PB&J Oatmeal

So yesterday, I tempted your palette with Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal.  Today, I was not planning on making oatmeal again, but alas I haven't been to the store in a while...and we are out of all of our farmer's market finds...and I am super hungry.  Since I am about to go work out, and it is 100 degree's outside, I felt like the milk in a regular shake might be a bad idea.  Since I had exactly 1/2 a cup of oats left...oatmeal it is.  But I had to do something different....

You will need:
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
2 scoops Body by Vi shake mix (If you don't have this, I can tell you how to order)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 TBSP natural peanut butter

Directions:

Bring the water, salt, and frozen strawberries to a boil.  Add the oats and shake mix, mixing until smooth.  Simmer until thickened.  Stir in the peanut butter.

I have been a Snack-asaurus all day long, and I am finally full.  If you don't dig the peanut butter (but trust me, it is good) you can leave it out and still have a yummy Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal.


That's What's For Dinner!

Purple Hull Peas...you should eat them.

As I mentioned my last blog, Jeff and I get a lot of our food from a local farm, Texas Daily Harvest.  I noticed one day they had a lot of purple hull peas.  I had no idea what purple hull peas were, and being told they were similar to black eyed peas didn't win them any points, but I was still curious.  Jeff likes black eyed peas (bleh, one of the worst foods if you ask me), and I am all about cooking what is growing now(I look at this as training for next year when we join a CSA), so if Purple Hull Peas were in season, I would give them a try.  Having no idea how to cook them, I went to the Purple Hull Pea festival website and found this recipe.  Then I  made it work with what I had.

You will need:
1 pint shelled purple hull peas
4 slices good bacon
salt
water

Directions

Rinse and drain the peas really well and remove and stems or other hitchhikers.

Dice the slices of bacon and render in a pan.  Yes, I left the bacon fat for this recipes.  But I am eating peas, let me have my bacon fat.  Once the bacon is rendered, add the drained peas, and enough water to cover the peas...plus some.  Of course, the peas float, so I don't know how you are supposed to know how much water that is.  I think I used about 4 cups.  Just make it look like the picture below:

 Boil over medium heat for about 45 minutes.  The timing is crucial.  I don't like mushy peas, but I want them cooked through.  If you boil them properly, they will be done in 45 minutes.  I would drain any excess water as opposed to letting it boil off.

Makes about 4 servings.  

That's what's for dinner!  

Trust me, you will like them.  

Heart Healthy Oat cakes

In the spirit of fiber, I have started eating a lot of oats.  I originally found this recipe in a magazine, tried it out, and was not as impressed as I hoped.  It called for 2 cups of oats, 3 egg whites, and a splash of vanilla.  It was also recommended to serve it with applesauce.  My problem with this was 1.  they were bland, 2. they were dry and super dense and 3. you ended up spending the next hour running back and forth to the bathroom.  I love fiber as much as anyone, but this was extreme.  So, I have made a few modifications to make it more humane.

You will need:

2 cups of oats, but 1 cup should be ground in a blender to resemble flour (easier on the tummy this way)

1/4 tsp of salt

3 egg whites

3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce.  I mean it...none of that sugary, fake stuff.  

tsp of vanilla (leave this out if you add the shake mix mentioned next)

Dash of cinnamon 

 I should point out that I have tried many variations of this recipe.  Adding 1/2 tsp baking powder to the ground oats creates more of a pancake like texture.  Also, the base recipe is not at all sweet.  If you like your foods a little sweeter, a mashed banana is a great addition.  You can also add a scoop of Body by Vi powder (mentioned in my previous blog) instead of the banana (this is my favorite).  None of these additions are required, but I recommend them if you are dealing with picky eaters.  Also, I have added the shake mix, banana (takes care of the extra egg needed in waffles), and baking powder and cooked them in a waffle iron.  Delicious!

Since Jeff loves blueberry pancakes (me, not so much) I started making blueberry syrup.  It is so easy, and you can use sugar free syrup and never notice the difference.  Start this before you cook the pancakes.

You will need:

Sugar free syrup
Frozen blueberries (you can substitute almost any frozen fruit)

Directions:

Put about half a bag of blueberries in a small saucepan.  Add 1/2 an inch of syrup.  You really don't need a lot of syrup, so don't drown the blueberries.  Cook on medium low heat about 5 minutes.

 For the oatcakes:

Grind 1 cup of oats with the salt (and baking powder and shake mix if you are adding it), mix in a bowl with the remaining ingredients.  Unless you added the mashed banana, it will not look like regular pancake mix.  Drop by spoonfuls on to a skillet.  I usually do 2 tablespoons per cake.  You may have to mush them together to get them to hold their shape.

Cook on both sides until golden brown.  If you added the banana, they will brown more evenly.

By now, your syrup will be ready.  You will know its done because it will be a nice pretty purple color.

If you live with Jeff (the Bacon-saurus), this is when you will also be taking your bacon out of the oven.  I know what you are saying "Bacon!  I thought you said this was heart healthy?"  Here is the thing about bacon.  If you buy nitrate free bacon (as you should do with all hot dogs, lunch meat, etc) you are avoiding all those horrible additives.  We get our bacon (and meat and dairy products) from a local farm .  Visit Texas Daily Harvest for more information.  Say no to stomach cancer!  Also, when you render bacon properly, A LOT of the fat goes away.  I recently read an article stating that 1 piece of rendered bacon has 2 grams of saturated fat.   Even if we each have two pieces of bacon that is only 4 grams of fat in a other wise fat free meal...you do need some fat in your diet.   We cook ours on a cooling rack, in the oven so most of the fat drips away.  We do not "boil" our bacon in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove.  I also drain the bacon on paper towels when it comes out of the oven.

Serve topped with the blueberry syrup.

That's what's for breakfast!

A lot of your fiber needs have now been met for the day, so I might skip the bean burrito for lunch...

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

I am so behind in the blog, so I hope to get a few recipes uploaded soon.  Partly, I have been super busy with work, wedding planning, and a family illness...but mostly I haven't been cooking a lot.  As part of the pre-wedding slim down, Jeff and I have been doing a lot of meal replacement shakes.  Jeff prefers the Body by Vi shakes, and I do the Body by Vi shakes along and a chocolate Shakeology on days when I work out.  I bring up the shakes, because I have discovered the Body by Vi shakes make and excellent addition to a lot of other foods (great on days when you just can't drink another shake).  I like the shakes, because I feel like I get a balanced meal, and I know exactly how many calories, etc I am getting without having to keep a food diary.  As you may know, many gluten free foods are nutritionally void.  Because of this, I have tried to switch to whole oats instead of other gluten free grains.  Oats are great, but sometimes they need a little something to make them palatable.  This recipe is one of my success stories. Oh, and if you are interested in the shakes, let me know and I can direct in how to order them.

You will need:
1 cup boiling water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup quick cooking oats (I keep these on hand because sometimes I grind them up to make oat flour.  I assume you could use steel cut oats, but follow those cooking instructions carefully since the are different from regular oats )
1 snack size box of raisins
2 scoops Body by Vi shake mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
dash of cloves
Splash of milk (optional)

Directions:
Bring the water and salt to a boil in a small pot.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the milk.  Stir frequently while adding the ingredients to prevent clumping.  Once there are no more lumps, allow the oatmeal to thicken, about 5 minutes.  Serve with a splash of milk.  Serves 1.

That's what's for breakfast!
I swear you will not go back to the pre packaged stuff after this.