A day of delightful foods.

Oooookkaaaaayyy.  Hold the phone!  I have found, I think what I have to call my all time favourite breakfast/post work-out protein shake.  I have shared, dozens upon dozens of incredible, savoury, protein-packed, iron-filled, healthy shakes, that I have said time and time again, you HAVE to make this one, or, this one is my favourite, but, but, but, I think I found it, and to my surprise it incorporates one of my least favourite fruits - blueberries.

Recently, as I've mentioned about two or three times now on my blog, that my go-to shake, when I don't feel like thinking, or looking up recipes is a really easy Green Strawberry Mango shake (I really should take a picture and post the recipe so when I do talk about it I can link back to it).  However, I now have this incredible Green Blueberry Mango shake, that I think tops my go-to, and that is saying something, because I absolutely loooooooooove that shake.

When I made this one this morning, I'm not sure what made me think of this concoction, or to think that mango and blueberries would even be a good match, but they are a match as peanut butter and jelly are, it is incredibly, without a doubt divine.  This shake was so creamy, sweet, filling, it was just out of this world.  I can't even describe the flavour pairing, it's just something you have to experience, and luckily for me, I will be experiencing it again after tomorrow mornings work out.

Do yourself a favour, and try this out, heck try it out and try to describe to me the flavours that the party in your mouth is celebrating because it is surely delightful.  Mmmm, I cannot wait to enjoy this again tomorrow morning!

Green Blueberry Mango Shake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 3/4 cup frozen mango chunks
• 2 heaping cups of baby spinach - fresh
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup 0% fat blueberry Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 scoop of protein powder

Also, I want to share with you not only todays post work-out smoothie, but what I ate before I headed out to the gym, because it was incredible.  Now, we all know I love pancakes, I don't make them a lot, but they are certainly tied with oatmeal, and, we will throw in crepes to this category as well, since they are basically just thin pancakes.  When I was in university, I hate to admit this, but I ate crepes a loooooooooot.  The cafeteria food drove me bonkers, and crepes were something that made me feel a bit better about myself since they weren't fried or greasy.  My favourite, and only one that I would get was banana and Nutella, oh my word these were amazing.

Now, I have not found many vegan crepe recipes, and the ones that I have come across, truthfully didn't really sound that amazing to me, so I'd never made any.  A few weeks ago, I'd stumbled across a recipe that instantly got my attention.  I saved it, I had planned on making it numerous times and never did.  Last night, as I was going over the recipe, I was planning on deleting the recipe, but then I figured, no way Jose, this caught my attention I need to go through with it, and decided that I would make it for breakfast when I wake up.  Well thank goodness I decided to keep it, because with the killer banana combo I decided to throw in, it was just, blissful.  I mean, the photograph won't do it any justice, since I'm a horrible photographer, but listen to me, today has been incredible for meals and it all started out with this wonderful breakfast.

Magical Peanut Butter Banana Crepes

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Dash of salt
• 5 tbsp + 1 tsp almond milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients.  Mix well until you have a smooth batter with no lumps.

Meanwhile heat a medium sized frying pan with a light covering of oil.  Once the pan is hot add a large spoonful of batter to the pan and move the pan in circular motions to spread the batter into a large circle.  Cook for approximately two minutes and then carefully flip to cook the reverse side for approximately one minute until both sides are lightly browned.  Repeat.

I then topped it with this magical banana beast.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2-3 tbsp crushed peanut butter Puffins cereal
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 tbsp maple peanut butter
• Maple syrup
• 1 tbsp peanut butter chips

Directions:

Crush your cereal and add them to a bowl along with the flaxseed and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix until well combined.

Coat your banana with your peanut butter, and then roll it in the spice combination.

I then cut the banana in slices, topped it on the crepes and made it extra sinful by adding maple syrup and peanut butter chips!

Strawberry Orange Tofu Pecan Salad

Lastly, I want to share a quick salad that I've been throwing together the past few days, and definitely enjoyed again today.  It is so easy to make, and by far one of the best salads I have ever created, and even tried for that matter.  You should definitely give it a shot if you're in a rush, or even in a salad slump, this will get you out, and seeking more and more, trust me!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups of fresh baby spinach
• 3 small strawberries - quartered and then cut in half again
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• 1 batch of orange tofu (recipe to follow)
• 1 tbsp chopped pecans

Orange Tofu

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 1 orange
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Drain the tofu and wrap in a paper towel. Squeeze the excess water out of the block of tofu and cut it into triangles or cubes.

Peel your orange and smash it in a medium-small lidded bowl, getting it nice and pulp-y.  Stir in the soy sauce, garlic and 1 tbsp of the oil. 

Place your tofu into the marinade, cover with the lid and shake gently so that every piece is covered with the sauce.  Let it marinate for at least 2 hours.

Once the tofu is done marinating, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.  Add the tofu (but save the marinade!). Cook for 45 minutes or until golden.

Toss your salad components together, and dress with remaining marinade!

How do you spruce up your salads when you're in a rut?

