Love Of Oats

A blog dedicated to balancing a healthy and fun life… with oats!

Category Archives: experiment

It’s Here…

Friday that is.  Whew, I thought it was never going to come :)   I’m sure those of you in college are excited because you are starting your spring break like my brother is.  My brother is doing something really different during his spring break and going to volunteer down south in a disadvanged community and help them build a new school.  I am so proud of my lil bro :)   Speaking of school, What did I get my master’s degree in?

I started out this morning with a new breakfast, courtesy of Nature’s Path of course!  I decided to try the Heritage O’s cereal for breakfast and was definitely NOT dissapointed.  As ya’ll know, I LOVE me some CRUNCH… and guess what?  This cereal NEVER got soggy.  Of course I had it with almond breeze and a spoonful of pb!  Oh and I did add a sprinkle of the Vanilla Almond flax granola as well, for extra flavor, although it didn’t need it :)   It did a really good job of filling me up too.  I ate breakfast at 6:15 and didn’t grab a snack until 10:30.  That scores major points with my tummy, especially on my busy days!

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Mid-morning, I wanted to get my veggies in so I had some carrots, celery, and whipped cottage cheese.  Extra crunchy!

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Lunch was slightly outta the box.  I wasn’t craving my normal pb&j (oh the horror!) but I knew since I didn’t get my warm cereal in this morning, I’d be missing it all day, so I decided to have it for lunch :)   I am sorry for the not so appetizing picture of POWDER, but this bowl was TRULY FABULOUS, it was sweet, nutty, and full of vanilla flavor.  One of the best combinations that I’ve had in a while, so I think I’m going to try to repeat it tomorrow so you can see how yummy it looked once it cooked up.

Here’s what was in it:

  • 1/2 C oatbran
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla whey
  • 1 T blueberry flax
  • 1 T PB2
  • cinnamon
  • handful of chopped pecans

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On the side, I had an orange.  Seriously, the weirdest thing happened and yesterday, I had this intense craving for oranges and when I went food shopping, there was a giant stand of oranges so I knew I had to stock up on em.  I’m glad I did because they were SO juicy and well, orange-y ha…

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Mid-afternoon, I grabbed one of these Nature’s Path Optimum Rebound bars.  I didn’t get these in the mail, but saw them in Giant last night and decided to give it a go since I was in search of a heavy and wholesome bar to take me from lunch to dinner :)   The flavor was Nature’s Path Optimum Rebound and I was hoping that it wouldn’t dissapoint me.   My first bite was, well, weird.  I don’t know what it was but it tasted odd to me and I thought ok, whatever I’ll just eat it to eat it but as I kept taking bites I really started to enjoy the bar!!  So weird.  Anyone else have this experience?

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When I got home, I was feeling creative and I decided to try my hand at making my own almond butter.  I’m not revealing the recipe because I think I have something special on my hands, but here’s what it looks like.  Seriously, not to toot my own horn lol, but I don’t think I will ever buy another jar of pb or ab again.

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After work, I did Kempo X, which made me a sweaty mess so now I need to shower super fast and get ready for the night.  We are heading out to a local bbq place with some friends for dinner, so I am looking forward to it because on Friday’s they have hickory smoked salmon!  I’ll be back tonight or tomorrow am with pics and a quick review of my dinner!

PS.  Go check out FoodsThatFit for a great blogger cookbook post.  She is compiling a book of favorite recipes.

Disappointed

Happy Thursday!  Well at this point, we are closer to Friday than we are to Thursday, so yay for that!  Let’s hope tomorrow’s work day goes by as fast as today’s did :)

I started out the day with a yummy bowl:  Kashi Heart 2 Heart topped with pecans, flax, and almond breeze!  After seeing that I have two full boxes of Kashi Heart 2 Heart in my pantry, I realized I should probably start eating it!  Don’t get me wrong, I love the cereal but I’ve been hooked on Zoe’s & Nature’s Path cereals lately :)

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I was a busy bee this morning and took a quick break to munch on this apple & string cheese.  Usually this snack doesn’t hold me over, but for some reason it did today, so I might repeat it for tomorrow since we have a few sticks left :)

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My lunch was really filling and quite satisfying!  I loved all of the different components to this lunch too… sooo many flavors, so little time haha… not really, this lunch took me almost an hour from start to finish (keep in mind I work while I eat!)… To start, I had a green salad topped with balsamic dressing that I packed separately.  Then I heated up this can of Campbell’s Select Harvest New England Clam Chowder soup.  I have been trying to steer clear of canned soups unless they are Amy’s brand, but I had these in our pantry and I’m trying to use up as much food as possible before we move, so in the spirit of not wasting food, I gave this one a whirl.  Surprisingly, I actually really enjoyed it.  It’s been a while since I had clam chowder so it kind of satisfied a craving that I didn’t know I had :)   What is my all-time favorite kind/flavor of soup?  I snacked on two Wasa crispbreads while enjoying the soup.  Finally, for my dessert, I had a coffee flavored yogurt.  Yum! 

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I was pretty full after eating my lunch, I’m not used to eating that many components for lunch :)

After I finish up work, I’m planning on eating half of this Pure Protein Hot ‘n Healthy bar before I head to the gym for some cardio.  The only place I can find these bars is Giant, as an FYI.  I’m planning on doing the elliptical again, I know, I’m hooked… don’t worry, I think I’m going to change it up tomorrow!  Then, on my drive to the grocery store, I’ll have the other half of the bar :)

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When I get home, I’m going to do a brief abs workout:  aka 8 minute abs!  Then it will be time to start on dinner… I’ll be back later alligators ;)

PS.  What did ya’ll think of Biggest Loser?  I don’t want to spoil it but I was SO disappointed about who went home last night.  I really think that all of a sudden the game plan is now in full force!

PSS.  I caught myself in a stress-y situation today and realized I wasn’t fully breathing so I began taking my deep breaths and it calmed me right down.  Is anyone still practicing their breathing?  This is going to be a long challenge for me!