Coconut Overnight Oatmeal

So... Here I am ... strolling along, eating my same overnight oatmeal day after day.  I am happy, because it is yummy and does what I need it to do... BUT, I found another recipe... I have listed different flavors of overnight oatmeal on my blog and so has the rest of the blog community, but this recipe looked delicious. So, I opened my pantry and my frig, I was missing 1 or 2 things.. SO behold, I made a new recipe. IF and only IF you like coconut, these overnight oats are just amazing. The whole time I ate them this morning, I smiled. The flavor of coconut made me think of a warm tropical day. (ON a COLD Freezing day in January in Illinois) It was like eating oatmeal and pudding all on one happy spoon. I am trying to eat healthier and oatmeal fills me up for hours. THROW AWAY the Packets. They are gross. Make it yourself. This breakfast was loaded with all kinds of goodness. Totally happy.

Good morning.
The Oatmeal was smooth,
The Chia seeds were plump
and the Coconut flavor was throughtout

Coconut Overnight Oatmeal

Adapted from ME

Ingredients

1 cup Oatmeal

1 cup Coconut or Almond Milk

1 5-6 ounce container Coconut Yogurt

1 teaspoon Chia Seeds

1/4 cup shredded Coconut

Directions

In a container or jar, place oatmeal, chia seeds, yogurt, milk and coconut in that order. Stir thoroughly. Sprinkle with a topping of coconut on top and place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning stir and eat up.

5 easy ingredients. 

A great start for any next day breakfast

Add in your ingredients

Chia seeds are loaded with Omega 3's. 

Oatmeal is a healthy Fiber

and Yogurt contains Protein

I just like the look of delicious fun. I am very lame

It is already thick. The spoon is sitting on top

Topped with some coconut.
If you did not want it so thick, do not add the yogurt.
It was a much more filling meal with it in it. YOU decide..

Cherry Almond Overnight Oats

I should start the blog with a "goodnight". When I am done making this delicious breakfast at 12:30 at night, I am going to bed. The ready to eat pictures are my "good morning." Overnight Oats are delicious and so freaking easy. Throw away, in fact, DO NOT even buy that sugary over processed oatmeal packets. They are only a teensy bit easier than overnight. BUT.............. overnight oats are a 1000 times better. They are still real. So if you have fallen off your wagon, and need to hop on, this breakfast or snack will totally fill you up. There are prior posts about overnight oats, they are so healthy and filling. You will stay full until lunch. No vending machine breaks.

Good morning KIDS. 

I just went for a 4 mile run and I am sweaty. 

Pictures of the start to a great day.

WELL.... I am going to my day job. OK good day.

Just a disclaimer: Overnight oats can be heated up. I like them cold, but I think if I needed something warm inside me, these would be perfect.

Cherry Almond Overnight Oats

adapted from thecrepesofwrath.com

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup or 1 1/2 cups almond milk

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 tablespoon chai seeds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon Goji Berries

Directions

Layer in a glass, jar or container with lid.  mix together. cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, thoroughly stir, eat cold or warm up. Drizzle with honey if you want.

Just a few basic ingredients for something wonderful

Goji Berries are so good for you. 

They deserved a separate shot

Start by layering in all the ingredients

Once everything is added, stir well and put in the frig

Good  morning, you should really taste this.

This is how Oatmeal should be. 

This is not fattening, loaded with fiber and other goodness.

Let me know what you think. I really love it.

Carrot Cake Smoothie

For my Husband's birthday in January, I made a fantastic Carrot Cake. It is his absolute favorite. Sadly, his cake tasted fantastic but was not photo worthy. It was supposed to be a goose, but looked like the Loch ness monster. Things are funny sometimes. Embrace the slight bombs and move on from there

When I came across this recipe, I thought ... a delicious dessert for a meal in a glass. PERFECT for us. It is a heavy drink. You cannot slam this one. But, a great source for a meal replacement. And it is not loaded in calories or fat. A great treat that is not bad for you. LOVE it.

