Iowa Girl Eats » oatmeal

MaraNatha Nut Butter Giveaway + Dessert for Breakfast!

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:05:48 +0000

Breakfast was out-of-control amazing today – Banana Split Oatmeal!!

Remember when I told you I had 10 jars of almond/peanut/nut butter in my house at this very moment? Well, four of them are some nut butters that MaraNatha sent me to try!

I used the Creamy Almond Butter and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter (!!) to create the melty, luscious topping on my banana split inspired oats.

HOLY COW!

In the mix:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup water
1 banana (1/2 cut in while cooking, 1/2 on top)
cinnamon, vanilla extract
strawberries
2 teaspoons of each almond butter
dashes of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze

I microwaved the butters with a splash of USVAB for 10 seconds, then stirred and drizzled over my warm oats, and fresh fruit. UNBELIEVABLE!

Believe it or not, I actually don’t love super sugary-sweet things in the morning, like chocolate chips in my pancakes or oats, but I will absolutely make an exception for dark chocolate peanut butter after tasting this. So good!

My Mom is coming to eat lunch with me outdoors today, so I packed a super portable lunch – perfect for a picnic.

One Turkey Sammie.

That’s a thin bun, cheddar cheese, roasted turkey and Dijon mustard.

A gorgeous, ripe peach that I can tell is going to be a juicy one!

And a mini.

Cashew Cookie Larabar!

The heat index is supposed to reach 110 today, so hopefully we don’t melt out there – eek!

MaraNatha Giveaway!

Good news! MaraNatha sent me 3 coupons to give away to 3 readers, to pick up a jar of any MaraNatha product you want!

Wheee!!

Enter up to two ways by tonight, July 27th, @ 10pm central. Here’s how:

1. Leave a comment telling me which MaraNatha product you see above, that you’d most like to try.

2. Become a fan of MaraNatha Nut Butter on Facebook, and leave me another comment.

Good luck, peeps! It’s getting nutty in here!

Wells Blue Bunny Factory Tour + Free Ice Cream Giveaway!

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:14:53 +0000

We’ve had quite the dark and stormy start to this Monday morning – lightening and thunder galore!

I made a cozy, comforting breakfast to combat the wind and rain, Apple Crisp Oatmeal.

In the mix:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup water
vanilla extract, cinnamon
Stewed apple (chopped apple nuked for 2 mins with a splash of water, vanilla, cinnamon and agave nectar)
Sliced almonds
Honey Roasted Peanut Butter

You know the homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter that I eat and eat and eat every weekend at the Farmer’s Market?! A friend gave me a WHOLE TUB all to myself as a birthday gift!!!

I cannot tell you how excited that makes me!

Think sweet & salty honey-roasted peanuts, ground up into a delectable peanut butter paste.

It’s the closest thing I have ever tasted to the peanut butter in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – life changing!!!

I added a healthy dallop of it to my sweet, cinnamon apple and warm & creamy oats. Yum!

In the spirit of recovering from WAY too much ice cream, cookies & cake over the past 5 days, I packed a huge Kitchen Sink Salad for lunch.

In the mix:

Mixed greens
Spinach
Cucumber
Tomato
Carrots
Broccoli
Pepper Jack cheese

Makes me say “ahhhhh…” I love veggies!

I also packed a Pomegranate Chobani Greek Yogurt. I can’t remember if I’ve had this flavor or not – but I sure hope it has some pom arils in it!

It may seem like there’s a lot of sugar in here – and there is added sugar – but the majority of it is from the natural milk sugar lactose.

This is a feel good meal!

Wells Blue Bunny Trip Recap: Factory Tour!

~~~~~

In case you’re just catching up, or are a new reader, I was lucky enough to spend two days in Le Mars, IA last week – the ice cream capital of the world and home to Wells Blue Bunny – for two days of all things ice cream!

Among a 5-course lunch, featuring Blue Bunny ice cream in EACH course, was a factory tour, create your own ice cream project, and many more once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I’ll be re-capping the trip over the next three days, starting with the Blue Bunny Ice Cream factory tour!

