Posts tagged ‘Oatmeal’

September 3, 2012

A Lazy Sunday

After crossing so much off my to-do list Saturday, Mike and I enjoyed a doubledate night out on the town with friends, Bre and Anthony. Thanks to the awesome Living Social deal us gals purchased, we enjoyed cheap laughs ($20 for two tickets and two drinks) at The World Stand Up Comedy Club before heading back to our apartment to continue our fun on the rooftop–with a quick pit stop for $1 slices thrown in there.

As if my last post jinxed me, yesterday I wasn’t as productive as I had planned, work-wise. I’ll have to make up for that today. However after an early wakeup–my mental alarm roused me from my slumber at a not-so-lovely 6:50–I made breakfast in bed for my man and myself using leftovers from a spicy veggie-filled quinoa and convinced him to go for a stroll. After months of living off Muscle Milk, he has certainly been eating like a king since I moved in. This morning he got his new favorite “hot chocolate oats” as I’ve been calling them, which includes 1/2 cup Earnest Eats Mayan Blend, 1/4 cup regular oats, 1 cup milk, 1 scoop of Chocolate Muscle Milk powder and topped with a scoop of peanut butter, sprinkle of stevia, cinnamon and frozen berries. He’s so spoiled.

 

So back to our romantic stroll. We. Walked. Far. Let’s just say we left a little after 9 and didn’t get back to our place until, oh, 2:00. We had intended on just walking up to Central Park but found ourselves gravitating toward the water first, enjoying the Hudson and views of a lone sailboat. We discovered the Hudson River Park, where I plan on running after I finish this here post, and watched a sorority’s philanthropy race along the way. After making our way up into the high 70s, we cut over to Central Park and weaved our way through, seeing the Conservatory Water, Zoo, among other things. Halfway through our walk, I smiled to myself realizing how little conversation we had shared in the woods. We were both lost in our own thoughts, enjoying the sounds of nature and patter of our strides. 

We emerged near Fifth Ave. when realized how much of an appetite we had worked up. Insert “Operation Find a Place with Large Portioned Salads.” We wandered and wandered some more before coming across the Renaissance Diner’s extensive menu and outdoor seating. Done and done.

 

We both toyed with the idea of an Acapulco Salad (organic greens, mango, orange, yellow and red peppers, topped with chicken, shredded coconut and orange dressing) but decided on a spicier alternative, a Mexican Salad with marinated chicken, avocado, mango and a cilantro lime dressing, was what we were jonesing for. Fueling up on a hearty salad and a big cup of tea energized me enough to squeeze in a 3-mile jog on the treadmill later while shamelessly watching old Hills episodes on MTV. The rest of the afternoon was lazy…


He was pooped. Sorry I’m not sorry for being a stalker, Mike. I skipped nap time but was in bed by 9. Yep, wild Labor Day partying for this gal! Well, I’m off to go back to where our journey started yesterday for a nice slow jog. Lots to do today to prepare for the upcoming week, including some meal prep I hope to share with you–I haven’t forgotten about my lunch talk! 
What fitness fun has filled your holiday weekend?

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

May 13, 2011

Epic Failure Turnaround

The other day I was psyched to make my own spin-off of Family Fresh Cooking’s Telluride Trail Bars. Granola bars have been on my “to-make” list for some time now and when my mom put me on grocery shopping duty, I couldn’t resist picking up the ingredients. My excitement took a turn for the worse, though, quickly spiraling into disappointment and utter frustration when they didn’t turn out as planned. Flaky, dry mess. Wahhhh! I blame it on Stop & Shop’s not-ripe-enough bananas…and the fact that I forgot to add the agave nectar prior to cooking. Oops. Although they didn’t stick together into crunchy bars, what I thought was a flop recipe turned into a great granola.

Ingredients
2 cups toasted Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/2 cup chopped and toasted peanuts
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 bananas
1/2 cup chopped whole wheat pretzels
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Cinnamon, flaxseeds and shredded coconut to top
Agave nectar (or maple syrup/natural sweetener to taste) 

To start, preheat the oven to 350˚F. On a baking sheet, place chopped peanuts and rolled oats in a thin layer. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 


Like I did in my Nutty Nanner Overnight Oats, slice up the bananas and cook in a small sauce pan until lightly browned. Mash it all up and add in the PB so it softens. While those are getting ooey gooey on the stove, chop up your pretzels. 

Time for the fun part, adding it all together and mixing it up. NOTE: This is where you should add the sweetener of your choice.

Line a 9×13″ pan with wax paper and add the granola mixture. Press/shape evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon, flaxseeds and shredded coconut on top. Drizzle some more agave nectar on top before poppin’ it in the oven. 

So…like I said, these did not turn out as I had hoped in bar form BUT the recipe still tasted great. I broke it up into small clusters and took my Go Lean Kashi cereal and Silk Light Vanilla soy milk breakfast up a nutty notch by topping it with my recipe faux pas. Moral of the story? As the saying goes, “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”

Gotta love Kashi, although this concoction of mine also goes wonderfully with oatmeal or overnight oats! SOOooo what will I change next time I attempt to make granola bars (which I will be doing soon because I’m headstrong and a perfectionist)? My recipe alterations include the following: 1) Use 4 very ripe, speckled brown bananas, the kind, ya know, good for banana bread! 2) Cut out the pretzels because it just added to the dryness. 3) You may have noticed that I added coconut oil, which I had hoped would help in the moisture department. Fail. I will play around with this ingredient and get back to you on my verdict! 4) Add dried fruit. Welp, ya win some and ya lose some…lucky for me this “loss” ended up having quite the turnaround in the granola department. Yay!

Have you made your own granola or granola bars? Any tips or tricks you’d like to share?

Sprinkled with Love,
Lauren

February 25, 2011

Foodie Fact Friday

Rainy Fridays are the worst! Ugh, I wish I was going away for Spring Break…this weather is getting monotonous. Here are 5 stories and fun facts I found interesting this week. Stay dry today, my fellow New Englanders!

How McDonald’s Screwed Up Oatmeal (Huffington Post)
Gross. I hate McDonalds and would never let them ruin my love for oatmeal.

5 Grocery Shopping Myths Busted (Eatingwell.com)
Interesting stuff! Especially loved #3 and #5.

Chocolate’s Startling Health Benefits (Huffington Post)
Win, win for chocolate lovers!

New Uses for Everyday Ingredients (Cookinglight.com)
I will definitely be trying out the unexpected peanut butter and cinnamon applications.

Effort to Grow Broccoli on East Coast Gets $5 Million Investment (Huffington Post)
YAY! I’m sick of spending an arm and a leg for one of my fav veggies.


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 935 other followers