfer mixture into 4 individual (4oz) ramekins.
4. Bake in preheated 300 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until no longer gooey in center. Dig in and ENJOY!

Now, I don't always post nutritional data, but you might want to see it for this. Prepare to be astonished. In each individual oatfetti cup, you get: a whopping 12g whole grains and 11g protein, and ONLY 4g fat and 185 calories. Yeah. I know. Mind blown. So what are you doing still at your computer reading this post. GO! Make some oatfetti cups! They're calling your name!

A Plethora of Pumpkin

School starts this week, and I cannot believe it! People always say that summer flies by... but they's be right about that. It's a sad, sad story for those of us who want that extra time outdoors in the sun, getting tan and eating ice cream at the beach (by now it's back to being too cold for good old Long Island Sound).

But I'm still excited. I mean, it's my Junior year! Okay, so I'm about to become one BUSY girl between XC and AP homework, but this is going to be the year when you really start to have fun at school: prom, spirit week, SATs, and just being an upper classman! But I'm nervous to see how I do keeping up on the blogging. It's a lot of fun, so I don't want to give it up.

I just hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

What was I doing to prepare? Oh, you know... cooking.

Lots and lots of cooking.

I figured I could make a plethora of freezer meals/ already cooked oatmeal that will get super thick and creamy in the fridge so I will have another 5 minutes here and there to do other things. It better be worth it...I was cooking for 4 hours. (Who am I kidding? I loved every minute of that four hours. It was like my little present to myself. OF COURSE it was worth it!)

One of my favorite flavors, next to chocolate and peanut butter, would have to be pumpkin. Especially since school is starting up, I can finally say that it's "fallish" enough to start putting the pumpkin in just about everything. Plus, I was trying to be economical by buying the GIANT 40oz can, only to realize that most recipes don't call for more than 1/2 cup or so...

Oh well. All the more pumpkin-y items to make!

Here are the recipes that inspired my little pumpkin party:

• Powered Up Pumpkin Oats by Lindsay at 'A Pinch of Yum'
• Pumpkin Muffins  by Katie at 'Chocolate Covered Katie'
• Pumpkin Protein Pancakes by Julie at 'Peanut Butter Fingers'
• Apple Cinnamon Chobani Bread (which I made pumpkin!) by Kelly at 'The No Sugar Sweet Life'

And best of all... I still have about 1/3 of my can of pumpkin left! Looks like there will be more baking in store for today! Now the awful dilemma as I decide what I want to make... (I'm trying to make things that will keep well or can be frozen so I can heat them up for a speedy pre-school breakfast or workout snack! See my post about what makes good pre-workout fuel here.)

Here's what I did to adapt the recipes:

• Doubled the Pumpkin Oats Recipe so I could eat it TWICE, it was THAT good. Also, substitued 1/2 cup Kashi GoLean for the bran flakes to give it some more clusters, added 1 tsp dark chocolate cocoa powder in at the end, and substituted brown sugar with honey. Also, by leaving it in the fridge overnight, it got MUCH thicker and creamier, so I added another 1/2 cup almond milk before heating again and it was AWESOME. Even better than before, if I do say so myself. You could also eat cold as a pudding and I bet it would be great.
• For Katie's muffins, I actually quadrupled the recipe so I could make 4 muffins and freeze them. Instead of chocolate chips, I added raisins, chopped walnuts, and coconut flakes. As a side note, I had to bake for longer because there were more muffins (about 20 minutes instead of 12).
• For the Pumpkin Protein Pancakes, I subbed Greek Yogurt for the cottage cheese and also added 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder to the mix. I added 1/2 tsp baking soda because I wanted my pancakes even fluffier (it worked!) and then, because I'm a naughty girl, I added chocolate chips to the batter (no measurements here!)
• The Chobani Bread was slightly more work to recreate since I was totally changing the flavors, but I proceeded with as much confidence as I could muster. HA! Recipe, you shall not phase me! Instead of cinnamon, I used pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this on hand, combine some nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger). I subbed the agave with molasses for a different, deeper flavored sweetener (I used 1/4 cup). Instead of apple cinnamon yogurt, I used plain with 2 drops stevia, and then instead of the applesauce I used 1/2 cup pumpkin puree. I STILL used the softened apple in the bread because pumpkin-apple is actually a very nice combo and it gave the bread the extra lightness a midst a more dense cakey-part. As an attempt to be creative, near the end of the bread's baking I mixed together 1/4 cup oats, 3 T. chopped pecans, and 2 T. brown sugar and took the bread out to sprinkle these on. I then turned the oven to broil and waited to get a nice crust on top. Yumm!

