Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

The first thing I wanted to eat for breakfast after getting home from a week in Arkansas was oatmeal that hadn't been zapped in a hotel microwave. Cue overnight oats. The cold, flavorful oats were a nice change from my plain, hot oats from the past week.

If you try to cram a lot into your mornings and need a quick breakfast, overnight oatmeal is a great solution. Just take a few minutes at night to prep them and then you'll be all set to run out the door with a healthy breakfast. 

To be honest, the last time I got sick it was right after having peanut butter. I couldn't eat it for a week or so without having some kind of physical reaction to the thought of it. Thankfully, I got over that food aversion pretty quickly and was excited to enjoy this simple and delicious combination. 

Four ingredients.

Mix and pour into a jar.

Let sit overnight.

Done.

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

(Serves 1)

 Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

· 1 tablespoon chia seeds

· 1/4 cup peanut flour

· 3/4 cup almond milk

Directions:

1. Pour all of the ingredients into a mason jar or bowl and mix well.

2. Let sit for 4 hours or over night.

3. Stir before eating.

4. Enjoy!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

A Day of Eats

After being in Tennessee for a week, traveling long hours in a car, eating too many pretzels and not getting enough sleep it was so nice to have a day off of work on Monday to rest, recuperate and exert some energy outside. I slept in until 8:30 (I know, I'm a wild one) and started the morning with an orange and a bowl of oats with chia seeds, ground flax and a dollop of almond butter. It's hard to not have some kind of nut butter with my oatmeal these days.

After digesting I went for a 7 mile run in the beautiful Florida air. It felt so good to run long and slow after being in the car for 19 hours on Sunday. Afterwards, I refueled with some chocolate soy milk from Trader Joe's and stretched.

For lunch I made a curry quiona wrap with hummus and spinach in a whole wheat pita pocket, also from TJ's. 

I love the ingredients in these pita pockets:

I put peas and raisins in my Curry Quinoa and it's delicious. Sometimes I'll just put it on a bed of spinach for a salad.

For an afternoon snack I had an apple with "peanut butter" made from peanut flour and water...

...and an orange. We have a ton of apples and oranges in our house so I felt like I needed to do my part in eating them. Don't mind if I do.

For dinner I cleaned out some of the frozen veggies that have been in our freezer since before Brett and I got married (Yikes!). I made some brown rice and simmered the veggies with this Green Curry Sauce from TJ's.

I also made some breaded baked tofu to go with it and the whole meal was delicious and came together so quickly! 

I was still pretty exhausted from such a long day driving on Sunday so Brett and I just went on a walk around the UCF campus and went to bed early. 

There you have it. Monday's eats!

Check out other people's daily eats over at Peas and Crayons for some creative ideas!

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

Merry Christmas!!

To be honest, it's kind of weird saying that because today doesn't feel much like Christmas to me. It's my first time not being with a bunch of family members on Christmas day and it's my first time being in Florida during Christmas too. The warmer weather and lack of family throws me off and it feels like just another day. There are some wonderful bonuses of being in Florida during December...trail runs!

Brett and I after a four mile trail run at Little Big Econ

Even though today doesn't feel like Christmas, I don't feel one bit deprived of the holiday festivities. Brett and I just got back last night from Destin, Florida where we celebrated Christmas early with Brett's family. Even though it wasn't as warm and sunny as we had hoped, it was still such a great weekend spending quality time with his parents, sister and brother-in-law and our niece and two nephews.

We exchanged gifts the day after we all got there and had a blast watching the kids excitedly open their new toys. The rest of our time was spent playing with the kids, swimming in the indoor pool, walking along the boardwalk, going on a boat ride, playing games, shopping and eating delicious food. There were some good laughs and conversation all throughout.

It was sad to say goodbye, but we are so thankful for the number of times we've been able to see our families amidst all the traveling we do.

Speaking of traveling, Brett and I leave again tomorrow for a work trip. I'm so glad Brett and I love to travel!



Now onto the oats. One of the gifts I got in my stocking was peanut flour! I've heard a lot about it and always wanted to try it, but never got around to buying it. While I usually like to stay as close to food in it's natural state as possible, this stuff is pretty amazing. I mixed some up with water everyday and used it as a topping for my morning oats.

Today I thought I'd try it in a baked oatmeal. Usually peanut butter flavored oat meals require a decent amount of peanut butter to get a rich, peanut taste. But by using the peanut flour, I was able to make a delicious breakfast rich in flavor without being rich in calories. You can still make this oatmeal with real peanut butter if you don't have peanut flour.

 

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

(Makes 1 Serving)

 Ingredients:

· 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

· 1/4 cup peanut flour (or two tablespoons peanut butter)

· 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

· Pinch of salt

· 1 tablespoon flaxseed

· 1/3 cup almond milk

· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

· 2 teaspoons maple syrup or liquid sweetener of choice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a single serving ramekin with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, mix together the oats, peanut flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed and part of the almond milk. Let this sit for a few minutes.

4. Add in the rest of the almond milk, the vanilla and sweetener to the flax egg and whisk until combined. (if you are using peanut butter instead of peanut flour mix the butter into the wet ingredients.)

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

6. Pour into your prepared ramekin.

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

I experimented with some new recipes this afternoon (cashew cheese and salt rubbed baked potatoes, which Brett and I ate for dinner), but didn't document any other eats since we were in and out all day enjoying the Florida weather. I did get some Arbonne protein shake mixes in the mail from a college friend of mine though and had the chocolate flavored one with lunch! I haven't used protein powder since I went vegan and this stuff was amazing. I'll post my reviews on it soon as well as the cheese and potato recipes.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Linking up with Jenn at Peasandcrayons.

Eat Consciously,

     Faith