~~~~~

What happens when you take two booties, one hair net, a set of ear plugs, a giant lab coat and safety goggles?!

You get 5 bloggers that look like THIS:

HOT!

On Thursday afternoon, we suited up and headed into the Wells Blue Bunny ice cream factory – eager for an adventure!

First, a little background info:

Wells is the largest family-owned and managed dairy processor in the US, producing more than 500 Blue Bunny branded ice creams, frozen novelties and desserts. Their products are available in all 50 states in grocery stores, restaurants and convenience stores.

The company operates two plants in Le Mars, IA, one of which is the largest in the WORLD, and one in Utah to serve their customers in high altitude locations (so when those people open their cartons of ice cream, it hasn’t shrunk down 3 inches from the change in pressure during shipping!)

Our first stop was to see the trucks that come in day in and day out, filled to the brim with raw ingredients. Think milk, sugar, etc – everything you need to make rich and creamy ice cream!

After the ingredients are pumped into storage tanks, they are mixed together to create an ice cream base.

Fun Fact: Wells produces over 100 million gallons of ice cream per year, which is over 250,000 gallons per day. Veeeery interesting!

Next, the ice cream gets flavored and combined with any “mix-ins” that might be in the flavor they’re running that day. The line we visited was making Rocky Road which has ribbons of soft marshmallow and salty peanuts!

The peanuts get added to a hopper and are pumped through those white pipes to get added to the cold ice cream base.

Then everything is swirled together and deposited into a carton.

Wheee!!!

Fun Fact: Blue Bunny’s premium ice cream cartons are designed to be extra wide, as to avoid “knuckle muck” – ie the ice cream you get on your knuckles and wrists when trying to dig down into a narrow ice cream container. The worst!

Ice cream was seriously everywhere! Running down the line, over our heads – everywhere! Heaven!

Next we stopped at the ice cream sandwich machine. Oh baby! The fresh, vanilla ice cream gets pressed out from a mold, and is quickly sandwiched between two cookies.

Fun Fact: The cookies on the outside of an ice cream sandwich are actually super crispy. They absorb some of the moisture from the ice cream as they sit, which makes them perfectly soft by the time they get into your hands.

This is when it got GOOD. Bill, our tour guide, grabbed some fresh ice cream sandwiches off the line for us to taste! There IS an ice cream god!

Knowing that the cookies were hard, Bill warned us not to bite into the sandwich the way we normally would, or else the soft, fresh ice cream would just squirt out the sides. We broke off chunks of the cookie and scooped the creamy, cool ice cream straight into our mouths.

Ummmmm…imagine the sweetest, thickest, creamiest CUSTARD you’ve ever had, and times it by 10. 10. The ice cream tasted like decadent custard!! It was truly one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had.

Fresh ice cream, right off the line. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Remind me to never get horn-rimmed glasses…

After oohing and aahing over our ice cream sandwiches, we moved on. Lots to see!

Our next stop was arguably the most eye-popping sight of the tour. Wait for it…

Wait for iiiiiiit…

THERE’S the money shot!!!

OMG! Hundreds and hundreds of chocolate chip Big Bopper Sandwiches!!!

Fun Fact: Stacking the total number of Big Bopper sandwiches produced in a year would extend over 500,000 feet into the sky. That’s more than 12 times higher than the flying altitude of commercial airplanes!

Unlike the ice cream sandwiches we had just tasted, these babies were frozen solid.

They had longer to travel to get to the storage freezer which, fun fact: is 12 stories high, a city-block long and holds 53,000 pallets of ice cream, and they don’t want them melting before getting there!

Next we saw some buckets getting filled with rich, chocolate ice cream,

Jolly Rancher Bomb Pops getting packaged up for some lucky kiddos,

and made a final stop at the ice cream bar machines!

Bill explained to us that ice cream gets poured into ice-cold molds,

then, when they’re frozen just enough, sticks are inserted into the middle.

Fun Fact: It takes over 1.5 billion sticks a year to make Wells’ Blue Bunny frozen novelties. If you placed them end to end, they would stretch over the earth’s equator three times!