I made this smoothie last night. So drinks fall together quickly, this one had prep. It actually gave it time to bring the flavors together. So instead of a bowl of cereal, I had a "drink" this morning. I felt full for hours.

It was not a bright orange color. Kind of blah, but it tasted amazing

Carrot Cake Smoothie

adapted from dishingupdirt.com

Ingredients

2 cups almond milk

1 tablespoon chia seed

2 frozen bananas, peeled

1 cup carrots, slightly cooked & chopped

5 dates, pitted

2 tablespoons almond butter

1 cup oatmeal, old fashioned

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 shake of nutmeg

1 fresh ginger, nail size

1 squirt agave nectar

Directions

Place almond milk and chia seeds in blender to soak. Let sit for at least 5 minutes.

Peel and chop carrots. Place in bowl of water and microwave for 3-5 minutes. Softened. Not overcooked.

Drain water and let carrots cool. Place in blender. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and blend away. 

There are also OPTIONS to add or place on top. 

~~ raisins

~~ coconut

~~ walnuts

This also made two large drinks. Do not let the glasses mislead you. It could be 4 medium drinks.

This is a full list of items. There is some prep work for this smoothie

Let the Chia Seeds soak in the Almond Milk for 5-10 minutes

Microwave the carrots for 3-5 minutes. 

I did these for 4 minutes. Make sure your blender is capable.

Since this was done the night before, I did not let me carrots cool completely. 

I really feel this drink benefits with sitting overnight. The flavors meld together

If I was funner, I would have place a carrot in the glass. 

Working on my photography skills. It is what you think of later on.

Loaded with so much goodness, I could go on and on.

WELCOME to March. Do some yoga and try a new recipe. 

Hopefully the weather will get warmer where you are at.

Pear, Oatmeal, Ginger Smoothie

This smoothie was absolutely delicious. I love Ginger. To me, ginger is like Limes. Bursting with flavor.

As we were struggling with another cold snowy weekend, I was putting away my produce. I can across three very ripe pears. It made me very unhappy. One of my resolutions is to waste less food. I hate throwing away produce. A colossal waste of money. So, as I was loading up my frig, I remember that I have 1 or 2 smoothie recipes with pears in them. FOUND them.

This recipe is delightful. The combination of flavors just blows me away. This recipe made two smoothies and I could have drank both of them. GINGER...... hmmmm. The Husband said it was good...

NOT GREEN. 

NO. but still very good for you. 

Pear, Oatmeal, Ginger Smoothie

slightly adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients

1 cup Almond Milk

6 oz Greek Yogurt

2 or 3 Pears

1/4 cup Oatmeal

2 grams fresh Ginger (1 small piece)

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 -3/4 ice cubes

Directions

Place all ingredients in a high power blender. Blend until smooth. This may take a minute or two with the oatmeal and ginger.

The Pears were ugly but mostly unbruised. 

I added 2 1/2 pears. The Pears added a great texture to the Smoothie

Soup for Lunch was good with me.

The Pear Smoothie with my Soup was excellent with ME.

Cranberry Oatmeal Smoothie

I got ALL of my fruit servings in ONE drink today. Four fruits in 1 drink. WOW. This smoothie was not a slammer, it was a long drink. It was a meal. I loved it. It was very filling but not heavy. DOES that make any sense???

In February, I am going to focus a bit more on more healthy and lower calorie smoothies. (Not that the Oreo smoothie was not amazing) As January has gone on, I have been shifting gears. I want to focus on cleanse and types of meal replacements. Cleaner eating.

I have also been working on different recipes. I am trying to regularly incorporate sweet potatoes into our diet. They are loaded with so many good things and NOT loaded in calories.(we are not putting butter on them) Just to keep this blog happy, I still have some new cookie and bar recipes. That whole deal has not gone out the window. Just like smoothies, there are tons of cookie recipes for me to sample....

