Last Night's Prep...This Morning's Breakfast

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Good Morning Everyone,

For a while now, I've been meaning to try "Overnight Oats".  Yes, overnight oats are a no cook, quick prep of your oats.  With some left over pumpkin puree, I decided to make some pumpkin pie overnight oats.  First, let's go over the base of overnight oats:
1 part liquid
1 part oats
Any fill ins
A jar

Place your liquid (I used water), oats and fill in in the jar.  Store in the fridge overnight.  THAT'S IT!!

So, last night I made the following:
In a empty peanut butter jar (I save ALL my glass jars) I added 1/2c of oats, 1/2c of water, 1/2c of pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice powder. I stirred it all up to combine and put it in the fridge.  This morning I had a thick batch of creamy oats. I added about a 1/4c of almond milk, to break up the thickness. This was delicious!!

First of all, the addition of pumpkin puree is amazing.  For an extra 40 calories I added flavor and 5 grams of fiber!  This is definitely a hearty breakfast.  In 200 calories I got a jar full of oats, with an amazing flavor and got in 9 grams of fiber!

Be on the look out for more overnight oats recipes.  The flavor combinations are endless!

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
1/2c of oats (not instant)
1/2c of water
1/2c of pumpkin puree
1TB of pumpkin spice
1/4c of milk of your choice (I used almond)
Optional: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, nut butters

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients, except for milk, in a jar and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours. After 6 hours, add milk and optional ingredients and stir to combine.

Enjoy!!!

Calories: 200
Weight Watchers Points: 4

Rebound Breakfast...

Rebounding from yesterday's binge I had a nice breakfast this morning. I made plain oatmeal which I souped up with almond milk, almonds and sliced banana. I am now full!

What did you have for breakfast?

Breakfast this morning...

Good Morning All,

Today I woke up to a slight wintry mix, but no worries...all I needed was a cup of steaming coffee.  I LOVE my coffee black, with cinnamon sprinkled in.  I usually make my own coffee in the morning, but since I was running a bit late and was a bit lazy last night to set the coffee timer last night, I bought a tall cup from Starbucks.  When I got into work, I made my famous bowl of creamy oatmeal, with one change:  instead of the whole almonds, I used two tablespoons of raw almond butter.  Mmm...so deliciously creamy!

How was your commute this morning?

Question of the day:  Do you take a multivitamin?

Shape Up in 2011: Breakfasts

Good Morning Everyone,

So, we've all heard the saying before -'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'. This is sooo true. Breakfast literally means to break your fast and it's important to know that the first thing you put in your body after fasting should be nutritious and of course delicious. Studies have shown if you eat a filling, nutritious breakfast, you are less likely to binge through out the day. A filling breakfasts calms the hunger hormone ghrelin and keeps you satiated for a longer period of time.

It's best to make sure your breakfast is loaded with fiber and antioxidants. Here's a few of my favorite breakfasts, which are high in fiber, delicious and very easy to make, even if your on the go!

Oatmeal:

The possibilities are endless here. Keep your base as plain, unsweetened oats. You can even use the instant kind. To keep your oatmeal creamy, use unsweetened almond milk. My favorite oatmeal combo is oats mixed with cinnamon and raisins.

You can mix in any type of fruit or nuts. For example, chopped apple, with chopped almonds and cinnamon is delicious. Like I said, go ahead and buy the plain, instant oatmeal and add the mix ins!

Cereal:

Top cereal off with berries or a banana. Go for cereals that have at least 3 grams of fiber. Add some fruit and you could have a great 5 grams of fiber for breakfast! One of my most favorite combos for cereal is: cereal, peanut butter (1 tsp.) and chopped bananas. These days my cereal of choice is Cheerios (plain). Kashi also makes great tasting, fiber filled cereals.

Yogurt:

OK, so you can't go wrong with non fat Greek yogurt, topped with fresh berries and drizzled with honey! Not only do you get your fiber from the fruit, but you also get a great protein punch from the Greek yogurt! Just make sure you don't use too much honey. You can also mix in dry cereal for a crunchy, textured yogurt!

English Muffins:

If you are going to have an English Muffin in the morning, make sure it is made from 100% Whole Wheat flour or sprouted grains. My favorite English Muffin is by Ezekiel's. I love smearing a teaspoon or two of peanut butter and topping with sliced banana. Such a great fiber and protein filled breakfast.

I hope I was able to give you guys some quick and healthy breakfast options that you'll try. What did you have for breakfast today?

image: thedailygreen.com

Recipe Alert: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Muffins

Hello All,

I wanted to share my recipe for a very BASIC Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal muffin. When I mean basic, I mean BASIC! There are only three ingredients in this recipe (not including spice/baking powder) and none of them are sugar! I love this recipe as is or just splitting the muffin open and drizzling honey inside it. This muffin would be great with other additions added as well, such as diced apple, or banana puree and walnuts. I'll keep you guys posted with any variations I make. For now, here is my basic Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Muffins!

Ingredients:

1 15oz. can of pumpkin puree

1 egg

1.5c. of oatmeal

1TB. of pumpkin spice powder

1/2TB. of baking powder

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Line a muffin tin pan with paper liners or spray with non stick cooking spray. Evenly, spoon muffin batter into six muffin cups. Bake for 20 -25 minutes, or until muffins feel a bit firm. Allow to cool, then enjoy!!

