Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

Summer is officially over, so its time to get back on track with our eating habits. Yesterday I was making my shopping list and struggled to come up with foods for my husband to eat before and during work. He leaves early, and usually doesn't have time to cook a big breakfast. But this past weekend, as we went out to eat for breakfast three days in a row (Does it get better than that? I love breakfast!) my husband realized he felt much better during the day after a good hearty breakfast. So, I googled some ideas. Oatmeal to go was what I found, and it turned out amazing!

This recipe comes from www.thewholesomedish.com, but as usual I altered it a bit to use less sugar. These were so easy to make. I also meant to add some walnuts, but forgot. Next time. I will be making this often. They are easy, so good, and keep me pretty full.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)
• 1 cup milk (almond, coconut, or regular milk)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups old fashion rolled oats (not quick oats)
• 2 tbsp cinnamon 
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• 2 cups peeled and diced apples (This was one large apple for me, could be two small)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 16 muffin tins with paper liners or spray well.
2. In a large bowl, mix together brown sugar, applesauce, eggs, and melted coconut oil.
3. Add milk and vanilla. Wisk until smooth.
4. Add oats, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Stir until well combined.
5. Add diced apples. Stir to combine.
6. Fill muffin cups almost full. (They do not rise much.)
7. Make for 30 minutes.
8. Enjoy! (Store in refrigerator or freezer.)

Chocolate Mug Cake (Shakeology)

I had a chocolate craving today and wanted to make up something quick - as I really should be writing a paper.

So I searched the internet for "Shakeology mug cake," and ended up with one which didn't have Shakeology in it. But it was titled "The moistest chocolate mug cake," so I adapted it to add in some good nutrients. You can find the original recipe here. (I am sure its good, but I am working to cut out gluten, so didn't want to use flour.)

Here is my recipe:
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp chocolate shakeology
1 tbsp sugar (next time I will try to go with 1/2, but it was delicious like this.)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp powdered peanut butter (or use regular peanut butter, but we are out)
pinch of salt (original recipe called for 1/8 tsp, but I don't have that - or couldn't find it)
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp almond milk (I used coffee almond milk because it's what we have right now. I don't think it changed the flavor. So use whatever milk you have on hand.)
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (which wasn't a problem because it's summer and it stays melted in my house)


Directions:
In a small bowl (I used a cereal bowl) mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the wet ingredients. Stir until fully mixed. Pour into a mug (preferably one of your larger mugs, so it has room to expand as it cooks.) Top with a few mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut, or a tbsp of peanut butter. Do not mix the toppings in.

Heat in microwave for 70 - 90 seconds. (I have a 900-watt microwave, so it took 90 seconds, if you have a bigger more powerful microwave, stick with 70 seconds. It's better slightly undercooked.)

When I took it out of the microwave, it seemed like it wasn't done. It sunk a little, and still looked a little wet on the edges. But the middle was done, so I decided it was good as is. I dumped it out into a bowl and topped with strawberries. So delicious!

Enjoy!

Zucchini Pasta Bake

This started as my attempt to hide some veggies from my hubby. He eats so much better than he used to, but it's still sometimes hard to get in enough veggies. And who doesn't love a good pasta bake?

So I found a recipe for a zucchini bake, but I altered it to fit our desires. 

Ingredients:

2 large zucchini, spiraled into zoodles

1/4 package of whole wheat spaghetti 

1 lb Ground turkey

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic

24 oz tomato sauce 

1 cup mix of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese

2 eggs

15oz part skim ricotta

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

1. Make zoodles and salt them lightly to get out some moisture. Let them sit while you prepare other ingredients. Dab zoodles with paper towels before using them to get rid of some the water. 

2. Cook spaghetti according to package. Drain. Set aside. 

3. Sauté onions and garlic in large pan. Add ground turkey. Cook until no pink is left. 

4. Add tomato sauce. Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. (Add some red pepper flakes if you want some heat.)

5. In large bowl, mix zoodles with spaghetti, 1/2 cheese mixture and two beaten eggs. 

6. In 9x13 casserole dish, spread 1 cup of the sauce mixture over the bottom. 

7. Place half of the zucchini mixture in an even layer on the sauce. Cover with half the remaining sauce. Spread half of ricotta cheese on top. 

8. Repeat layers remaining noodles, sauce, and ricotta. 

9. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. 

10. Cover with aluminum foil and Bake for 40 minutes. Then take off foil and bake for another 20 minutes. 

Enjoy!

I just made this again last night and it was amazing! Jerry even said it's his favorite meal I make right now. Last night I added some mushrooms to the combo also. It was SO good!

Protein Pancakes

These have become my new favorite breakfast. I make a ton over the weekend, pack them into zip-lock bags, then eat them throughout the week with some fruit. Today I added a special maple yogurt sauce on them - wow. That was amazing!

Here is the recipe for your cooking pleasure. This makes a ton, so that you have leftovers for the week.