Next, in the case of these Orange Dream Bars, the ice cream is loosened from its mold then dipped several times in the sweet, orange flavoring that coats the creamy, vanilla ice cream.

Or in the case of these Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars,

they’re dunked in sweet & chewy strawberry shortcake pieces! I wanted to DIVE IN!!!

I heart strawberry shortcake bars!!

Our tour concluded shortly after that – and we all left so impressed and happy. I mean – HAPPY.

Stay tuned tomorrow for CREATING YOUR OWN ICE CREAM!

Ice Cream Giveaway

I’ve accumulated some “Bunny Bucks” over the past couple of weeks, which are coupons for a free carton of ice cream or box of frozen novelties. I’ll be giving one away after my recap for the day, over the next three days. All you have to do is answer the trivia question at the end of the post to be eligible to win. You have until 10pm the night of the post to answer. Good luck!

Today’s question:

How many pies could you fill with the amount of strawberries Wells Blue Bunny purchases every year to add to their ice cream and frozen novelties?

a. 500,000

b. 750,000

c. 1,000,000

d. 1,500,000

Nothin’ Wrong with Dessert for Breakfast!

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:15:36 +0000

Good morning!

Oooo, I have to show you the dessert I had last night! In a moment of weakness at the grocery store last week, I picked up some Hershey’s Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate Toffee Almond Nuggets (say that 5 times fast!)

Last night I paired them with sliced strawberries for, um, the most decadent, summery dessert ever! These chocolates are seriously to die for, and I love pairing chocolate with fruit, so this was right up my ally. Enjoyed on a perfect summer evening on my back deck. Bliss.

This morning I enjoyed another three mile run after my morning Mom walk (seriously, why can’t early morning runs be as enjoyable in the winter when I’d rather, ohhhh, suck on cardboard, then get out of my warm, toasty bed?!) then dug into some MORE summery fruit, with a bowl of Fruit Cobbler Oatmeal!

Named “fruit cobbler oatmeal” because the vanilla and cinnamon oats, paired with the sweet fruit and crunchy almonds, tasted JUST like a warm fruit cobbler!

In the mix:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup water
1 banana (sliced in while cooking)
Strawberries
Raspberries
Peaches
Sliced almonds

I honestly can’t say enough good things about this bowl, so I won’t even try. You can imagine how fresh and juicy it was!

Oh, one thing, these peaches ARE amazing! Though they weren’t from the Farmer’s Market, and they were more of the “white” rather than the traditional “peach” colored variety, they were just as sweet and fantastic.

I brought a leftover Mozzarella Stuffed Bruschetta Turkey Burger and asparagus for lunch today!

That balsamic reduction/glaze SERIOUSLY makes the burger. It is sweet and thick and outstanding.

Ben put these burgers in the category of “one of the best things you’ve ever made.” Awww! Yes! I’ll be sure to give you guys the recipe soon!

Well, it’s hump day – which means the week is HALF over!! Who is working/schooling the whole week? Who’s taking an extra day off?

I’ll be working on Friday, then I have the weekend and Monday off…which is my BIRTHDAY! Holy cow, it snuck up on me!!

