Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Amazing Overnight Oats!!

Seeing as it's "National Oatmeal Day" today, I thought it'd be totally fitting to share my new obsession with you... overnight oats!!
You just mix everything together the night before and they're all ready to go in the morning in a perfect little travel container.
They're absolutely amazing, quick, simple, versatile AND completely good for you! Win win!

Start out with a trip to your local bulk aisle. Stock up on some rolled oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, crushed nuts, dried coconut, carob powder, dried fruits...pretty much anything you like or think might make a good combo, is totally worth a try.

Wide-mouthed mason jars work perfectly but any kind of jar or resealable container would do. I just like watching the ingredients as they pile up inside the jar.

Add the dry ingredients first, starting with your oats, filling up the jar just below the halfway mark, you can always add more if you'd like. Then add a heaping teaspoon of both chia and flax seeds. Chia seeds expand and become gelatinous when liquid is added, so they'll really thicken up your blend AND fill you up!

Add a pinch of salt to balance whatever sweetener you choose. From this point, the sky's the limit. If you're not usually very adventurous, start simple. Add some brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe some ginger, and screw on the lid.


Shake it up REALLY well because the chia seeds will clump together when they get wet.

 Then add your liquids. I like almond milk but the possibilities are endless. If you prefer honey to brown sugar, this would be the time to add it. Now shake it up real good and give it a taste. Once it's to your liking, pop it in the fridge for at least an hour but overnight will really let it thicken up. Take it out in the morning and add nuts or coconut if you want a little crunch then enjoy it cold or microwave it for a yummy, healthy, unique breakfast!


And you can do a different one every day. My favorite blend right now is a delicious pumpkin spice concoction that will definitely get you in the mood for fall. Just add a dollop of organic pumpkin puree to your wet ingredients and some pumpkin pie spice and your good to go! These oats really fill you up and give you tons of energy throughout the day so give em a try!

Here's a few different varieties I've come up with, don't be afraid to mix it up!

"Chocolate Chip Cookie" Add chocolate chips to the dry, and vanilla extract to the wet...yum!

"White Chip Mac Nut" Add white chips and chopped macadamia nuts to the dry and vanilla to the wet.

"Oatmeal Pancake" Just add a little maple syrup to the wet.

"Blueberry Banana" Add bananas and blueberry to the wet and omit the sugar, a ripe banana is plenty sweet.

"Coconut Carob" Add coconut and carob powder to the dry ingredients, even throw in a chic chip or two if u like!

"Carrot Cake" Add shredded carrots to the dry and grated ginger to the wet with chopped pecans on top...ridiculous!

"Apple Pie" Add dried apples to the dry or fresh chopped apples to the wet, adding plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg.

"Honey Yogurt" Add greek yogurt and a little milk for your wet ingredients and blend with honey or agave syrup.












Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Roasted Baby Pumpkins stuffed with Maple Roasted Apple, Carrot and Beet Quinoa with Fried Sage Leaves

Just a few examples of things you can use to stuff your pumpkin.
Lil tip: Smaller pie pumpkins are sweeter than the larger ones and one is plenty for two people.

Cut your pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Put them cut side down in a glass dish filled with a little canola oil.

Roast at 350 for about 40 mins, until soft but not squishy.
Pull the seeds away from the pulp and place in a colander. Spray with warm water to rinse off the remainder of the pulp.
Spread them out on a cookie sheet, spray with olive oil and S&P. Sometimes I mix it up with garlic salt, paprika, cumin...whatever. I love em n put em on everything.
Lil tip:

I put my olive oil in a little dollar store squirt bottle that way I can control how much I'm using.
Roast at 350 for about 10 mins.

 Put few tablespoons of butter into a glass dish and melt in the oven.

 Dice up your apples, carrots and beets. (In this case I had some leftover roasted beets, so I just see those and threw them in at the end)

 Toss them with the melted butter. Then add some maple syrup, nutmeg, cardamom and a little sea salt.

Roast at 350 for 20-30 mins.
Next, make the quinoa. I start by dry roasting 1 cup of quinoa in a DRY pan while constantly stirring until you get a nice nutty aroma, about 2 minutes. Then add 2 cups of water, stir and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. When it's done, fluff with fork.

Melt some real butter and add your sage leaves to the pan. Let em fry til crispy then dry on a paper towel.


Add some cannelini beans to the quinoa.

When your apples, etc are done, toss them in with the quinoa.
Sprinkle some S&P onto your pumpkin halves and then fill with the Quinoa mixture.

Top with pumpkin seeds and sage leaves and serve.


I also cooked up some chicken apple sausage with cumin seeds and put it on top. You could add anything, really.