healthy laps

I could see the sky starting to get brighter when I woke up this morning!  It was not pitch black like it has been for the past few months.  I loved it.  I loved running in the daylight during the week again!  After my last big speedwork session of this training program (yahoo!), I whipped up my usual morning bowl of oats.  I don’t have this breakfast everyday, but most days I do.  It is delicious and keeps me full for hours.  I used to use instant oats, but recently switched over to thick rolled oats.  They actually still cook fairly quickly and taste so much better.  I vary the amount of oats that I eat, but after a tough speedwork session like today, I needed to refuel, so here was my recipe:

Oats cooking on the stove

Delicious Banana Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup thick cut oats
• 1 tbsp. flax seed
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup water

Mix everything together in a pot and simmer until cooked to desired consistency.  After the oats are cooked and ready to eat, I love to add a variety of toppings, which usually include some type of peanut/almond butter.  Today I added:

• 1 tbsp. natural peanut butter
• 1 tbsp of a new fun spread that I got – MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Almond Spread.

It was tasty.  A little bit thicker consistency than peanut butter, but it got all melty over my oats :-).

This new chocolaty almond spread is delicious!  It is all natural, but has a few more ingredients than I like to see in my peanut butter, but this is what happens when it’s chocolate!  It is not something I would eat everyday, but it is a perfect treat.

Lunch

Lunch today was another delicious treat – leftovers from dinner last night!  We made a favorite simple recipe from 101Cookbook.com, Double Broccoli Quinoa.  This website is a favorite of mine.  Heidi Swanson does an excellent job of creating all natural, whole food recipes.  I have made numerous recipes from her site, and usually more than once.  It’s awesome!  My pictures below is missing lots of broccoli!

Broccoli Quinoa

Double Broccoli Quinoa (from 101cookbooks.com)

Serves 4-6 for an entree, more for a side

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked quinoa
• 5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
• 3 medium garlic cloves
• 2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 big pinches salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil (I only used about 1/8)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (I used 1% milk)
• Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil, sliced avocado
• crumbled feta or goat cheese ( we only used feta this time, but it is delicious with avocado and fire oil!)

Directions:

1. Heat the quinoa and set aside.
2. Barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.
3. To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.
4. Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice.
5. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com also has a great cookbook, Super Natural Cooking.  It is split into sections, and reads more like a book than a cookbook.  She explains the good and bad oils, sweeteners, and tells you which vegetables and grains are best for you.  It is my cooking bible.  I love it!

Off to make a simple dinner!

Filed under: Cookbooks, Eating Laps, Recipes | Tagged: almond butter, Cookbooks, Eating Laps, oatmeal, peanut butter, Recipes |