Cranberry Oatmeal Smoothie
slightly adapted from somethewiser.com
Ingredients
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
1 frozen ripe banana
1 apple, cored and quartered
1/2 cup whole cranberries
4 tablespoons rolled oats
4-6 whole pitted dates
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Place all ingredients in a Vitamix or high powered blender in the order listed. Start slowly and increase power until smooth.

I let this smoothie sit overnight, you can drink immediately if you want.

Simple ingredients. 

The dates last a long time and add huge flavor to smoothies

These cranberries were from Christmas. 

There were one or two that were ugly, but they have a long shelf life

This delicious monster was AMAZING.

Forget the Fast Food Calorie Laden Nightmares, make your own.

This drink is not fattening.

Apple Peanut Butter Smoothie

If you are thinking, yesterdays smoothie was "THE Best," why is she making something different. Because everyone, I want to be outside the box. Today's smoothie does not have a banana in it. I have made very few smoothies with Peanut Butter, so ... here we go. 

This smoothie is considered a Protein drink, but there is no Protein powder in it. I like that. GO natural. Do your body good. This is an on the go smoothie. Light, but still filling. Great for a mid morning or mid afternoon snack. I really like this drink. This is stuff you would have on hand.

Apple Peanut Butter Smoothie

adapted slightly from fakefoodfree.com

Ingredients

1 cup Almond Milk

8 oz (2 cup packages) unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup of Oatmeal

1 tablespoon Peanut Butter

1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon

ice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the blender in this order, Blend until smooth.

Add ice to reach your desired thickness. Drink up and enjoy

Five simple ingredients - to make a delicious smoothie

Working on my photo design skills.  Working it, or just trying

Oatmeal Raisin Smoothie

If you are wondering, my Sweets business is a bit slow in January. WHY do people want to lose weight and not eat cookies and cakes.... Hmmm, wait.... that is me. ECK... I know, I know.... I do have a cupcake job for tonight. NOT complaining. So smoothie nation is still going strong. I bought all the ingredients for the Green Cleanse Smoothie, just have not tackled it yet. Instead, I made a cookie. Well not exactly. I love Cookies and everyone know that, but I am trying to not add to my winter weight. So I made this smoothie with Oatmeal and Raisins in it. WOW, it was so good and filling. I was not hungry for hours. Between the heartiness of the Oatmeal and the delicious sweetness of the raisins, I was satisfied. This is a hundred times better than a Special K Protein shake. Also no bottle to throw away.

Oatmeal Raisin Smoothie
adapted by bestcleanrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup almond milk
1 frozen banana
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
1/3 cup of oatmeal
1/4 cup of raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Directions
Place all ingredients in a blender in order and blend until smooth.

This smoothie is loaded with GOODNESS. 

So much better than an over processed, over priced Shake

I was shaking more than the Vitamix

I packaged these up in to-go glasses, and had them they next day.
Excellent, took care of my afternoon craving. 

No Bake Chocolate-Coconut Bars

As I am sitting here with a thousand ideas in my head and nothing on the laptop.There was a commercial that stated that Julia Child did not publish her first book until she was 51. I just celebrated a birthday last week. I am not in my 50's, but they are rapidly approaching. Holding onto my forties with so much force. This is also why I am working on launching my sweets business. I have made several treats for a few different events. It is starting out slowly. As this blog progresses, I hope my life will continue to change.

Our trip to FLA was wonderful. My Mom is doing great. She looks fabulous. We walked on the beach everyday. It is always so much work to get to Florida, but I am always glad we went. My sisters and I  are so lucky there are so many great people in Florida.

My Husband and I were also fortunate enough to see my Florida sister twice. It was a blast hanging out with her. My Sister made this fabulous Strawberry Cake for me pictured above. Someday, I will post the recipe. She also made a lovely Meyer Lemon Cheesecake on my birthday. WE ate and drank way to much on vacation. I actually sleep all night. 8 hours of sleep is quite an accomplishment for me.