Phew! Well, now you know how I spent a good portion of my day. How was your Saturday? Do you ever get really caught up in the kitchen just going around like a whirling dervish and trying to make 10 things at once? Tell me your story!After all, as I had to remember when trying to make adaptations:

IT IS BETTER TO DO THE WRONG THING THAN IT IS TO DO NOTHING.

What do you think of today's quote? Tell me!

First 4F Challenge: a Healthy Coffee Coolatta

Breakfast today was a fail. I tried making some Overnight Oats last night, because my oatmeal obsession is still going strong, but they remained liquidy and kind of tasteless. I even tried adding some yogurt pre-overnighting and it didn't help. Anyone have any advice? Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. And since the oats lost, something else could win...

An awesome mix of strawberry Greek Yogurt and Delicious Kashi GoLean for protein, fiber, and staying power! (I also had an apple, because I love them, and some fruit seemed to be needed for this meal.)
Plus, the good thing is I am really lazy today could put my cereal straight in the yogurt cup and had NO CLEAN UP! After yesterday, I was in no mood to clean (though I could go for another cauliflower pizza today!)

So I mentioned in yesterday's post that I wanted to start another Foodie Blogger Challenge. THE 4F!

'Fast-Food Fantasy Friday' ('for foodies'. Maybe the 6F?) That's right. Take a favorite dish that you like to get out at a restaurant, preferably a fast food or at least a chain, and then remake it so it is more economical, healthful, and maybe, dare I say it? TASTIER. Try and post nutritional information and cost for both original and your versions for a comparison. And if you do take on this weekly challenge, please link back to me or at least post a little gadget thing (I'm working on designs!) Thanks to everyone!

I myself have a coffee weakness. I love the stuff black, but also in iced form with oodles of sugar and milk. Particularly Dunkin' Donuts "Coffee Coolatta" (although I wouldn't snub my nose at a Starbucks frappacino or a Peet's Blender either. Or a DQ moolatte... the list goes on on and on.)

It's an interesting story, actually. The idea for 4F came up a while ago, but I wasn't actually intending to make my submission when I was creating this marvelous little beastie. I wanted ice cream. I wanted Katie's Vanilla Frosty (seen here)

Well, I didn't have the tofu, so then I decided I was just going to change it to one of her ice creams. HA! Luck was against me again. Because I can be a little bit ditzy (and because I had no option- I have no ice cube tray. What is this madness?) I froze all the milk in a LARGE dixie cup. I took it out and I have this HUGE, 16 oz frozen milk cup. There was no way my little blender could handle that. So dutifully, I began to try and mutilate cut it into smaller cubes.Not really working out either. At last, it thawed enough that I was able to take the knife and 'shave' the whole thing. Like an icee or a slushie in consistency, if you will. And it probably took a good 25 minutes. But during that long stretch of time, it came to me. This milk-mistake was not meant to be ice cream- although that would have been lovely. It was meant to be my first 4F, forever something near and dear to my heart. It was meant to be...

DUNKIN' DONUTS COFFEE COOLATTA- 4F

ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS!

2 cups non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond)

2 packets instant Hazelnut Coffee, or any flavor variety for a variation

3-5 Packets Zero-Calorie Sweetener

In the mixin' bowl

1. Freeze the nondairy milk. I DON'T recommend doing it all in one cup as I did, because the shaving will be hard. Try doing it in several small ice cube trays.
2. After at LEAST 2 hours, or when frozen, take out your milk and 'shave it'. This can be done if you have one of those Italian Ice Shavers, or I bet you could use a food processor also. What I did was take a large, very sharp knife and kind of 'grate' the sides of the ice so it sort of peeled off. You could also do some chopping up if you chop it very fine. (Those chunks in my picture? Not good)
3. Throw ice milk shavings in a bowl or large measuring cup (see Pyrex in background of picture). Do this as you go so that your ice shavings don't melt completely all over the place.
4. Pour in instant coffee and sweetener to taste. Mix it all up and let it melt just the tiniest bit so there is a coffee brown liquid, and then stir again to re-coat everything. This gives it that optimal melty slushy thing that DD and the Bucks have going on.