Flu bustin' shakes

I am a very fortunate person.  I'm not saying this in the sense of, I get everything handed to me, and everything always works out in my favour, or anything like that.  What I mean is, one of the traits that I got from my mom (that I actually like), unlike my lack of math skills, or the crooked teeth I had growing up, or the fact that I have been wearing glasses since grade six and will have to for the rest of my life, is that I barely ever get sick.  I can't even remember the last time I was actually sick, other than when I got H1N1 a few years ago (gross right?)  I've had some ill-fate when it comes to my health in other aspects - anxiety, depression, an eating disorder, and fibromyalgia (all which have been worked through and are not in the picture anymore), but as for illness when it comes to being sick, very, very rarely does that ever play a role in my life.

Despite the fact that my mom works sixty-seventy hours a week, is up to her ears in stress, gets only a few hours of sleep a night, she very rarely gets sick.  Thankfully, I've inherited that as well.  As for myself, I don't just embrace and turn a blind eye to the fact that I get sick so little, no, I also have my lifestyle to thank for that.  I would consider myself an active person, considering already this week I have been five times, and I eat a very healthy diet /cough, other than this week because well, mother nature decided to visit and I've been craving junk food like there is no tomorrow (too much information?  Perhaps, just a bit), oh well, it's my blog, my journal.  I snacked on some yoghurt covered raisins/chocolate covered raisins, and have been eating two homemade chocolate chip cookies since Monday (not so bad I guess though considering).

Nonetheless, the point of this blog entry is that, this week my boyfriend picked up the flu, or something.  He started off with a headache, then it worked it's way to his nose, and then it was a whole body cold it seemed.  The other day we were supposed to get together, but instead he decided to sleep (which, thankfully he did, because even with the million + hours he got, he still seemed like a zombie).  The next day we had planned to watch a movie, and the same thing happened.  This time, I decided I would pay him a visit with some homemade soup and an orange to try and liven him up a bit.  Well, he looked like he had been visited by a ghost.  Shades drawn, lights off, fetal position, congested to the max, despite how cute he looked while being in such an uneasy state, he looked to say the least a little haggard (all said with love - hence I brought soup to make him feel better).

After spending a bit of time with him, I realized that even though I have super power genes when it comes to getting sick, I still can't just rely on those genes and think I'm Superwoman and just won't get sick, that's not how it works.  Instead, I've been eating foods high in vitamin C, and getting a lot of fluids in me (apart from what I regularly focus on for my diet of course) this was just even more focused on than it usually is.  With that of course comes protein shakes, woohoooooo, my favourite!

Very Orange Banana Shake

The first one I made was incredibly similar to orange crush, or orange juice - I don't know.  The orange flavour was very evident and was overall just an amazing way to start the day.  I never think to use freshly squeezed orange juice rather than water when it comes to my smoothies, but in trying to protect myself I've been doing it daily and what a nice change it is with such great flavour.  Also, with the addition of the zest along with the freshly squeezed juice it gave even more flavour because of the oils released.  This was a fantastic shake, and will certainly be seeing more of this, especially come the summer.  And I can also guarantee that you will be seeing more shakes using freshly squeezed juice!  Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 orange juiced + orange zest
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 large frozen banana
• 1/3 cup 0% vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Strawberry Pineapple Orange Shake

The next shake I had was an adaptation of the previous recipe, however, I added strawberries and pineapple au lieu of banana.  Between the two, I'm not sure which I preferred more.  The above one was evidently more creamy due to the banana, this one was much more liquidy, but just as delightful.  The combination of strawberries with the two citrus fruits was a very delightful union, I certainly enjoyed this and it was pure perfection after a nice work out.  Hopefully it also aids in not getting sick!

Ingredients:

• 1 orange - juiced
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 cups of fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup of frozen strawberries
• 1/3 cup fresh pineapple
• 1/4 cup 0% fat strawberry Greek yoghurt
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

What precautions do you take to try and prevent sickness?

Seven Days of Oats a la Sam

Last week I made a post for Five Days of Protein Shakes, with my daily ingestion of protein shakes also comes my daily consumption of oats (as I'm sure you all know by now).  Since I hadn't made an entry for any of these bowls last week I figured I would give you guys seven days of oats a la Sam.  Sit tight and relax, you are about to enjoy :)

Day 1 - Orange and Almond Infused Oats

I have never used orange juice as a split base for my oats, however, I had a lot of oranges left to eat before I left for my trip to British Columbia and I didn't want these precious fruits going to waste so I figured I would experiment.  I mean, it's not too different from water, just that it has a little zing to it.  I wasn't sure what flavours I wanted to go with the orange infusion, but as I was making my oats I just had a lot of ideas flowing through, as to what I've seen orange paired with on prior occasions.  The first bite I took I was a little reluctant as it had sort of an iffy taste to me, I can't really describe what it was, perhaps overkill in orange?  I'm not sure, however, once I took my second and third bite I was definitely smitten by the divinity of this bowl.  There were so many flavours that I used in this bowl, and in unison they all came together very well.  This was a really divine bowl, and it was an excellent way to begin the day.  I'm not a juice drinker, so with the orange infused in the oats it gave my morning ritual a nice little twist.  This is definitely a very versatile bowl and will certainly be enjoyed again - this would certainly be ideal in the summer, perhaps even as overnight oats and have them cold rather than warm.  I loved it, and it was certainly a great way to start a weeks worth of various bowls of oats!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/3 cup soy milk + more for topping
• 1 ripened banana
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/8 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

Garnish:

• Cacao nibs
• Almond slivers
• Coconut flakes
• 0% fat blackberry Greek yoghurt
• Orange zest
• Maple syrup

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, orange juice, cinnamon, ginger, salt, almond and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, and the rest of your garnishes!