The Sunsets are always so amazing

So, we are back home trying to go back to regular food. Desserts were still screaming for me. I have always loved No Bakes. They are always such a wonderful little treat. When we were younger, my sisters and I used to make them and eat them out of the pan on the stove. Burned our tongues every time.

These bars are fabulous. I could really eat the whole pan. Little refrigerated snacks. They are also healthy, yes healthy. Coconut oil is so good for you. Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Dark Chocolate, and Nuts, all good things. Talk about protein and fiber. This recipe can be modified a ton of different ways. Whatever floats your boat, or whatever you have in the pantry.  Most of all, these are bars are easy to whip up. Great for any short notice get together.

No Bake Chocolate Coconut Bars
adapted from eatgood4life.blogspot.com

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup flax seed meal

Directions
Line a 8x8, 9x9, or 10x10 pan with parchment paper. This will vary the thickness. Set aside.

Melt the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil in a medium size saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until mixture melts. When melted, add chocolate chips and continue to stir. About a minute or so.

Remove pan from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until combined.

Pour mixture into your pan. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, until set up. Cut into pieces and pig out!

Stove top cooking in one pan ~~ EASY ~~

Pour into the pan. I used a 10 x 10 pan. A smaller pan would make thicker bars

At the Pier.. thanks Mom for the great Vacation.

Cold Oatmeal

I have this new passion. COLD Oatmeal. My Mother just shakes her head and tells me she will continue to eat her perfectly good warm oatmeal. Cold Oatmeal is like an action punch. It  fills you up and gets you through the morning. You really could eat this anytime if you wanted. I am so loving this, I wish I had not waited so long.

What flavor to like. OMG, I have not found one I did not like. I guess because I am making this. I have tried some new combinations, and loved them also. Protein bars have been my go to breakfast forever. They work, they even satisfy my chocolate craving. But they get expensive and they are loaded with preservatives. Oatmeal is CHEAP. A large container will go a long ways. I have been adding Almond milk to my Oatmeal. I am digging that also. On Saturday mornings, I have a bowl of cereal with Almond milk. I also add Greek Yogurt to my Oatmeal. Gives you your Calcium and Protein all in one scoop. My last little treasure that is added to my COLD Oatmeal..... Chia Seeds. Another: Love them!! They are loaded with Omega 3's and Fiber and have more punch that Flax Seeds. They also remind me of mini Tapioca. My Mother made Tapioca pudding for my sisters and me when we were youngsters all the time. Yummy. Just a brain thing.

I am going to give you the basic recipe. Then some additions you can make, and the rest is up to you.

Cold Oatmeal
adapted from theyummylife.com

Ingredients
serves ONE
1/2 cup uncooked Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon Chai seeds

Directions
Place all ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, cover and put into the refrigerator overnight. DONE!

It really cannot be any easier than that to have Oatmeal in the morning. IF YOU WANT, you can heat your oatmeal in the microwave. My Husband likes it warm sometimes.

This particular Oatmeal has Dried Cranberries, Coconut and Slivered Almonds. The flavor combination was fabulous

This Cold Oatmeal had Mandarin Oranges diced up, 1 tablespoon Peach Preserves and Slivered Almonds. A very fresh taste. A Peach Pie for breakfast.

For two servings, I used 1 serving of Apple Sauce and Cinnamon. A thousand times better than a packet of Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal. I also added raisins to this combination. OMG Very Delicious

This is Heaven. 1 teaspoon of Cocoa Powder, 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter and 1 teaspoon of Honey. This bowl was Protein packed and will keep you full for hours. You might even want to try it with Nutella.

There are tons of different variations you can do. The options are endless. What I really like about this recipe is, you are eating Oatmeal with good things added to it. It is "mostly" healthy and loaded with nutrients. You will look at a package of Oatmeal very differently. ENJOY.