Ingredients:
3 cups almond milk
2 large eggs
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup protein powder
1 tsp baking soda
5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1. Combine all dry ingredients in bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine almond milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and coconut oil in large bowl. Beat with wire whisk until well blended.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Mix until there are no lumps.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto the skillet, cook until bubbles form around the edge of the pancake. Flip and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes.
6. Continue with remaining batter.
7. After pancakes cool, store in single serving bags of 2 pancakes. Serve with fruit.

Hope you all love these pancakes as much as I do.

Oh ya, here is the maple yogurt sauce I put on the pancakes. Just mix up 1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt, 2 tbsp pure maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon. Stir together and drizzle over pancakes. Amazing!

Apple Squash Soup

I never used to be one who liked soups like this, but I needed something simple to bring to my grandfather's house. I thought this would be easy on his stomach, and I knew I could make it the night before and bring it to his house after church. 

I admit, since this is the first time I have made a squash soup, it took awhile, maybe an hour and a half. But a majority of that time was letting the squash cook. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large butternut squash (original recipe says 4lbs, but I didn't pay attention to the weight of mine.)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium red onion
• 5 tart apples (Granny smith or similar)
• 4 cups organic low sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or nutmeg)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or ginger)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree. 
2. Cut squash in half, cover with aluminum foil, place on baking sheet and bake for 1 hour or until tender. (I ended up quartering my squash toward the end, because it was taking too long to cook.
3. Chop onion.
4. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. 
5. Add onions and garlic, cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
6. While onion is cooking, peel, core, and chop apples.
7. Add apples, broth, and cinnamon to saucepan with onions. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until apples are tender. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat when done.
8. Place apple mixture in blender, in multiple small batches (be careful as it may produce steam). Blend until smooth. 
9. Scoop out squash flesh. (Once tender it will peel off easily.) Place small batches of squash in blender with milk or some apple mixture. Blend until smooth. Repeat this process with all of the squash. 
10. Add squash to apple mixture. 
11. Add salt and pepper. (Stop here if you are reheating later.)
12. Bring soup to a gentle boil over low heat, stirring frequently.
13. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds and some red pepper flakes for a little kick. (Makes 8 servings.)

I have to tell you, when I told my husband I was going to make this soup, he asked what he was going to eat. It turns out everyone loved it. We had egg/tuna salad sandwiches to go with the soup. Delicious. For dinner, I added some chopped up chicken to the soup, and it was fantastic. Definitely making this again and freezing batches for a quick meal.

(Recipe adapted from www.teambeachbody.,com)

I admit, I used to hate going clothes shopping. It was a very depressing time for me. 

Typically j would try on a bunch of clothes and leave with none. But more importantly I left with a huge sense of self hatred, discouragement, and frustration. 

Yesterday I ran into Kohl's because I had a coupon. I went in to look at something for the kitchen, but glanced at some work pants. They were on sale, and they had a few sizes in long - this is huge as stores never carry longs. (On a positive note, none of my pants are currently fitting and are so baggy. I needed some new ones.) So, I grabbed two sizes and went into the dressing room, hoping for a positive experience. 

I was shocked, and so happy when the smaller of the two sizes I took in fit me really well. Yup, I now have a new pair of work pants that I absolutely love. (I also grabbed two pairs of spadexy crazy colored capri workout pants on clearance. I love buying workout clothes!)

Today I am heading to Old Navy to try on a new pair of jeans. The pair I bought a couple months ago are falling off me already - good thing I just bought one pair. 

Let me now if I can help you on your fitness and weight loss journey. I never would have thought I could lose all this weight, but with the support of challenge groups, easy at home fitness DVDs and a superfood packed meal replacement shake it has actually been easy! Join me today. 

3 Day Refresh

Next week I have a physical. Last time I had a physical was two years ago. At that time, my doctor was concerned about my weight.

I wasn't. So I did nothing. I kept gaining weight.

Before I knew it, I realized I was getting out of control with my weight. But I didn't know what to do. In actuality, although I was frustrated that nothing fit, and I was getting so big, I did nothing.

I didn't try to diet. I was never successful at that.

I did join a gym, and gave that a try. But that took too much time, and it was annoying showering in a gym. That didn't last long, and never gave me any results anyways.

Then one day I decided to try Shakeology and PiYO workouts. Since that start one year ago, I have lost 45 pounds.

Today I am 10 pounds lighter than I was two years ago. But that isn't good enough for me, so I decided to give myself another little push.

Last month when I did the 3 day refresh, I lost 7 pounds in 4 days. In the next couple days I lost 3 more pounds. I have kept those 10 pounds off for the past month, but ready to lose a few more.

In the past, I didn't have the will power to say no to certain foods, and could never have done something like this. But now I realize my will is stronger than my momentary desire. Most of the time during the 3 day refresh, I am not hungry. Each time I complete another 3 day refresh my strength to say no to foods that don't help my body increases.

I can't wait to see how much I lose in the next couple days.

My salad/dinner tonight - delicious and so big.