Tag: Breakfast

The easiest overnight oats ever

On By shorterandfasterIn Gluten Free RecipesLeave a comment

IMG_9445I have a very, very strong belief in breakfast. Regardless of what the recent breakfast-haters say, a satisfying early meal sets me up for success–especially after a morning workout! In the winter, I like to mix things up, but in the summer I have the same thing every day: overnight oats. Even after a hard track workout, this stuff keeps me completely full until lunch. Sayonara, morning snacking! The basic gist is that you combine oats, a liquid, and some other add-ins in a jar, let it sit overnight, and the oats soften up and soak up the liquid overnight. I’ve found this is way easier on my stomach even then cooked oatmeal.

I’ve tried a bunch of different recipes and have adapted them to a foolproof, incredibly easy one that uses pantry staples and minimizes the nut milk/extra dairy milk you’ll find in other recipes. This recipe is gluten free, low in dairy (just the yogurt has it, and I’m sure you could sub for a dairy-free one), low in sugar, and DELISH.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking, gluten free if needed)
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4-1/3 cup Greek yogurt (I like Cabot’s full fat)
  • Half of a banana, thinly sliced
  • A sprinkle of chia seeds
  • A drizzle of maple syrup or honey
  • A good shake of salt
  • A drizzle of vanilla

Directions:

  • Combine all ingredients in a jar or empty Talenti container. Put on the lid, shake it up, and leave in the fridge overnight. These will easily keep for a couple of days.
  • Top with whatever you like! My favorites are fresh or frozen berries and a big scoop of peanut butter.

Happy breakfasting!!

Breaking out of the breakfast rut: five new favorites

On By shorterandfasterIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Dear world: my name is Leah, and I am an oatmeal addict. Overnight, in a bar, stovetop, instant, baked–you name it, I’ve tried it. But recently, I have been trying to break out of my breakfast rut. Thanks to some of my favorite bloggers, I found five delicious new ways to get out of my routine. You guys, there’s a whole world of amazing breakfast out there–if you’re a fellow oatmeal addict, give one of these recipes a whirl!

image1Muesli: I’m cheating a little bit, because this has oats in it, but my mom and I have been loving Uproot from Oregon’s breakfast muesli recipe. If you haven’t tried muesli, you totally should–it’s a tasty mix of oats, nuts, seeds, and grains that you soak in milk overnight and top with fruit to gobble up in the morning. One of my new mason jar faves.

Grain-free porridge: I actually got it into my head that I was eating so much oatmeal it was giving me tummy troubles, so when I saw this oatmeal alternative from Gluten Free Palate, I was stoked. Turns out oats and I are still friends, but this porridge and I are friends too! It’s hearty, easy to make (it’s basically homemade instant hot cereal), and tastes surprisingly great given that it’s grain-free and refined-sugar free. If you’re short on time, give this one a go and make it in bulk ahead of time.

image2Giant single-serve pancake: Yeah ok, I saw the photos of this one and was instantly sold… bananas + berries + peanut butter = YUM. Also, there are FIVE ingredients in this bad boy! You can’t really beat that. It does use coconut flour, which is not generally my favorite, but if you follow the instructions and use just a tiny bit, it holds the pancake together without giving it any weird spongy texture. Perfect brekkie for one!

Easy paleo pancakes: Lexi’s Clean Kitchen is one of my favorite blogs for a reason–her recipes just plain always work. These fluffy paleo (I know, I know) pancakes are really really close in texture to the real thing! They are still a little thin for my liking, but the flavor is bomb and they’re super easy to make. Blueberries or chocolate chips are not optional.

image5Cinnamon raisin bread: I super love Taylor’s blog, and love it even more now that she is no longer strictly paleo (sorry kids, I kinda think paleo is for the birds, but thanks for all the gluten free recipes!) This bread is just divine–cinnamonny, dense, and slightly sweet–perfect toasted up with some nut butter on top. Be sure to read the comments and bake for 45 minutes instead of 30. Warning: if you toast this at work, you make everyone in your office insanely jealous. #sorrynotsorry

Have you ever gotten stuck in a breakfast rut? Got any other amazing recipes for me to try?

Top five Pinterest recipes

On By shorterandfasterIn Uncategorized4 Comments

Hello, my name is Leah and I really really like reading blogs. In fact, about 95% of my motivation to branch out in the kitchen comes from my blog reading/Pinterest-ing. (You can follow me on Pinterest here!) However, like pretty much every single other Pinterest addict out there, I do not make the vast majority of the things I pin. Of the recipes I do attempt, I attempt most of them only once–usually because they were either too much work or I just didn’t love them enough to incorporate them into my eating plan (I’m a bit of a creature of food habit, especially when I’m busy!)

So without further ado, here are top five favorite recipes from the land of the internets! I’ve made all of these many, many times and they are incredibly delicious and (for the most part) simple to make.

Breakfast: I absolutely adore these no-bake chocolate peanut butter breakfast bars from 86 Lemons. They are easy to make, super adaptable (try subbing out the nuts/seeds/fruit for your favorites), and healthy. They’re gluten free (duh), vegan, refined sugar free, AND they have both the whole grains and protein you need to keep you full until lunch. My big tip here is to store these in the freezer–it helps them keep their chewy texture.

Healthy lunch: Salads are my go-to for lunch, and this yummy kale salad from my friend Jennie’s amazing nutrition blog is one of the very best. I add some protein to the basic recipe and it’s a full meal. I’ll be writing a longer ode to my love affair with kale in a future post, so stay tuned.

Massaged kale salad and chicken stew
Massaged kale salad and chicken stew

Hearty dinner: This is probably the most time-consuming recipe on the list, but it’s worth it. The Cookin Canuck’s Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa is healthy comfort food at it’s very finest. It has veggies, whole grains, and protein galore, and the way the flavors all blend together is just magical. A bowl of this on a chilly evening is the best!

Dessert for one: If you haven’t tried mug cake yet, you really should. These little single-serve cakes that you make in a mug in the microwave are absolutely necessary when you need to satisfy a craving without wolfing down half a pan of brownies. This chocolate chip cookie mug cake recipe is pretty foolproof, and relatively healthy for a dessert. I usually tend to have the ingredients hanging around, so it’s a perfect last-minute treat. Plus it’s gluten/dairy/soy/corn/potato/egg/coconut free. I promise it still tastes great 🙂

My favorite mug cake
My favorite mug cake

Treats for your besties: I think everyone needs a go-to “wow” recipe to bring to a party–something that you know everyone will love. These Cookie Dough Truffles from Chocolate & Carrots do the trick for me every time. The recipe is a little time consuming (as you have to dip each truffle in chocolate), but they’re well worth it. I usually sacrifice aesthetics and melt the chocolate in the microwave rather than tempering it. They are gluten-free and grain-free but they taste exactly like chocolate covered balls of raw cookie dough, since they use a cashew meal base (easy to find at Trader Joe’s).

What are your go-to recipes? How often do you make things from Pinterest/the blogosphere more than once?