Day 2 - Almond Joy Oats

I’ve never had Almond Joy before, to be honest, I’m not even sure if we get Almond Joy chocolate bars in Canada.  However, I have seen numerous recipes online via my dear fellow bloggers of imitation recipes for this delicious looking and sounding treat.  I am a huge fan of almonds (hello Amaretto, am’I right?), and coconut we all know how in love I am with this beautiful flavor, when mixed together with a ibit of chocolate well, this is amazing.  In this case I cheated a bit, and didn’t use real chocolate since if I don’t have to have chocolate I usually opt to not have it, but carob chips I am seriously very fond of.  I remember this one time I had a friend over, and I was making “chocolate chip cookies” with carob chips instead, had the bagg open and as they were sticking their hand in the bag and gobbling up some chips behind my back they were well quite shocked to be completely honest that the taste wasn't at all what they had expected hahaha.  This oatmeal however, despite the fact that I’ve never eaten an Almond Joy, if I can use my imagination, well I think that this would be neck in neck as to what it would taste like.  This was seriously fantastic, and again, just like many of my breakfast bowls of oats resembles a healthy dessert rather than what's supposed to be a healthy breakfast, thankfully both categories work and my tummy and tastebuds get a treat as well!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Garnish:

• 1 tbsp carob chips
• 1 tbsp slivered almonds
• 1 tbsp coconut flakes
• 0% fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 tbsp hemp seeds

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, almond and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, and the rest of your garnishes!

Day 3 - Crunchy Peanut Butter Oatmeal

I have never been one for cereal, especially cereal and milk, gross.  I was always a weird kid when it came to breakfast.  For many years I wouldn't eat breakfast, no way Jose.  Then I started eating breakfast and it wasn't your typical breakfast food, no, I would eat pasta, Mr. Noodles, ice cream, macaroni and cheese, yes I was a weird kid.  This went on for many years.  It's only the past few years, more so when I started going to University did I start to eat like a real person, and would also eat breakfast, nowadays I love it, and is by far my favourite meal of the day, and could hands down eat breakfast meals all day long.  When it comes to cereal, I am still not a fan of cereal and milk together, yes, I will do like I did when I first started incorporating cereal in my diet and have a glass of milk on the side but never together, yuckers.  My current favourite is of no surprise to me since the main flavour is peanut butter.  I eat this cereal when I'm craving something junky but don't want to feel guilty - even though I may eat a lot in one sitting uh oh, oh well, better than a bag of chips.  The other morning when I was making my oats, I knew I wanted peanut butter, then I thought of my wonderful cereal and figured hey why not throw them together in one magical unison?  Well magical unison it was.  This bowl was creamy and full of peanut butter and because of the cereal it had a nice crunchy bite to it as well.  I loved this, and will definitely keep this as a go-to if I'm not feeling motivated to think of something special to make for my breakfast bowl!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 cup peanut butter cereal crushed
• Handful of peanut butter chipits

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana an peanut butter.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, crushed cereal and peanut butter chipits.

Day 4 - Chai Spiced Banana Oats

Okay, looking at the ingredient list, this definitely wouldn't look like a recipe I would want to make early in the morning, I mean, it looks like the list is as long as The Great Wall of China, but it's not really, there are just a lot of spices.  Chai has got to be my favourite spice combination, it incorporates all the fall flavours that I love so much, and it's just so warming and aromatic.  Especially when paired with oats, it gives you such a warm, home comfort feeling.  This bowl of oats was the perfect thing to wake up to and have for breakfast.  I loved it, and it was certainly a great pick-me up on a day where I certainly wasn't feeling like going to the gym and working out.  This truthfully didn't take any longer than my regular oats that I make, and was certainly worth taking out the few extra spices to add a little zing to my morning.  If you're not a big fan of ginger, I would almost suggest putting a little less than suggested and adding more cinnamon, all depends on how spicy you want it to be (however, with the added coconut, maple syrup and carob chips it adds a hint of sweetness)!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp of cloves
• 1 tbsp flax
• Maple syrup - to garnish
• 1 tbsp carob chips 
• 1 tbsp pecans 
• 1 tbsp flaked coconut

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, flaxseed and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana an peanut butter.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, maple syrup, carob chips, pecans and flaked coconut.


