Pumpkin Oats over Baked Apples

It’s cool and rainy and I have no obligations today. What’s a girl to do? Sleep in, create a delicious breakfast and schedule a lunch date of course!

**Before you hate my guts let me just say that the next two days are technically my last two days of summer before teaching begins! Come Thursday I’ll be back to the working world like everyone else!

This morning my usual cool yogurt bowl just didn’t sound right (especially after I had to dig out the Uggs!). Instead I decided to whip up a warm batch of pumpkin oats. I have to say, this is the best version I’ve come up with yet. Last year I just couldn’t quite get on the pumpkin oat bandwagon, but I’ve discovered what I was missing- banana! And a little bit of hidden goodness at the bottom- baked apples!

Pumpkin Oats over Baked Apples

1/3 cup Water
1/3 cup Almond Milk
1/2 Banana
Pinch Salt
1/3 cup Oats
1/3 cup Canned Pumpkin
1/4-1/2 Apple, sliced
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Brown Sugar & Walnuts, optional

Bring water and almond milk to a boil. Meanwhile later sliced apple in bottom of an oven-safe dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg and place under broiler until tender. Add banana, oats and salt to boiling liquid. Cook until almost done, add pumpkin and dash of spices. Continue to cook an another minute or so until thick.
Layer oats on top of baked apples. Top with brown sugar, walnuts and another dash of spices before digging in!

The baked apples truly make this dish!

To make things even more cozy, I lit some fall candles before digging into my breakfast!

Aside from a lunch date, I’m planning to spend the day making headway on painting our kitchen trim (it’s been in the works for over a month now…). Unfortunately for the pup it doesn’t look like a walk is in the cards, meaning an indoor workout for me. I’m hoping she won’t get too crazy with her pent up energy!

Early Dinner & Honeymoon Research

So I sat down at 8 pm with every intention to post. It’s now 9:30 and all I’ve accomplished is researching wildly out-of-budget honeymoons. Time to come back to reality.

After breakfast, I managed to get a bit of work done and then it was time for a workout! I had originally planned to do the full Physique 57 workout and a short walk today, followed by a longer walk/run with the puppy tomorrow. After checking out the weather and seeing tomorrow’s predicted 3 inches of rain I made the executive decision to change things up.

Instead I did the express 30 minute P57 (still finished up with burning legs!) and then took Sydney on her longest walk/run to date: 2.5 miles! We finished in just over 50 minutes, which is quite an accomplishment with a puppy who stops to sniff, chew pinecones and bark at squirrels every few seconds!

After showering it was time for lunch- a Mexican inspired salad. Tortilla shell base, lettuce, tomato, black beans and some random feta. Lemon juice, black pepper & EVOO dressing.

Cantaloupe and half a pumpkin-oatmeal cookie for dessert!

This afternoon’s tennis match was a complete blowout, but fun to watch. We knew going in that it should be an easy match, so I challenged the girls to try some harder shots and be more aggressive in their play. And they did! It was fun to see them challenging themselves and inspired me to do the same in my workouts!

A quick match meant dinner at a decent hour with Jim! He had leftover casserole from his mom, while I made an open faced sandwich of deli turkey, apple and cheddar. I popped it under the broiler until the cheese melted and enjoyed fixed a huge salad of mixed greens and Parmesan on the side, topped with my usual lemon/pepper/EVOO dressing.

After dinner we popped in a Sandals DVD to do some honeymoon research and that’s when I got distracted. 😉 We weren’t intrigued by the DVD but don’t want to rule out an all inclusive. Right now our top honeymoon contenders are Hawaii (Maui), Costa Rica or a Mediterranean cruise. And then this evening I discovered the West Indies, so in short we really have no idea where to go. 😉

Any honeymoon recommendations?

Early Monday

My week got off to a verrrrry early start.

 

That picture was taken after I’d been up and about for half an hour!  Yikes.

On Thursday I’ll be starting my long-term substitute position.  School starts at 7:15, which means I’ll be leaving the house between 6:15-6:30 am.  I thought I’d better get a jump start on my new schedule this morning, since school starts about the time I’ve been waking up all summer.  😉

Instead of sitting like a zombie at the kitchen table, I took advantage of the extra time in my day and had 2 loads of laundry through the washer, another 2 loads folded, dishwasher emptied and kitchen cleaned by 7 am!  As soon as I finished, I packed up Sydney and my computer and headed to my parents’ house. (we don’t have internet, so I do a lot of work at my parents’ during the week)

While the computer was booting up, I fixed myself a passionfruit Cho bowl with oats and walnuts and poured another 1/2 cup of coffee.

 

Perfect way to start a Monday!

On the agenda for today: some wedding planning, online shopping for a friend’s engagement gift (I may spend the day on Crate & Barrel!), a P57 workout, walk with Sydney and then a tennis match this afternoon!  I’m also hoping to do some meal planning for the week.

Here’s to a productive Monday!

Sunday in the Kitchen

If Saturdays are cleaning day, Sundays have become baking day around here. I love the thought of spending the afternoon in the kitchen with no obligations. 🙂

This morning we were actually able to sleep in for a bit…puppy included! When we finally rolled out of bed I had one thing on my mind- pancakes! Bisquick for him, pumpkin oat protein pancakes for me.

Recipe to come!

After breakfast we had a few things to get done around the house and I prepped living room tailgate goodies before leaving to help with a tennis camp for an hour. Feeling full from breakfast, I managed to keep my fingers out of the chips, salsa, relish and smokies in bourbon sauce. Barely 😉

After tennis is was kitchen time! First up was a double batch of French bread.

We don’t usually keep white bread around the house, but this was a special exception because it was meant to accompany my next concoction- chili.