Have a good one, guys!

~~~~~

Favorite ways to enjoy chocolate?! Or, are you one of the rare people in the world that, gasp, doesn’t like chocolate?!

My #1 fave is the Wuollet Brownie (it will seriously change your life) drizzled with thick caramel sauce. Honorable mentions go to Starbucks’ Caramel Nut Hot Chocolate (so rich you seriously only need 3 sips) and Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. That, when served warm and topped with cold vanilla ice cream, will also change your life!

It Was Good, Minus the Barking Dog…

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:15:10 +0000

Guess what I woke up to today?!

SUNSHINE!!! Finally! It was so gorgeous that I decided to go for a 3 mile run after my Mom and I were done walking. The 65 degree air felt fantastic and, I’m happy to report, it was one of my better runs! Oh except for the part where this small, black dog chased me for two blocks at one point, barking, and its owner did nothing to stop it. Except for that.

Breakfast was even better, as I made a big bowl of Cherry Almond Oats!

In the mix:

1/3 cup each old fashioned oats, unsweetened vanilla almond breeze & water
1 banana
almond extract, cinnamon
Bing cherries
Sliced almonds

I actually added an overflowing 1/3 cup each of almond milk and water, so the oats were nice and plump and creamy. I LOVED it that way.

Cherry + almonds = ace flavor combo. I could seriously eat this bowl everyday.

Check out that sun ray in the background – it’s going to be a beautiful day! The weather woman (Jeriann!) gave today’s forecast a 10 out of 10.

I brought my chop once, eat twice Veggie Salad and watermelon for lunch.

In the mix:

Mixed greens
Baby spinach
Carrots
Broccoli
Snap peas
Cherry tomatoes
Green onions

This salad is HUGE and it kept me full all afternoon on Monday. I’m banking on the same thing today.

Can’t wait for this cold, sweet watermelon either.

This is actually the last of the giant one I cut up this weekend. I never knew my husband liked watermelon so much?! He’s been hoovering it down!

Oh, I did make it to the grocery store last night to pick up some Crystal Light Lemonade packets!

I saw these Diet Snapple on-the-go packets too and decided to give the peach flavor a whirl. I heart peach tea.

Don’t get me wrong, I lurve water – I try to drink 100+ oz a day – but sometimes you just want something with FLAVOR, know what I mean? Plus, it’s so much more thirst quenching to slam an ice cold lemonade or peach tea then water. I don’t know why, it just is!

In other news, Al Roker was in town yesterday giving over a half million dollars to the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers! He’s on a five city tour, in five days, giving away money to charities in his 9th annual “Lend a Hand” campaign, and the IHYC was one of the lucky recipients. Cool!

In even MORE thrilling news – it’s already Thursday! I don’t know how or why, but this week has absolutely flown by. Gotta love that.

In anticipation of the upcoming holiday…what are your plans for the 4th of July? What’s your favorite part about the 4th? Fireworks, BBQs, lakehouses?

International friends – tell us about any similar celebrations you may have!

Have a great day!

Eating Around the World

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:32:25 +0000

Well, the return of morning Mom walks was short lived…we were foiled by rain today! I’m hearing Thursday is supposed to be dry. Which might be the first dry day in…weeks?? Sheesh!

Making the best of the dreary view out my window, I made a cozy bowl of Almond Butter Banana Oats for breakfast!

In the mix:

1/3 cup each old fashioned oats, unsweetened vanilla almond breeze & water
1 banana (1/2 sliced in while cooking, 1/2 on top)
cinnamon, vanilla
almond buttahhhh

Mmm – I’ve been cooking my oats in water for awhile, but I definitely noticed the addition of the unsweetened vanilla almond breeze. It added just a hint of extra creamy sweetness.

Under a mountain of luscious almond butter. Perfection!!

I’ve got some leftover Shrimp Korma and bing cherries for lunch today.

Last night Ben proclaimed that reheated Indian dishes are never as good as the original, not knowing that I had packed the leftovers for lunch…

Oh well, I disagree. Indian food is good no matter what! Am I right, or am I right?!

You better believe I stocked up on some inexpensive berries (bing + cherries = berries) this weekend. I’m gettin’ ‘em while the gettin’s good!

I remember picking fresh cherries at my friends lake house in Michigan one year. One of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Produce is so incredible when it’s fresh off the vine/tree/bush!

Solid.

Well today I find out if these babies have been doing their job the past couple of months.

That’s right – I’m getting my iron levels re-checked today! Wish me luck!

Have a great Tuesday!

~~~~~

Is there a particular type of cuisine that you can’t/won’t eat?

Personally, I like it all. Indian, Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Caribbean, Spanish – ooo especially tapas!! I’d really like to try more African dishes too!

A Case of Sugar Belly!

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:07:51 +0000

We finally made it to Tropical Sno!

Ah yes, the famous, blue and white shack serving sugar coated snow, basically.