Day 5 - Blueberries and Cream Oats

Recipe inspired from here

Hmmm, as I mentioned the other day, my mom bought me twelve bags of frozen fruits, and well, the blueberries needed to get gobbled up since out of all fruits, these are basically my least favourite.  However, I've come to appreciate them when it comes to having them with warm oats as they seem to ooze all over the place and create the perfect flavour to oats (Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal) also when paired with cinnamon and banana (Blueberry Pie Smoothie).  The other day as I was stumbling upon the foodie blogs I came across for a blueberry breakfast that actually looked quite delicious.  At first I was contemplating using raspberries instead of blueberries and thought what the heck I might as well give it a shot.  I'm glad I did.  I'm still not fully converted to blueberries, but I'm beginning to appreciate those little buggers a teeny bit more.  This oatmeal was luxurious, and definitely in the lines of a dessert as opposed to a breakfast (you really do feel like you're doing the body harm when eating this - but you are by no means doing so).  I loved this, and will certainly be trying it again, and perhaps trying it as I initially wanted to with raspberries.  I loved eating this because not only was it so tasty and good for me, it was darn right beautiful to look at, now that's a bonus right?

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + 1 tbsp + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp slivered almonds 

Directions:

In a small pot add blueberries, maple syrup, vanilla and 1 tbsp of coconut milk.  Heat over low heat until the blueberries are heated through - make sure not to boil the coconut milk.

Make your oats as you typically make them.  Then top with your blueberry compote, slivered almonds, additional coconut milk and maple syrup!

Day 6 - Tropical Oats

Do I even need to write a little tidbit for this next bowl?  I really don't think so, and I'm not going to.  Instead I'm going to head downstairs and clean up after my cats, because by now, we all know how amazing tropical flavours are, how well they meld together, and how delightful they are with oats especially for breakfast when the weather isn't as warm as it's going to be for the rest of the day and you want to feel as though you're in the Caribbean somewhere drinking slurping back on a gigantic Pina Colada.  All I'm going to say is, do yourself a favour, and make this - you know what to do.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + 1 tbsp + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp chopped cashews
• 1/4 cup chopped pineapple
• 1/4 cup cubed mango
• 1 heaping tbsp coconut flakes
• 0% fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, Greek yoghurt, mango, pineapple, cashews, coconut flakes, and hemp seeds.

Day 7 - Strawberry Nutella Oats

Okay, okay, Nutella and strawberries are absolutely amazing.  Clearly I’ve had peanut butter and Nutella are amazing together, as are bananas and Nutella.  As we all know, chocolate and strawberries are matches made in heaven, but with the addition of hazelnuts, holy moly it’s a whole other world.  This oatmeal was incredibly creamy, luxurious, sinful, perfectly sweet, packed full of protein, and was incredibly filling and a perfect way to start a work out.  I made this a few times before I decided that I need to photograph it because this is certainly one bowl that needs to be shared with the rest of you, pure perfection in a bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 medium sized strawberries – quartered than cut in half
• 1 tbsp Nutella
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds
• 0% fat strawberry Greek yoghurt

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana and Nutella.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional milk, Greek yoghurt, strawberry slices, and hemp seeds.

What are some ideas you use to spruce up your morning oats?

Five days of protein shakes.

The other day my mom had to go to Costco and pick up another tub of protein powder.  This is the first time since I've been using protein powder that I've actually finished a tub practically by myself (my mom has made protein shakes here and there after her work outs, not being as vigilant as me after a work out) so a good 5/6 of the tub was consumed by me.  That to me is nuts.  Whenever I used to walk to school and it was garbage/recycling day I always had a tendency to walk a little slower than normal and stare into people's bins.  It's not that I would stop and rummage through them gross, but I would make mental notes, healthy, unhealthy, unhealthy, unhealthy, super healthy, etc... It was kind of a bad habit to have because well it's rude, and I shouldn't judge other peoples lifestyles as I don't know what kind of lives they lead.  Regardless, whenever I would see tubs of protein in recycling bins I always thought to myself "hooooooly, who finishes those tubs?!?!?!" - now, I am, and it feels incredible.

I've gone over this tenfold of times now, but I love my shakes, and I especially love them after a well deserved hard work out.  Lately, I've been consuming them like crazy, and coming up with some really incredible combinations.  My favourite, which has been my go-to for a few weeks now when I don't feel like brainstorming interesting combinations I throw in 1/2 cup frozen mango, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/2 cup water, huuuuuge handful of spinach, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder - it is wonderful.  For those days when I'm not lazy and feel like using my brain to come up with something I try things like this -

Here's my last week in protein shakes!