I’m really not a fan of chili, but it’s fun to make and Jim had some guys over to watch the Eagles/Ravens matchup so I figured it would go over well. And according to the guys went over great. 🙂 It’s hard to judge a recipe when you don’t personally eat the food!

In between recipes I stopped for a quick, late lunch of smashed chickpeas and avocado atop two slices of fresh bread. Simple but tasty!

Last up was a batch of oatmeal cookies. Last weekend I made a batch that was great, but throughout the week I had a few ideas for healthy swaps and changed today’s recipe up a bit. Let’s just say that the lack of butter does not equal lack of taste. These guys are awesome…another recipe to come. 😉

As soon as I hit publish and finish up my mug of tea, I’m headed off on a run with my favorite little lady!

Cleaning Day

Another day, another pumpkin spice!

Sydney and I dropped Jim off at work again this morning before doing some grocery shopping…all before 8 am. Of course that called for some caffeine with a shot of pumpkin. 🙂

Saturday’s have become cleaning day at our house. Jim usually works until noon and I take advantage of the empty house to do a good cleaning!

As soon as the pup and I made it home, I got to work unloading groceries and cleaning the kitchen. It was 10 before I realized I had skipped breakfast. This never happens.

After the sweet coffee I was in the mood for a savory breakfast- a change of pace from my usually sweet yogurt and berry bowl. I used up the rest of the cooked l quinoa I keep on hand in the fridge and topped it with 1/2 an avocado, a dippy egg, squeeze of lime and salt.

A punch of protein and healthy fats was exactly what I needed to tackle the rest of the mess.

I was extra motivated to finish quickly so I could break out some fall decorations I’ve been itching to put up! I promised Jim I’d keep the pumpkins away until October, but that didn’t stop me from changing all of the bright summer colors to orange and brown. 🙂

Today’s a rest day so I don’t have an official workout planned, but we’re headed to a fundraiser for my brother’s college golf team this afternoon where I hear we’ll be hitting some range balls.

Other than that, the plan for the day involves Penn State football and risotto for dinner!

Hope you’re enjoying this gorgeous Saturday!

Ready for the Weekend

Popping in for a quick post before the weekend officially begins!

I spent most of the morning doing work with a trembling puppy on my lap:

Sydney had a confrontation with her arch nemesis today- the vacuum. 😉

I also spent a good chunk of time changing out my summer/fall wardrobe. So ready for the change of seasons after the pumpkin spice this morning!

Before I knew it the morning had gotten away from me and I had two hours to workout, shower and grab lunch before leaving for the match. I decided on the express version of my favorite workout- physique 57.

Love love love the burn in my quads after a quick 30 minute workout! Afterwards I took Sydney on a 30 minute walk/jog (we’re still working on the leash thing!) and made it back just in time to shower and throw together a lunch to eat on the bus.

Beans to the rescue! My go-to combo of black beans, avocado, tomato and lemon juice:

Hit. The. Spot.

I also grabbed a Luna bar for the match and snacked on two mini pumpkin muffins one of my players’ grandma baked. Someone was definitely on my wavelength!

After complete blowout with a team we weren’t slated to beat, I’m ready to get this weekend started! Off to my parents’ for crabs!

Have a great weekend

Ps the wedding page was updated today!!

Fall Friday

Looky what I had this morning!!!!

First pumpkin spice of the season! My stomach can’t handle a coffee latte so I have a tea latte with skim and a shot of pumpkin. aka Heaven.

Puppy girl and I were out and about bright and early this morning because Jim needed a ride to work, and of course I had to take full advantage of the Starbucks across the street. 😉

Sydney thought my drink smelled pretty darn good. Sorry pup, caffeine is for humans.

Although it was super early according to my schedule for the past few months, the warm, spicy drink, cool air and changing leaves has me totally in the mood for fall!

When we got back to my parents’, breakfast was in order. The usual, obviously, with a side of blogs and some celebrity gossip.

I’m planning to make the most of my last Friday as a non-working lady. (I start a long-term substitute position next Thursday!) A little fall closet-cleaning is in order, followed by a workout and walk with the pup before our tennis match this afternoon. My dad & little brother are out crabbing this morning so we’re hoping for a dinner of steamed crabs later!

Happy Friday!

A Fair is a Veritable Smorgasbord

I’m either a little crazy or an elementary school teacher, but I can’t help but think of Templeton every year on the drive to the fair:

Cracks me up every time. 😉

There is no such thing as healthy eating at a fair, but my trick was to split our favorite, once-a-year treats with Jim as a means of portion control.  Overall I think we did well.  Our first stop was the gyro stand.

As you can tell, I was more than a little excited to chow down.  We opted for chicken and it was out of this world!  As we munched on the gyro we made our way through my favorite building, the produce.

 

Next up was the livestock, but not without a random giraffe spotting!

 

Before leaving we nabbed two more of our favorites to split- ribbon fries soaked in vinegar and a waffle with ice cream. 🙂

 

Until next year fair food!

 

This morning it’s back to eating as usual with a tasty yogurt bowl.  Same as yesterday but today’s mix is topped with a sprinkle of chia.

 

Time to get moving… I’ve got plans to can some of my garden veggies this morning, and need to fit in a workout before a tennis match this afternoon!

 

 

Breakfast All-star

Let’s start this blog off right- with the best. breakfast. ever.

Most of the week, my day starts off with some variation on this mix!  My favorite combo:

– 1 cup Chobani

– 1/3 cup raw oats

– 1 tsp honey

– handful of frozen berries

Some days I’ll throw in some walnuts or chia seeds, and if I’m bored with the plain Cho I’ll switch to my favorite flavor- passion fruit.

Any way I mix it, this breakfast always fills me up and sticks with me through lunch!