DUNKIN DONUTS Small Coffee Coolatta: 350 calories, 22g fat, 40g carbohydrate (35g sugar), 10% DV Calcium, 3g protein. Cost: $2.75

Sarah's 4F Coffee Coolatta: 70 calories, 3g fat, 5g carbohydrate (4g sugar), 90% DV Calcium (I used the extra calcium almond milk.), 3 g protein. Cost: 80 cents

TASTE? AMAZINGLY COMPRABLE!!

Today I found an amazing quote that I thought I'd share, for running and for life: 

SUCCESS ISN'T HOW FAR YOU GOT, BUT THE DISTANCE YOU TRAVELED FROM WHERE YOU STARTED. -Steve Prefontaine (if you don't know who he is...well, look him up. Probably greatest American Distance Runner ever. A hero of mine!)

So think about that next time you're considering whether or not you succeeded. No, you didn't meet your 7:30 split at the 5K. No, you had to walk that last mile because you thought your shins were going to give out on you. But metaphorically... you've traveled beyond your past limits, and THAT, my friends is success.

*Other note- official XC practice starts tomorrow. Wish me luck!!!!*

Question of the Day: How far have you come in YOUR journey towards success? And what would you say being successful is?

My Oatmeal Obsession

Okay, so yes, it's my third post of the day (technically speaking) but the thing is, I'm just playing catch-up. I have a whole slew of recipes I've made from about a week ago, and that I haven't shared, and I want to get this blog off the ground and full of delicious-ness! So, without further ado, the recipes: (since I have nothing else to say. I've exhausted my stories)

OATMEAL!

I love oatmeal. It's definitely on my list of top 10 favorite foods for its versatility, staying power, heart-warming qualities, and simplicity. What more could you ask for? I eat it for breakfast (most) days, so the variations are steady and I'm learning how to get more creative. (with the help of Lauren, the Oatmeal Artist. I discovered her blog about 2 days ago and it's fantastic! This recipe closely resembles her Blueberry Cashew Oatmeal, minus the nuts, so I guess great minds DO think alike!) My last few attempts are pretty standard, but of course, we all know what went in to them. Any guesses? Bueller? Bueller?

That's right... BLUEBERRIES! They just never run out, do they? Along with my odd personality and ability/ inclination to take terrible pictures. But it tasted good!

Here's the key to really good oatmeal that has taken me far too long to learn, sadly. Make it on the stove! It absorbs so much more water that way and leaves you with much fluffier oats that are also quite a bit more voluminous and filling. Plus, when you take pictures of the cooking, they look really pretty! (The blueberries bleed out and the oatmeal turns purple! It's a freaking miracle!)

Berry Overload Oatmeal

1/2 Cup Rolled Oats

1 and 1/4 Water/Coconut Milk Mix 

(I used 3/4 water, 1/2 milk. You can also use any type of milk you like, or all milk, or all water. It changes the flavor slightly, but you pick!)

Handful Blueberries

Handful Blackberries

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 Packet Sweetener or  2 drops Stevia, or more/less to taste

1. Heat water/milk to boiling in medium stovepot. Add oats and stir once, then allow to cook for about 3 minutes until they begin to get very fluffy and most of liquid is absorbed. Stir it up!
2. Add berries and stir again. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 1-2 minutes until berry juices start to seep out and color the oatmeal.
3. Remove from heat and add vanilla and sweetener to taste.
4.  Dish into a little bowl, because it just looks so much better, and ENJOY!

Another Gorgeous View of this Purple Passion!

Blueberry Peach Oatmeal

(A Variation of Berry Overload Oatmeal)

Follow Instructions for Berry Overload Oatmeal, except substituting 1/2 cup thawed frozen peaches for the blackberries. Or in addition if you wish. Also add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, and VOILA... you have now transformed it into THIS!

