Category Archives: Cooking

Enjoying the Last Days of Summer

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This weekend was perfection. The weather, the adventures, everything. Enjoying the last days of summer was the only thing on the agenda and here is how it all went down.

foliage
(From my Insta – emilyh1020)

Friday

SL cooked dinner! Love when that happens. We ate dinner, laid low and hit the sheets early in preparation for Saturday.

Saturday

fall colors

We got out of bed early and made the 2+ hour drive up to the Kancamagus highway to hike Mt. Chocorua. This is a 3,500′ hiking and took SL and I about 2 hours to get to the top and was pretty challenging (for me). We stayed at the peak for about hour and enjoyed lunch and the amazing views. Last time we went hiking, SL proposed so this is an activity I LOVE LOVE LOVE to do!

mt chocorua

It took a little over an hour to get down but we kept a slow pace and made a few pit stops at the streams to cool off a little bit and to take festive fall photos like this one.

hiking outfit
Outfit: Mesh top – Reebok (old), Crops – LuLu (old), Sneaks – Mizuno Wave Hayate)

Saturday night SL and I joined 6 other couples to celebrate one of my best friends (and bridesmaids) birthday. Side note: She is a new mom and looks like she was never pregnant or gave birth. It’s amazing. She is amazing!

Sunday

boat day

Confession – I was supposed to do the Brickman Triathlon. I didn’t. I spent the day out on the boat with SL. Oops. The weather was perfect and this was most likely the last boat day of the season so I went for it. There will always be other races.

The water way s were PACKED! Seems like everyone on the northshore had the same idea we did because there were more boats out yesterday than we’ve seen all summer. I’m sure the fact that the Patriots are on tonight made for more people out and about as well.

boating

After spending 4 or 5 glorious hours on the boat we got back to reality which for me meant grocery shopping and food prep. Hello mass amounts of roasted veggies.

broccoli

This was 2 regular sized crowns plus one mini crown and there are minimal leftovers. It came out SO GOOD!

sweet potatoes

I also made a tray of sweet potatoes (3 potatoes, chopped) and there are only enough leftovers for one really hungry person or two not so hungry people.

I also cut up a honeydew but ate it and didn’t take any pictures. And that was the extent of my Sunday food prep. Now it’s time to take on another week!

Questions

Describe your weekend in five words…go!

  • Me: Hike, friends, boat, Scott, foliage

Do you do Sunday food prep?

  • You know I try! Some Sundays are good, some – not so much.
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The Oatmeal I Didn’t Hate

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Every time some makes oatmeal near me it smells so good. I have tried to eat oatmeal numerous times and each time I get all of one and half spoonfuls down before I start to gag a little bit.

Oatmeal is a great source of whole grains so it is definitely something I would love to incorporate into my diet on a semi-regular basis. Luck for me, Anne from Fannetastic Food posted a great piece on making oatmeal suck less.

The Oatmeal I Didn't Hate

Her first tip was to use milk (or in my case a milk alternative) instead of water. Water makes the oats less tasty and more gummy and that consistency is just not fun in the mouth. I had never made oatmeal with almond milk (my favorite my alternative) before but I will never use water again.

Anne’s next tip was to use rolled oats instead of instant oats. I am 100% guilty of this. Instant oats are chock full of sugar and are more processed than regular rolled oats so they lose out on some nutrition. She also mentions adding an egg to the oat and milk mix to boost the protein factor and make the oatmeal more fluffy. Perfect for me, seeing that the oatmeal consistency is what normally kills me.

So with these great tips in hand, I set out to make an oatmeal I didn’t hate.

oatmeal ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/3 cup Silk Almond Coconut Blend (<– loving this stuff lately)
  • Optional toppings: 1 Tbs nut butter, dash of cinnamon, berries (dried, fresh, frozen), nuts, seeds, anything you want!

Directions:

  1. Add oats and milk to a microwave safe bowl.
  2. Whisk egg and egg white in a separate bowl then whisk eggs into oatmeal and milk mix.
  3. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, then microwave for another 1 – 2 minutes.
  4. Top with whatever makes you happy! I used frozen wild blueberries and a dollop of almond butter.

This oatmeal was super easy to throw together and kept me full for hours thanks to the protein and fiber. I used g-free oats for this because I am trying cut down on my gluten intake to see if it helps a few stomach issues I’ve been having. I don’t want to admit it to myself but I actually think my body is rejecting coffee…noooooo! Long story short – here are the nutrition facts for this oatmeal. The headers got cut off (derp) but it goes likes this:

  Calories :: Carbs :: Fat :: Protein :: Fiber :: Cholesterol

Oatmeal Nutrition Facts

Do you like oatmeal?

I didn’t until now!

What’s your favorite breakfast?

My favorite breakfast is a weekend breakfast with friends or at home with SL that includes an omelet, maybe some bacon, and english muffin, some homefries, coffee…the works!