I used to come here almost every single day during the summer in high school. Once after the pool or beach (well, river beach) and once at night with “the gang.” What was your high school hang out spot?

My favorite flavor used to be Tiger’s Blood (I know, weird) which is an uber-sweet concoction of strawberry and coconut. I saw that they’ve added mango to their menu since my days, so I got strawberry mango!

Just like I remembered!

HUGE, cold, icy and sweet.

Ok, REALLY sweet.

Ben and I both devoured ours…

Then decided that it would be awhile before we could come back. Sugar belly!

Regardless, it was a fun little summer date activity and fun to reminisce!

In other news, guess what I woke up to this morning? Guess?! MORE RAIN!

This has been the rainiest June I can remember, but honestly I can’t complain because 99% of the time it’s raining, I’m at work. It’s usually clear in the early morning when my Mom and I walk, and in the afternoons/evenings when I run.

I really feel bad for all those summertime, child-care providers! They’re busting out a lot of arts and crafts projects this summer, I’m assuming.

I remember when I was a day camp counselor in Japan for a summer in college, one of the months we were there was during the rainy season. Every single day for that month, it would just POUR for like 3 hours, non-stop, which meant that we were utilizing the craft room…a lot. I was seriously scared my little 2nd graders were going to turn on me if I made them create another God’s eye from popsicle sticks and yarn…

At any rate, before the showers came down, I managed to snap a pic of my breakfast outside – a Bagel Thin + Almond Butter!

This basically used up the last of my crunchy roasted flaxseed almond butter jar… which I may or may not be utilizing for another type of breakfast tomorrow.

I stand behind my review of these Bagel Thins. I wish the bottom half was a little thicker, but overall – real good!

Due to Ben’s decision to opt for a meatball Subway sandwich for dinner last night, I get Grilled Asian Tofu leftovers for lunch! Wheee!

I forgot to tell you that I added a couple drops of sesame oil and a couple shakes of sesame seeds on top of the dish.

Sesame oil is one of my very favorite ingredients because a little goes a looooooong way. It’s such a deep and satisfying flavor. A little dab’ll do ya!

I also packed a container of sweet, succulent cherries.

All together now!

In other news, I have a hilarious/exciting package to pick up today that I can’t wait to show you guys tomorrow. It’s…funny…!!!

On that note – it’s almost FRIDAY! TGIAF dance! What are you doing this weekend?

And on that note – it’s Three Question Thursday!

1. Did you go to summer camp as a kid?

2. Are you a procrastinator?

3. What’s your favorite ride at the amusement park?

My answers:

1. Heck yes! My favorite being horse camp when I was in 4th grade. Being the shortest girl in camp, I got the shortest horse in camp. Brownie was practically a pony, and we were like this.

2. THE WORST! However, I feel like I work best under pressure.

3. Bumper cars when I was little, roller coasters now!!

Pack Your Bags and Break Out the Passports!

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:19:49 +0000

Morning!

Crazy Bachelorette last night! Thoughts?

Adios Weatherman, love Cape Cod, LOVE Frank, Kasey is a lunatic and, for Heaven’s sake, why do these men keep singing?! And why can’t they see the general look of horror on Allie’s face when they do?? And why can’t we see more of Roberto?!?!

Ohhh, at any rate, I had an awesome breakfast this morning – Cherry Almond Oatmeal!

In the mix:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup water
1 banana
1/2 Tablespoon chia seeds
Couple drops of almond extract
Cherries!
Sliced almonds

I’m in love!! Cherry + almond = bliss

Sweet and flavorful, juicy and crunchy. This was top notch.

Someone asked me if I used a cherry pitter for my cherries – I actually just cut them in half and pop the pit right out. It’s pretty easy!

Lunch is pretty well rounded, me thinks.

A cup of sweet, crispy red grapes. You know my phobia of squishy/overripe fruit? That extends to grapes as well, so I have to pick them off the vine before packing to make sure there aren’t any soft ones that make it through. I know.