Day 1 - 

Tropical Green Smoothie

By now you all know I'm a fan of the tropics.  Doesn't matter the shape, size  (however, preferably as huge as I can get so I can get a huge dose of these flavours!), texture, or consistency.  I love all tropical fruits, and will always have a special place in my heart.  One of my recent favourites is a tropical green shake, think Pina Colada's only without the added sugar and alcohol.  You have yourself an incredibly healthy protein packed, iron rich shake that is sure to fill you for hours and bound to heal your muscles after a tough work out!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 cup pineapple (frozen if you have)
• 1 freshly cut mango
• 1 orange juiced - my favourite is Tangelo Minneola 
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup 0% vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 scoop of protein powder

Day 2 - 

Peanut Butter and Jam Banana Shake

I'm not the biggest fan of jam other than my beloved raspberry or jam, or this lemon mango jam that I stumbled across last summer as I was working in Montreal and decided to go to a Farmer's Market.  I'm not sure what it is about jam, it's not that the consistency freaks me out or anything, it's just I think when it comes down to it I rather eat the fruit in it's natural form, instead of a mashed up pureed form.  As I said though, raspberry jam, I loooooove, especially when it's melded together with its soulmate peanut butter.  If I've already had a huge bowl of oats for breakfast, I sometimes don't like to come home from a work out and have my shake along with more carbs, so instead I'll substitute what I'm craving carbs wise (in this case a peanut butter and jam banana sandwich), and I'll transform it into a protein shake.  This was amazing.  It was oh so creamy, it was rich, but not too rich, each flavour definitely shared the spotlight and none were left out.  It was incredibly satiating and it gave me a ton of energy for the rest of the afternoon, would surely make this again!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
• 1/3 cup 0% fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 scoop peanut butter protein powder (or substitute for what you have chocolate/vanilla)

Day 3 - 

Blueberry Avocado Shake

Recipe inspired from here

Now, this was a really interesting combination of flavours for me.  I really, really, really am not the biggest fan blueberries.  I mean, unless they are topped in whipped cream, or are melded with our berries and topped with some fresh lime juice I don't go bizerk for blueberries, nor will you ever really catch me eating just a bowl of blueberries unless we are really out of fruit.  When I stumbled across a recipe for a blueberry and avocado combination this actually sounded really good to me.  When I took the first sip, I was actually a little repulsed, I'm not sure what it was exactly, or if it was because the first sip was the last of what was in the blender and it just wasn't mixed properly - I don't know, but it was gross.  At first I was debating not even taking a picture, but then I took another sip and it was heaven.  The whole time I was gobbling this down like a monkey I couldn't help think that I was eating a blueberry pie (I don't even like pie let alone blueberry pie for that matter), but for some reason this was good.  Oh, oh, now that I think about it, maybe it's not blueberry pie that it was reminiscent of, but blueberry cheesecake!  Ah yes, now that makes more sense because of the creamy hues from the blueberries!  After the second sip, it had truly been transformed, and it was incredible.   When it was done, I seriously contemplated making another mini version because it truly was satisfying.  Thank heaven I had frozen some avocado in the freezer because without the banana I'm always skeptical of the consistency that the shake is going to result in, but frozen avocado to me is the same as a frozen banana and gives you different nutrients to feed your body!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 frozen avocado
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp chopped walnuts
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 cups fresh spinach

Day 4 - 

Orange Date and Coconut Shake

Now, when it comes to adding oranges into my shakes I'm a little skeptical, as even when segment the orange I find that sometimes the texture doesn't blend well.  When it came to this shake however, I didn't notice the orange texture at all, it had blended amazingly, and the orange flavour was thoroughly noticed.    This is one of those shakes that you can chew, which... isn't any different for me, since I even chew my water (it's incredibly weird I know, and I don't tell people this because well, it's really strange.  I had told my boyfriend this, and thought I was telling him something new, and he was like yeah I noticed that... well that's embarrassing hahaha).  Nonetheless, if you're not like me, and you actually drink your drinks as they are intended, this will definitely be a shake/smoothie that you will chew.  This is certainly great if you're feeling a little under the weather and want a pick me up.  The zesty orange, tropical coconut, and sweet dates are melded so wonderfully together and create such a punch of flavours, highly recommended.  

Ingredients:

• 1 orange
• 5 dates
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/3 cup 0% fat free vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp unsweetened shredded coconut, to garnish

Directions:

Soak the dates in the boiling water for 5-10 minutes to soften them up.

Peel the orange with a knife and cut it into 8-10 pieces.

Add all ingredients, except shredded coconut, to your food processor and process until smooth, about one minute.

Transfer to drinking glass, garnish with shredded coconut.

Blueberry Peanut Butter Shake

I've noted previously, and above as well, that I am not a huge fan of blueberries.  However, when your mom leaves for six weeks and buys you twelve bags of frozen fruits, two of them being blueberry you eat through them.  When I first made this shake, I wasn't feeling motivated because well it was blueberry so I figured this was just a shake that I would drink and bare.  However, as I thought of the flavours that go well with blueberries, peanut butter was something I thought went well (blueberry jam and peanut butter?) - maybe, I'm not quite sure, but this shake was fantastic.  It wasn't just something I had to chalk up and drink through unbearably, it was incredible.  It was creamy, rich, the perfect amount of sweetness, and just all around yummy.  Would definitely make again, surprisingly.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/3 cup 0% fat Vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 scoop of peanut butter protein powder (or vanilla if you don't have peanut butter)

What's your favourite way to get your protein in you via shakes?