Servings: 6

Calories: 93

Recipe Alert: Hearty Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

In case you haven't noticed, it's cold outside. When it's cold outside, you tend to want warm, filling comfort food. This is when I crave my hot oatmeal in the morning and I love putting a healthy twist on things. Please, do not go for those instant, sugar filled packets of oatmeal! It's so quick and easy to make the same flavors of the instant packet oatmeal, without all the sugars and processed ingredients. Enjoy my recipe below for a hearty bowl of Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal!

Ingredients: 1/2 cup oats 1/4 cup of 1% milk 1/4 cup of water 1 apple, diced 2 teaspoons of good cinnamon 1 tablespoon of chopped almonds Preparation: Prepare the oats according to directions on the box, using the water and milk. Once oatmeal is cooked add the apple, cinnamon and almonds. Enjoy hot! Calories: 305

My Morning Meal During Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan is in full swing and I have had a lot of readers ask me what I've been eating at 4am to keep me full all day. So here goes...I have nothing more than a bowl of oatmeal with coffee and a multivitamin. I do love the way I prepare my oatmeal, sometimes even the night before and I just warm it the following morning. Here are the deets on my morning oatmeal: Ingredients: 1/2c. of oven toasted oats 1c. Almond milk (I like the unsweetened kind by Silk) 1tsp. cinnamon 2 dates, sliced 10 almonds, chopped Preparation: Cook the oatmeal according to the directions, using almond milk instead of water. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until cooked. Servings: 1 This recipe is great as the oats contain fiber, the almonds contain healthy fats, the almond milk adds great creaminess and the dates add great sweetness and fiber. So, there you have it...my morning oatmeal is not only healthy but keeps me focused for 15 hours!

Fiber Filled, Protein Packed Breakfast

Good Morning Everyone, How are you all doing? Since it was a little chilly for me this morning, I decided to have a warm breakfast. I made a healthy fiber filled, protein packed breakfast of oatmeal. Here are the deets: 1/2 cup of oatmeal cooked in one cup of skim milk. 1/4c of fat free ricotta cheese stirred in 1TB. of chunky PB stirred in Cinnamon also stirred in My breakfast was quite high in point (7.5 to be exact), but ranked in at 380 calories., which will probably keep me full until lunch time - I hope. The good thing about this breafast is it's very nutritionally packed with fiber, protein and healthy fats. What did you guys have for breakfast?

The Breakfast of Champions...

Still thinking about last night's post, I decided to have a more nutrient dense breakfast as well. Lately, my breakfast has been 4WW points; that's 3 points for organic instant oatmeal and 1 point for a serving of oatbran mixed in. It's still a little chilly outside so I know I wanted something warm, but more earthy. So, I created my own version of a healthy oatmeal for only 4WW points! Not only is this filling but I am eating more nutritious, natural food :-)

My oatmeal:

1TB. of raisins

1TB. of chopped almonds

1 small banana, diced

1 serving of oatbran

1TB. of cinnamon

1/4.c of boiled water, more if you'd like your oatmeal thinner

1/2c. of vanilla soy milk

Mix all of these ingredients, except the soymilk in a bowl. Slowly stir in the soymilk.

Enjoy!

WW pts: 4

What am I getting from this meal: fiber from the oatbran, potassium from the banana, healthy fats from the chopped almonds, the cholesterol lowering powers of cinnamon and antioxidants from the raisins.

Yeah...seriously, you can't go wrong with this one :-)

Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks: Bulk Up Your Oatmeal

When it's cold outside, there is nothing I crave more for breakfast than a hot bowl of oatmeal. However, sometimes one pack of instant oatmeal just does not fill me up. Also, when having instant flavored oatmeal, I find they can be very sweet. My tip to bulk up the oatmel is instant oatbran cereal! Just one quarter cup of this added to your oatmeal packet and you instantly have voluminous oatmeal :-) How awesome!! Total points for the packet of oatmeal and the oatbran added is 4 WW pts!!! Not bad at all! Also, the oatbran helps dilute the sweetness...how sweet is that :-p

Added bonus: an extra 4 grams of fiber from the oatbran!!

I hope this tip comes in handy for all you oatmeal lovers out there!

Raw Food Recipe Alert -My Morning Oatmeal

I thought I would post my recipe for my morning oatmeal, all raw :-)

1/4.c of oat groats, soaked overnight and drained

1TB of raisins

1TB of chopped almonds

1TB of flax seeds

1/4c of almond milk

1TB of cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Enjoy!

Servings: 1

Points: 5

PS: you could put this in the blender and blend lightly for oatmeal consistency. I like my oatmeal like this!

Never know, maybe Weight Watchers would ask me to write a raw food book for them!

Tips of CoW and Plain Oatmeal

Hi Ppls, So, on cold or rainy mornings, I like comfort. So, for breafast I ususally opt for Instant Oatmeal or Instant Cream of Wheat (CoW). The packets are so convienient and you just need hot water to make this. Also, they are packed with fiber, low in sugar, and have about 1-2 WW pts. Now, I know plain Oatmeal of CoW can be pretty boring, so I wanted to give you a few low point tips on jazzing this up:

1. Stir in a few berries for only 0 points!
2. One teaspoon of brown sugar has 1 WW pt., trust me one teaspoon is enough to sweeten the deal
3. One tablespoon of flavored Coffee Mate creamer for 1 WW pt. (I love the Vanilla Caramel)
4. One tablespoon of Maple Syrup for 1 WW pt.
5. One tablespoon of slivered almonds and 1/4 banana 2 WW pts....YUM!

Do you guys have any suggestions to add to instant Oatmeal or CoW?