A cup of creamy, cold cottage cheese. I am so shocked by how many people hate cottage cheese! I grew up eating the best stuff from a local dairy, so maybe that’s why I like it so much…although I am interested in this “whipped” cottage cheese several of you talked about!

A turkey sammie.

That’s a thin bun with cheddar cheese, roasted turkey breast and dijon mustard.

All together now!

In other news, break out the passports – last night Ben and I booked a trip to…

Italy!

I cannot TELL you how excited I am!!!! Italy has been on my dying to go list for as long as I can remember, and we’ll be heading there for 10 days this Fall! Half our time will be spent in Rome…

and the other half on the spectacular Amalfi Coast (which I’ve been obsessed with since Diane Lane followed her Italian lover to Positano in Under the Tuscan Sun!!)

Wheeee!!!! I cannot wait for gelato, wine, pasta, the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, pasta, wine, gelato, the Mediterannean Sea, gelato, wine and pasta!!!!!! I’ll be asking for all your input and must-see hot spots before we go. In the meantime, I can’t wait to PLAN!! I’m such a planner.

Ahhh – it’s nice to have something to look forward to!

On that note – have a great Tuesday everyone!

~~~~~

What’s on your “dying to go” list? What sparked your interest in that particular place?

Random Thursday Musings

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:15:00 +0000

I worked out when I woke up this morning!

The alarm went off at 5:15, I was out the door walking with my Mom at 5:30, and running my little heart out by 5:55. Working out in the humidity of the am = sweating profusely while trying to get ready. Luckily, Ben snuck the AC down to 75 (75!!!) last night, so it wasn’t as bad as Monday.

Besides, by the time I was ready to make breakfast, there was actually a cool breeze outside so I flung open the back door of my kitchen and let it fill the house. All the while preparing an ace bowl of Strawberry Banana Oats!

In the mix:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup water
1 banana (1/2 sliced in while cooking, 1/2 on top)
vanilla extract
strawberries
crunchy roasted flaxseed almond butter

Whenever I don’t make pre-made breakfasts like overnight oats or baked oatmeal, I like to layout the ingredients and items it will take to make breakfast, the night before. It makes the mornings soooo much easier!

I was worried that I wouldn’t like warm strawberries in here (I HATE mushy strawberries!) but they were actually so sweet & delicious, and gave a little strawberry flavor to the oats!

Eggcellent combo today.

I brought some leftover Chana Masala for lunch and have a feeling it will be even better than it was last night! Love those dishes that get better and better everyday they sit.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I slightly burned the tomato paste as I was caramelizing it, since I was doing about 15 other things while making dinner, but I think I actually like it that way. There were little chewy bits of tomato paste running through the dish that were just fab.

See those little black specs? Burnt tomato paste. As Forrest Gump would say – it happens.

Do you prefer brown or white rice? I love the shape and specialness of white basmati or jasmine rice, but for everyday use I prefer medium grain brown rice!

Cannot wait!

Oh I also packed a pretty Pink Lady Apple. Super pink, actually!

Random Thursday Musings…

As I was watching reruns of The Hills flipping channels last night, I saw a commercial for the new Real World…set in New Orleans! I actually said “NOOOOO!!” out loud. I love that place!

Looking back over the past couple of days (a perk of having a blog!) I’ve noticed that I’ve been seriously lacking in the VEG department. Sure, I’ve been snacking on carrot chips, etc while cooking, but other than that – my normal, weekly kitchen sink salads are nowhere to be found! This must be remedied tonight… Do you make it a point to keep track of your daily fruit/veg intake?

I am happy to report that not only am I not experiencing day later syndrome this week, I’m actually experiencing day earlier syndrome, As in, I keep thinking that it’s a day earlier than it really is. Sweet! TGIAF!

Do me a favor and check out my friend Brian’s blog - Blue Sky High. It’s follows his, and his gorgeous wife’s, epic adventures while living in Northern California. Prepare to turn green… (with envy)

Have a great day!

~~~~~

What can you not WAIT for this summer?

I’m looking forward to a girl’s trip to Dallas and the sweet corn festival in Adel, IA!