Adam - this one's for you.

Peanut Butter and Jam Banana Pancakes

Recipe taken from here

 Okay, I know it's been mentioned more than once, more than twice, and unfortunately more than three times as of late as to how much I have been obsessed with peanut butter, jam and bananas together, yes, and I use the word obsessed.  I know I don't make pancakes far as often as I would like... honestly, I'm not even sure why.  When I think of pancakes, a light descends and the lights from my imaginary heaven open up and shine down on me, yes, I love pancakes.  When I think of making pancakes though, I always think of a million and two ingredients, something that takes a decade to make, with five bazillion pots and pans left to clean.  When in reality, pancakes are rather simple to make, with not so many ingredients, unless you include a lot of spices, and really, it takes one bowl, a whisk, spatula/spoon and a pan, it's so easy and takes barely any time at all, especially if you're just cooking for one, which most of the time is my case.

I save so many recipes for pancakes, and I always include them in my weekly meal planning file, but then I usually tend to make something that I think requires less time aka oatmeal.  Dumb, and well, even dumber. I then usually seem to get rid of these recipes because I save more recipes that I want to try out and think to myself, "you're never going to get through all of these recipes Sam!".  Well, I need to stop doing this because I miss out on a lot of really great meals.  However, this is certainly one recipe I was not going to be getting rid of, and certainly will not get rid of after gobbling them down as fast as a wild forest fire burns (sorry...).

I made these on Sunday (yes, perfect day to have pancakes).  After drooling at all the pancake recipes from dozens upon dozens of people posting numerous recipes for Fat Tuesday I figured I definitely needed to have some in my gut by the end of the week.  My boyfriend, best friend, mom and her boyfriend were all away on vacation, I decided I was going to take a rest day from the gym, and so I figured hey why not treat myself, so treating myself is what I did with a big stack of peanut butter and jam banana pancakes.

These pancakes are why peanut butter and jam go so well together.  It's like before this, whatever you thought love was, it was just a myth.  This is brilliant.  It's complete and utter perfection.  It's as if you were in the dark all these years, and Thomas Edison had never invented the lightbulb for you to light your way, that is, until these pancakes came along.  Okay, okay, I need to stop.  I'm literally starting the psychological stage of digestion by talking about this, my salvatory glands are actually beginning to produce saliva and this is not something I want this late at night, where I've already consumed so much food, should no longer be eating anything (eeek, especially the Peanut Butter Cereal I just inhaled), and should really be hopping into bed soon, darn psychological temptations!  Nonetheless, if you are a fan of pancakes, if you are a fan of peanut butter, jam, and bananas, if you are a fan of healthy, and most certainly if you are a fan of delicious food that feels like it should be a dessert and put on the naughty list than this is for you, so stay tuned, because you will be hooked, and trust me, it's not such a bad thing.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk 
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• Dash of sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp sugar - which I completely forgot to add in

Topping - 

• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp raspberry jam
• 1 sliced banana

Directions:

Preheat griddle to medium-high heat - about 350 degrees. 

Prepare oatmeal by combinging oats and boiling water in a bowl.  Cover and let set for 5 minutes. 

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add remaining wet ingredients to oatmeal, including PB, and mix. Add wet to dry and stir until just combined. Scoop onto lightly greased griddle in 1/4 cup measurements. 

Note: these take a bit longer to cook than traditional pancakes since the oatmeal gives them a lot of moisture – about 2-3 minutes each side. Top with melted peanut butter and jam (I tossed both in a microwave safe dish for 20 seconds until nice and runny). 

Enjoy :)

They tried to make me go to rehab

I said, no, no, no

... more oats, you got it!

I don't think it's any surprise of to any of you readers who checks on my blog regularly that I love oatmeal, and I love the way you can change up your oats.  I always keep my base the same, but always think of different things to add in.  I never get bored of my oats, and I always look to waking up in the morning to my warm, healthy, hearty, filling, creamy, delicious breakfast bowl.

Since starting my personal training I've tried to vary my breakfasts' a bit different, trying to see if my pre-work out meals could be better for me than my bowl of oats.  I've tried huge protein-packed shakes, toasts/sandwiches topped and stuffed with varieties of nut butters and fruits with Greek yoghurt on the side, but nothing gives me the amount of energy that allows me work through my complete work out the way my oats do.  When I don't have my oats, I start to feel sluggish and hungry about thirty minutes into my work out - not a good thing, especially when you have a trainer by your side and then feeling like you've let them down, not so fun, no.  So with that being said, I'm not going to go against what my body needs, I'm going to listen to what it looks forward to, enjoys, and thrives for and from; oatmeal.