Pancakes for Lunch

Well, it's been one of those days. The kind where you get that annyoing little black cloud following you around and everything seems to get you really emotional. Your iPod is on shuffle, and it seems to pick the very songs that are guarenteed to make you cry. Your dishwasher didn't work so you end up eating things straight from the container with plastic utensils. All the shampoo is gone so you scrub your hair with bar soap (it only seems to make it more greasy... who's with me?) You can't find anything that you're looking for and all the sudden you've been looking so long that you don't even remember what it was that you were looking for. Uggh. Oh, and did I mention that it was cloudy outside again?

So I started the day on the wrong side of the bed to say the very least. But that's no way to live life. Frowns never helped anyone. And, as one of my absolute favorite quotes puts it, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." (Nora Ephron) So I decided to stop looking for all the reasons that the day was going to stink and making reasons that it would be good.

This may seem like a really cheesy post, but believe me, it took years for me to discover that fairly obvious key to living happily. It's time for a blog reality check. In other words, putting myself out there again; being a heroine and not a victim. Nothing was ever gained from hiding. Well, reader, this blogger has a long and turbulent history of mental illness. The works. Anorexia Nervosa, Anxiety Disorder, Manic Depression, Passive Suicidal Thoughts... And I still struggle. The world can be a pretty harsh place. I always used to use that as an excuse to give up and draw into myself, thinking that if the world was so cruel it didn't deserve me, nor I it. Of course, there are way more to all my mental illnesses than that, but you get the picture...

So here's the thing. No matter what you are going through, you will encounter obstacles. You will feel beaten, unhappy, dissatisfied, and bitter. But you will also have those flashes of pure joy and glee. Make them worth it. Take the not-so-great days and doctor them up with a little bit of love. Because we only get so many chances to start a new day (on average, 25,550 for an American). Don't waste them hating yourself or your body or other people. It won't do anything but push you farther down into that pit of despair.

Instead, look for something meaningful. And if nothing seems that way, try something fun. And if nothing sounds fun, at least eat something that will be good and nourishing. I find that when I'm grouchy, it's often because my body needs some good old-fashioned treats (I'm no physchologist or nutritionist YET, but that's just my opinion here. Indulge once in a while. It helps.)

So sometimes that means 'breaking the rules' a bit.

Like having PANCAKES for lunch.
VERRY BERRY PANCAKES to be specific.

Perfection :)

Because obviously you didn't get enough berries yesterday with the Summer Lovin' Salad. Clearly I didn't (and the fridge still isn't fixed!) Now, I was pretty nervous about making these. I've never invented my own pancake recipe before. I can be a good cook... when I follow directions. But, like I said, today was a day to break out of my comfort zone. So I went for it. And amazingly, they were not only EDIBLE, but they were pretty good. Especially warm, spread with blackberry jelly and a little bit of coconut butter. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's what you need to do:

On the griddle





VERY BERRY YOGURT PANCAKES (High Protein, Whole Grain)

1 flax egg (1 T. whole flax seeds+ 1/4 c. water)

1- 5.3 oz container strawberry Greek yogurt (or blueberry/blackberry...even vanilla)

1/2 c. rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda (I think it could be reduced. Probably go with 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon Blueberry or Strawberry Syrup

2/3 cup water/almond milk

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (can omit. Just reduced water/milk to 1/3 c. or so)

Optional: Cut up berries or nuts

Combine flax egg, yogurt and oats in blender or food processer. Pulse and blend until oats and flax are all ground up and everything is nicely mixed. Add baking soda, vanilla, syrup, water, and protein powder. Mix again, probably another 1 minute until everything is well blended and there are no chunks. Drop by 1/4 cup fulls onto griddle or skillet at 300 degrees. Be sure to grease/spray skillet first. If using berries and nuts, throw on top of each pancake now. Allow to bubble, but DO NOT TURN OVER until pancakes start appearing tan. You can test if they are ready to flip by nudging spatula underneath and seeing if pancake stays together. They should fluff up quite a bit. Flip and cook until done. They DO take a while... I will work on that. When fully cooked (ie staying together and looking a deep brown) put on plate and serve. I recommend spreading them with jam and coconut butter, as stated before. You could also put in additional berry-flavored yogurt and roll them up for a little portable crepe.

*Makes about 9 pancakes. Can be 1 REALLLLY big serving, but serves 2-3 generally. Whole recipe only has about 500 calories!*

Look how FLUFFY I am!