9-grains of deliciousness

Instead of using old fashioned oats for my hot cereal I decided to shake things up a bit and get wild and crazy with a 9-grain cereal mix.

If you are wondering this container is an old sorbet container - perfect for hot oats to go!

I cooked it the same way I would regular oats, 1/4 cup of cereal, 1/2 cup of almond milk, sliced banana, and I topped it off with a drizzle of maple syrup :) I like the multiple textures of the 9-grains – this is definitely a winning a breakfast.

My back/glute issue is slowly resolving itself. So after a day away from the gym I did the following:

- Half hour on the bike

- Push ups

- Dips

- Abs

- FOAM ROLLING

Dinner was turkey sauce (a jar of tomato sauce mixed with extra lean ground turkey) and julienned zucchni. YUM!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Home Office

My recent injury left me feeling even worse on Friday morning so instead of hobbling to and from the bus, I nursed my pain from the comfort of my own home. It was nice to wake up and work on some emails and make myself I nice warm bowl of pumpkin butter oats.

Cook up 1/4 cup of oats with 1/2 cup of vanilla almond milk. Right before the oats are done cooking add 1 large scoop of canned pumpkin, a splash of vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and sliced banana. Mix all of the ingredients together and serve with a spoonful of peanut butter.

It was difficult to do work from home sitting still in my discomfort so I ventured to the gym to see if I could find some relief on the stationary bike. Lo and behold I was pain free while biking in place :)

It was great to sit and read for a while and when I walked out the gym doors it felt like the pain had dulled somewhat. After this physical exertion it was time for lunch:

A nice big salad full of wheat berries, sesame seeds, dried cranberries, brussel sprouts, avocado and some asian dressing.

More work was completed later that afternoon and another half hour was spent back on the bike to ease the remaining pain as much as possible.

Dinner was an experiment – I made “cheese” sauce!

Boil chopped up butternut squash in 1 cup of almond milk and 1 cup of water. Once the squash is nice and soft transfer  it to a bowl and keep the liquid separate. Add 3 heaping tablespoons of nutritional yeast, garlic powder and black pepper. Add 1/2 a cup of the liquid to this mixture and blend (either in a blender or with a hand mixer). Add more liquid until you reach your desired consistency. I poured my sauce over some steamed cauliflower and saved the rest of the large batch for future meals. I am pleasantly surprised with how well this turned out – let me know if you try it and how it goes for you.

One of the bloggers

It is rare that we are not scooping peanut butter out of a Costco sized tub, but yesterday morning I was left with a normal sized, mostly empty, jar of peanut butter, so I did what any other healthy living blogger would do and I made Oats in a Jar (OIAJ).

My oats did not soak overnight but I ate them out of a jar so they still count.

Almondjay’s Oats in a Jar

Cook 1/3 cup of old fashioned oats on the stove with 2/3 cup of almond milk. When the oats are almost completely cooked through add some cinnamon and vanilla. Transfer the oats to the mostly eaten jar of peanut butter (or nut butter of your choosing), adding more peanut butter if desired and a sliced banana. This was a perfect breakfast for me because I could just screw on the top and take it to work.

Although I had barley been present in the office this week due to time off and sick days, Friday still felt long. It was nice to end the evening in Tiburon, across the bay, with Dave’s parents, celebrating the end of the week and doing some free laundry ;)

Flowers for the host:

Happy long weekend! What are your plans on your day off?