Oats in a Jar: Brain Fuel

Before moving to Boston, my head was filled with romantic ideas that I'd wake up every Saturday, get dressed in a cute peacoat, scarf, skinny jeans, and boots, and walk to a nearby local coffee shop where there was only other, well-dressed or hipster-looking college students and the coffees were served in mugs. After three years I can safely say there is nothing magical about studying on a Saturday morning, unless you count actually being awake and doing something productive Saturday morning magical (I do).

 

I have, however, found a coffee shop that fits my "perfect" coffee shop completely: espresso royal. The coffee is delicious, the people working there have a hipster vibe to them, the music is usually indie rock, and they serve you coffee in mugs. When I do get my butt out of bed to study, I almost always go to Espresso and order one of their honey cinnamon soy lattes -- pure bliss in a cup! I also make sure to pack breakfast; my favorite: oats in a jar. 

 

Inspired by MANY food bloggers out there, here's my version of oats in a jar: 

What you need: 

1/2 cup uncooked oats (right now I'm all about the Scottish oats) 

1 cup water

Cinnamon

Splash vanilla extract

1/2 banana sliced

Nearly empty jar of peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's unsalted creamy) 

What to do: 

1. Prepare oats based on how you like them and what kind you're using 
2. Place cooked oats in jar. Then add the cinnamon, vanilla extract, and banana slices. Stir vigerously, or do what I do and screw on the lid then shake the jar. 
3. Close jar, pack, and head out the door. The heat from the oatmeal will warm up the bananas, giving them an almost caramelized taste.

-Kelli

Muffins Worth Getting Out of Bed For

I got lazy. There's no other excuse for the lack of posts. Well, lazy and busy. After surviving finals, I flew back home to Denver where I lived up the Colorado experience: 2 Avalanche games, a Bronco's game, numerous trips to Boulder, a pretty drive but very short stay in Estes Park, and attempted skiing (unfortunately I slipped on ice and fell hard on my right knee the day before, so my knee wasn't too happy when I went to make turns in my skis).
Excuse time over. Now on to something much more delicious: muffins.

Last semester one of my guy friends talked me and my roommate into coming over to his apartment and making him muffins for breakfast. There were some requirements though: blueberries and no "healthy stuff". The muffins turned out DELICIOUS! I made them again when I was home and everyone there loved them as well. While not the healthiest muffin, these are perfect for a little morning indulgence:

 No "Healthy Stuff" Blueberry Muffins

What You Need: 
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Blueberries (I used frozen)
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
Squeeze lemon juice
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup skim milk
1-2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar

What to do:

1. Set oven to 375
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt 
3. In small bowl, toss blueberries with 1 Tablespoon of the flour mixture -- this is an awesome trick I learned that keeps the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins
4. In another bowl, beat butter, sugar, and lemon juice with a fork until fluffy
5. Add eggs and vanilla 
6. Gradually add the flour mixture then the milk. DO NOT OVERBEAT! 
7. Fold in blueberries with a rubber spatula
8. Bake in oven for 23-27min (I know very random times)

As delicious as those muffins are, and surprisingly filling, I wanted to try making a healthier muffin that I could pack along with a smoothie for my long day of classes. While definitely not as sweet as the other muffins, these taste like baked oatmeal with bananas. I followed the recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook, except that instead of 1/2 c of yogurt I used 1/2 cup of almond milk. 

I saw this music video on the music blog Communion a couple weeks ago. So cool!

--Kelli 

Make Me Smile Monday 12/19

Two finals today then break!

Here are some scenes from 4 of my favorite Christmas movies. Have a great Monday!

--Kelli

Blueberry Chocolate Almond Smoothie

Having a whole week to study for two finals hasn’t turned out to be as great as I’d anticipated. Instead of getting in extra study time, I’ve been up late at my friends’ apartment, sleeping in until 10 or 12, then bumming around all day. Fingers crossed my motivation kicks in this weekend!

Productivity for today:

Sign apartment rental lease for next year – check

Eat awesome red pepper, pesto, provolone Panini – check

Attempt to study only to go to the gym instead – check 

Now that I’ve gotten my workout in for the day I’m hoping I’ll finally be able to study for my business management final. To help recover from my workout and get fueled for studying I made this really delicious smoothie! I didn’t measure anything, just threw in probably about 1 ½ cup frozen berries, 1 cup original Almond milk (Silk is my favorite brand), and a couple squirts of chocolate syrup. Ideally, after a workout you want to aim for a 4:1 carb to protein ratio. Lots of people like chocolate milk, but I wanted something thicker – enter in my Blueberry Chocolate Almond Smoothie

I got my second Blissmo Box! This month’s theme is Winter Wellness.

In the box:

SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins for Grown-Ups: My roommate and I are like little kids with these they’re so good! Not only do 5 of these chewy dots contain 100% of your recommended vit D, but they also contain B12 and omega-3’s. Even better? No high fructose corn syrup.

Maty’s All Natural Vapor Rub: Haven’t tried it out yet. Vapor rub always freaked me out but I’lll have to give it a shot the next time I’m not feeling too great.

CleanWell Antibacterial Hand + Face Wipes: Totally did not read the packaging. I thought these were cleaning wipes, so I used them to clean our stove. Haven’t tried them out for their true purpose, but they did make the stove quite shiny.

Numi Organic Tea Holiday Herbal Chai: Delicious! Chai always makes me nervous. It’s hard to get that perfect balance of spice and sweet, but this brand has nailed it. I’ve been putting a little almond milk in mine. It’s a nice change from coffee (I’m up to 5 cups of coffee a day…..)

Song keeping me sane: 

 "How Come You Never Go There" -- Feist (Beck Remix)

--Kelli

Make Me Smile Tuesday

LAST DAY OF CLASSES!!! -- That's all I need to make me smile

I don't completely understand how "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music has become a classic song to play at Christmas, but then again I don't get why ABC Family has decided the Harry Potter films should be part of their 25 Days of Christmas, but I'm not complaining.

In honor of Make Me Smile Monday Tuesday, here are a few of MY favorite things:

My dogs (naturally)

Fuzzy blankets. My friends are okay too

 

Coffee in an over-sized mug

My Tumbler: Happiness One Spoonful of Peanut Butter At A Time 

Good Luck With Finals!!

--Kelli