Mango Kiwi Oatmeal

This past week I've seen more than a handful of my Facebook friends (wow that makes me sound like I don't have actual friends), nonetheless, leave for vacation, warm and tropical places - leaving me feeling completely envious.  I mean I can't really complain seeing as this winter has been very warm, and we only really got our first real snowfall last week (yes, I even got to go tobogganing!), but nonetheless, it's always nice to leave home and see the world from a different point of view.  With that being said, I would die to go somewhere tropical, especially seeing as 75% of the fruit I buy weekly are fruits from the tropics, and eating some of these beauties fresh from where they are actually grown instead of exported from a truck would be heavenly.  As I was daydreaming of the palm trees, the beach with the warm water and the sand between toes enjoying some freshly cut tropical fruit I decided why not make a tropical bowl of oats while staring at the snow falling from the sky.

This was definitely a perfect bowl for me to imagine that I'm not in snowy Ontario, and that I'm actually on a beach somewhere far, far away.  This was luxurious, hearty, imaginable, and definitely left me feeling warm inside.  The tropical fruits and the addition of the mango lemon jam was the perfect touch it needed.  This makes me all jittery and anxious inside because I cannot wait for the summer when these fruits are fresh and when I can enjoy these warm piping bowls in the warmer weather (yes, I am sick, I know).


Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk + more for garnish
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ripened banana
• 1/2 mango - freshly cut
• 1/2 kiwi - freshly cut
• Coconut flakes - garnish
• Mango lemon jam - garnish
• Handful of hemp seeds - garnish

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, mango, kiwi, coconut flakes, hemp seeds and jam.

Nutella Oats

Is it possible for someone not to looooooove Nutella?  I don't know, if that person does however exist, eeeeeeek.  Nutella is pure heaven.  When I was younger I can remember going into the pantry, grabbing the peanut butter and Nutella, going into the utensil drawer and grabbing the teeny teaspoon's and taking bites of both those magical substances together and making "Reece's Peanut Butter Cup on a Spoon", it was heaven, and purely magical.  I loved doing this, and did this for years to come.  I'm not sure when it stopped, but all I know is Nutella stopped being a mandatory item on the grocery list.  The other day however, I was talking to someone about panini's, then daydreaming of PB&J&banana grilled sandwiches, then imagining peanut butter, Nutella and banana grilled sandwiches, oh yes my tastebuds were firing.  With this I realized, that it had been forever since I'd had Nutella, so the next time I went to the grocery store I picked some up.  What did I decide to make?  Oats of course with Nutella, yum, yum, yum... this was fantastic, especially with the added chopped hazelnuts on top.  Will certainly be making this again soon, however, I will certainly be throwing in some peanut butter to make it even more sinful than it already was!  Take a leap, dive in, enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 riped banana + a few slices set aside
• 1 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp Nutella
• 0% vanilla Greek yoghurt - to top
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds - to top

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana and Nutella.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional milk, Greek yoghurt, banana slices, chopped halzenuts and hemp seeds.

Coconut Date Pecan Oatmeal

Goody goody gumdrooops!  Did I just say that?  Uh yeah I did.  This oatmeal, I can't even begin to describe it.  I'm a sucker for coconut duuuhhhhhh, obviously I looooove bananas since they are in the base of each of my bowls every morning, I love pecans with bananas, but dates?!  Oh I love dates and their sweet caramel selves.  When all these flavours are melded together it is pure heaven in a bowl.  I know I post a lot of recipes for oatmeal, heck this post already has three and I'm not done yet, but this bowl is one of my favourites.  It's a very simple bowl to make, but the flavour pairing is absolutely amazing, ahhhh, I'm definitely in the mood to eat this again if it weren't for the giant bowl I had this morning (recipe below).

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ripened banana + few slices for garnish
• 1 tbsp chopped dates
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp chopped pecans
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Maple syrup to drizzle

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana, dates and 1 tbsp of coconut flakes.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with banana, pecans, remaining 1 tbsp of coconut flakes and maple syrup.

Chocolate Raspberry Oats

Okay, as you all know, I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate, it's why you never fully see recipes containing a lot of chocolate.  You will never see me eating a chocolate bar, or taking spoons from a tub of chocolate ice cream, you may not even see me eating chocolate covered strawberries.  There are a few times when I really do enjoy chocolate however, when it's combined with raspberries/citrus fruits, when it's mixed with hazelnuts (helllooo Nutella)/peanut butter, or wen it's speckled into ooey-gooey cookies, yummy!  Lately, I've been adding cocoa powder into more of my food (I've posted a few oatmeal recipes now), it's still iffy with me, but the benefits of cocoa is something that stands out to me, and it certainly sweetens foods so it's a great alternative sweetener once in a while.  White chocolate of course is a completely different story, since it's not really even chocolate, and I fall weak to the knees when it comes to a great Hershey's Cookies 'n Cream bar, or a white hot chocolate, oh golly gee.

This recipe was so decadent, it wasn't too rich, and the chocolate wasn't overpowering.  This was a great way to start the day because it was the perfect amount of sweet and it made me feel like I was eating this tempting guilt-filled dessert, but instead on the contrary it was good for me, and tasted like heaven in a bowl, yeehaw!


Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk + additional milk for garnish
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 ripened banana
• 1 tbsp carob chips - to garnish
• Handful of frozen or fresh raspberries - to garnish
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds - to garnish
• 0% vanilla Greek yoghurt - to garnish

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana, and chocolate.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with Greek yoghurt, raspberries, carob chips and hemp seeds.

Enjoy :)

Bowl of oats x3

Reason #267 why I love oatmeal so much: how quick it is to make.  Whether you make it in the microwave, add boiling hot water and let your oats sit for a few minutes, or make a bowl on your stovetop, no bowl takes more than a few minutes to make - even when you are fancying this bowl.

As mentioned in my last post about oatmeal, I have been eating a lot of oatmeal lately as that has been my pre-work out meal.  I seriously love this, especially because you can also sneak in a lot of protein before your work out as well.  The other day as I was doing my normal blog perusing I came across a post that really jumped out to me.  I have browsed Sonia's blog from The Healthy Foodie many times always marveling at the beautiful photographs that go along with her recipes, however I can't honestly say I've ever tried any.  This weekend however, I decided to give three recipes a try.  All oatmeal recipes of course.  The reason this post stuck out so much to me is because of the Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal.  Greek yoghurt, protein powder, chia seeds, and almonds, that's a lot of protein in one bowl of oats, that didn't even include my smoothie afterward.

Yes, even the fanciest of oatmeal recipes only take a few minutes to assemble.  This one, I had a few different dishes going because you have to (well don't have to, but I assure you it's better this way) toast the almonds and additional oats to create a crumble.  You need to have a separate bowl for the "custard".  A small saucepan for the blueberry sauce and then a separate one for the oats itself.  Other than the extra dishes that would normally come with my regular bowl of oats that's all that really made time seem a little longer, however, I enjoyed an incredible cup of green tea while doing this, so it was okay.

This oatmeal was amazing.  The different layers of flavours was just impeccable, the presentation was absolutely beautiful, and the aroma, mmmm yum.  This is definitely one of my favourite oatmeal concoctions, I mean hello, it's dessert in a bowl for breakfast, while being very healthy and full of protein, no way your tastebuds (or your personal trainer) could tell you you're doing something wrong with this.  I definitely had a lot of energy for my work out, certainly was not full by the time I came home, however I needed to repair my muscles so I of course made myself a protein packed smoothie and gobbled it down nonetheless.  This is most definitely an oatmeal I will be enjoying over and over again, maybe with a raspberry sauce next time ;).

The tropical twist oatmeal was also very delightful, it had some of my all time favourite fruit, with one of my favourite nuts, and of course Greek yoghurt, how could you go wrong with this, especially during the cool winter months?  Loved, loved, loved.

Lastly the banana bread oatmeal, now hot dang.  It's been a loooonnnggg time since I've made/had any banana bread.  I never think to make banana bread since I throw bananas into everything, and if my bananas get really ripe, they go into my Ziploc bag in the freezer and then they get gobbled up within the same week on my smoothies.  When I saw the recipe on The Healthy Foodie for banana bread oatmeal I figured I would spice it up the way I would enjoy my banana bread.  This was definitely amazing, especially to wake up to and enjoy.  If you were to wake up and not know what was baking on the oven you would definitely pass it off as a joyous banana bread.  This was so insanely delightful, and I can just imagine the various things I can throw in and top off in other versions, yummm!

Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

Oatmeal

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Blueberry Sauce

• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 3/4 tsp amaretto agave nectar
• 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp water
• Big squirt of lemon juice

Crumble

• 1 tbsp slivered almonds
• 1/2 tbsp old fashion oats

“Custard”

• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder 
• 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

In a small saucepan add milk, water, salt, vanilla and oatmeal, once it starts to boil stir in your banana until all liquid is absorbed and oatmeal is nice and creamy.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, cook blueberries, water, lemon juice, chia seeds and agave nectar over low heat, stirring occasionally, until blueberries start to “explode” and sauce thickens. You might want to swoosh the blueberries a little bit with your spoon to help break them up. Set aside when ready.

In a small non-stick pan, over medium heat, toast the sliced almonds and old fashion oats until golden and fragrant. Set aside.

In small mixing bowl, mix protein powder with plain yogurt until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

When all your components are ready, transfer to serving bowls, starting with oatmeal, then blueberry sauce, followed by custard and finally the crumble.


Tropical Twist Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• Same oatmeal components as above
• 3-4 strawberries, cut into little cubes
• 1/2 cup fresh mango cubes (you can use frozen if you don't have fresh)
• 1/4 cup pineapple cubes
• 2 tbsp low fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp crushed pecans, toasted

Directions:

Add fruits to your cooked oatmeal.  Stir gently until heated through and transfer to a serving bowl.

Garnish with plain yogurt and toasted pecans.

Warm Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 dates, chopped
• 2 tbsp low fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp crushed walnuts, toasted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Maple syrup to drizzle
• 1 tsp hemp hearts

Directions:

Add the chopped dates to your oatmeal while it is cooking.  

Pour in cold milk and garnish with Greek yogurt and toasted walnuts.

Have you tried making any dessert-oatmeal bowls for breakfast?