If You Like Pina Coladas…

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:34:28 +0000

Boy do I have a stellar new oatmeal combo for you…

Pina Colada Oatmeal!

In the mix:

1/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal
2/3 cup water
1 ripe banana
3/4 cup fresh pineapple, divided
dash coconut syrup
Sliced almonds

Combine oats, water, banana and 1/2 cup pineapple in a large bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes, stir and microwave for another 1.5 minutes. Add syrup then stir, and top with rest of pineapple and almonds.

Tropical paradise in a bowl, I’m telling you!!!

My secret weapon was this sugar-free coconut syrup (you can get it at World Market) I keep on hand for making skinny pina coladas. It is so fresh and you only need a teeny-tiny dash! I was worried that it might make my oatmeal taste a little too much like the frozen concoction, but it was literally PERFECT.

Sweet, but not too sweet, and besides a dash of syrup, it was all natural sweetness too!! I feel as though Jimmy Buffett would definitely approve.

FYI – I was in Key West once (where JB has a home) and the locals all told me he was a jerk…still not sure if I believe it!?

Lunch is amazing as well – leftovers! I heart leftovers.

The more I ate this Teriyaki Fried Rice, the more I liked it. Subtly sweet with just a hint of salt. And that fresh corn was bliss!

This combo of a Pink Lady Apple and Colby Jack Cheese Stick got two thumbs up from me yesterday, so I repeated again today. Plus, they’re two easy items to just throw in your lunchbag and go.

Do you use a lunchbag? I use this Susan G. Komen reusable lunch bag everyday. It’s insulated…and cute!

I slept SO well last night. We kept the windows in our bedroom open so the cool breeze that helped me so much on my run yesterday, could roll through. Sleeping in a cold room is the way to go, I’m telling you!

In other news, I think I’ll get a Starby’s today.

Cheers!

~~~~~

I nearly thought it was Friday today and skipped TQT…luckily I came to my senses, and here ya’ go!

1. What was your first car?

2. Favorite guilty pleasure show?

3. What are you wearing today?

My answers:

1. A white Geo Tracker. Looking back, it was truly a piece, but it had a detachable roof and sides that my teenage self thought was the BOMB!

2. Real Housewives of New Jersey. That Danielle…’nuff said.

3. Dark jeans, black ballet flats with a ruffle on them, black v-neck shirt and a coral cardigan with a little pocket on the chest!

34 Quick & Easy Memorial Day Recipes

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:11:38 +0000

Mornin’!

I woke up feeling like the Pillsbury Dough Boy Girl! I guess the advantage of making chipotle burrito bowls at home, is that YOU control the salt content. Lots of water for this girl today!

In other news, breakfast was absolutely luscious - Almond Butter & Banana Oatmeal!

In the mix:

1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup water
1 sliced banana
1/2 Tablespoon chia seeds
vanilla extract, cinnamon
Crunchy Roasted Flaxseed Almond Butter

As the almond butter melted over the piping hot oats, it created a gooey layer of molten almond butter. AMAZE!

This was actually one of my better bowls of oatmeal in awhile. I give credit to the super ripe banana I used – which was extremely hard to cut up. As you may know, I’m a banana diva, and any sign of browning on my bananas makes me gaggy!

The deep roasted flavor of the flaxseeds and almonds were the perfect flavor contrast to the sweetness. Oh yeah!

I was semi counting on having the other half of my burrito bowl to take for lunch today but, well, you know how that went… So I packed a classic Turkey Sammich instead!

2 slices EarthGrains 100% Whole Wheat Bread, 2% cheddar cheese, roasted turkey and dijon mustard.

Love that dijon zip! Do you like mustard? Ben loathes it!

This’ll be nice and filling.

The two amigos – a Fat-Free Blueberry Yogurt and Cascadian Farm Chocolate Chip Granola Bar are also making an appearance.

Memorial Day

So is anyone hosting or attending a cookout this weekend? I know I am, so I wanted to give you some quick & easy, tried & true recipes from the IGE vault that would be perfect for any outdoor gathering!