14 Oatmeal Recipes That Will Leave You Drooling

Did you know that January is National Oatmeal Month? Here are 14 recipes that you need to try!

There is something warm and comforting about a hot bowl of oatmeal. Enjoy some unique twists on the traditional bowl of oatmeal.

How to Make the Best Creamy Artichoke Pasta Salad

Ibotta had Reese artichoke hearts on sale in the app. I wasn't sure if I even really liked them, but I decided to buy a can and experiment.

I created a pasta salad and was pleasantly surprised with how delicious it turned out!

Two Pumpkin Recipes. Great for Thanksgiving Week.

I know, I know. Pumpkin season is nearly over for the year. Thanksgiving is the last hurrah for this winter squash, so I wanted to share not one, but two easy pumpkin recipes for your breakfasts this week.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Last weekend, I experimented with pumpkin french toast. It turned out so good! The pumpkin pie flavor is pretty subtle, so it's perfect for those who aren't super crazy about all things pumpkin spice.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup flour
• 8 slices of bread

Instructions

1. Preheat skillet or griddle to 375.
2. In a small bowl combine almond milk, pumpkin, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and flour until well combined. Transfer to a shallow dish that's big enough for a slice of bread.
3. Dip both sides of a bread slice in the pumpkin mixture. Shake off any excess batter.
4. Place coated bread on the hot skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Enjoy with a dusting of powdered sugar and/or maple syrup.

I made this with sourdough bread, which was a bit overbearing. I would recommend a more subtle bread.

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Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are one of my favorite things! I wanted to try my hand at some pumpkin pie overnight oats for easy breakfasts this week.

Another winner! I would highly recommend heating this before eating. I know a lot of overnight oats recipes can be eaten cold right out of the fridge, but I think this is much better warmed up a bit.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe banana
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• Almond milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix banana, pumpkin, and oats together in a medium bowl.
2. Add enough almond milk to make it a soupy consistency. I didn't measure but probably 1-1 1/2 cups.
3. Stir in the chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar (optional)./li>
4. Pour into 2-3 mason jars, cover, and store in the fridge overnight.
5. Warm in the microwave about 2 minutes before enjoying.

This made two servings for me, but could easily make 3 smaller servings. Making it into 2 is a pretty hearty breakfast.

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What are you eating for breakfast this week?
Do you have a special breakfast on Thanksgiving or save room for a big meal later in the day?

Zucchini Matcha Muffins

Do you love muffins? I know I do!

But they don't tend to fill me up. I can easily scarf down 3-4 normal homemade muffins with my morning coffee. And then need to force myself to stop. the. madness.

I wanted to create a muffin with a little more oomph! aka. protein.

It was about time use up the leftover shredded zucchini in my freezer and I found this recipe on Pinterest that looked like a promising place to start for my concoction.

Lemon-Cilantro Kale Salad

This might be the most amazing kale salad ever, and it's just something I threw together before work one day. It totally made me late, but it was so worth it come lunchtime. In fact, I had it for lunch a few days in a row, and I looked forward to it each day!

The key to a great kale salad is to massage it a bit with oil, or dressing, before adding all the other ingredients. It really tenderizes the kale while simultaneously changing the flavor from bitter to sweet and nutty.

It might seem a little weird at first to really get in there with your bare hands, but seriously, it will change the way you feel about kale!

Serves 4.

Black Bean, Corn, Zucchini Salad with Cilantro Dressing

I have been in LOVE with cilantro lately. It's a little unfortunate because my husband is one of those people who HATE cilantro.

Or maybe not unfortunate, because it just means MORE for me. 😋

A couple weeks ago, my phone died on me. It's all good a replacement was sent out free of charge. While I was without a phone, I had to old-school it a bit by digging out an actual cookbook. It was difficult to try to follow a recipe from Pinterest when my computer was in a different room.

It was fun to thumb through my few cookbooks to find some new recipes, though. I really should do it more often.

I adapted the following recipe from 1,000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson. The original didn't include zucchini, but I love raw zucchini and since I had some in the fridge that needed to be used, I chopped it up and added it in.

It's served cold, so if you're headed to a Memorial Day picnic today, this would be a perfect addition to the usual picnic fare. Plus, it's super quick and easy to throw together.

Serves 6.

Once upon a time I tried a Green Tea Latte from Starbucks. I wasn't a huge fan.
It tasted too earthy. Too green.

One of the primary ingredients was matcha powder.

So, when I received a big package of matcha in my goodie bag from the #TIUVegas meetup a couple weeks ago, I wasn't sure I'd like/use it.

I took a shot and experimented with it in a smoothie.

It was heaven!

The other secret ingredients that made this smoothie super delicious were the cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla protein powder. Oh, and the apple juice. These ingredients really helped make the smoothie delectable.

Vanilla Cinnamon Kale Smoothie

Takes 10 min, serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale, stems removed
• 2 cups almond milk, original unsweetened
• 1 cube Pop&Cook crushed ginger
• 125 g zucchini
• 358 g strawberries
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp matcha powder
• 8 oz apple juice
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Instructions

1. Blend kale and almond milk together.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
3. Divide equally into mason jars. Drink one immediately and freeze or refrigerate the other 3 to enjoy throughout the week.

What's your favorite smoothie ingredient?
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I'm linking up today with Deborah and Sarah for Meatless Mondays.

Recipe: Easy Breakfast Lettuce Wraps

Hello, Fit Fam!

You may or may not realize that I used to have a recipe blog with one of my sisters. It kind of fizzled out, as life got in the way.

So, when Jill posted that the topic for this week's Fit Dish link-up was healthy recipes, I knew it was a great time excuse to resurrect one of the recipes I'd posted over there.

As I was surfing through my archives, this breakfast recipe looked so good!

Easy Breakfast Lettuce Wraps

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 leaves butter lettuce (or any other leaf lettuce)
• 2 slices tomatoes
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• shredded cheese
• Frank's Red Hot (optional)

Directions

1. Rinse and dry lettuce leaves. Chop tomato slices.
2. Scramble eggs over medium heat, season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide scrambled eggs evenly over lettuce leaves. Top with shredded cheese and chopped tomatoes. Shake on Frank's Red Hot, if desired.

I can't wait to get some butter lettuce to eat this again! And it would be super easy to dress this up a little by adding more veggies - onions, peppers, etc. Sky's kinda the limit. :)

Now, it's time to #dishthefit and check out all the other delicious AND healthy recipes that other bloggers are sharing today. Check out our hosts Jill Conyers at JillConyers.com or Jessica Joy at TheFitSwitch.org.
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Holiday Drink #3: Cocogo's Mistletoe Punch

OK. This is by far my favorite Holiday Drink using Cocogo!

If you missed the other two recipes, you can find them here and here.

Cocogo's Mistletoe Punch

picture courtesy of Cocogo

Yield: 4 servings

Calories per serving: 110 per serving (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 1 stick pack Lemon Lime Cocogo
• 1 cup Pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup Water or vodka
• 1 Lime, freshly squeezed
• 12 oz Ginger ale
• Lime slices

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, combine first 3 ingredients. Stir until powder is dissolved.
2. Just before serving, add the juice of 1 squeezed lime and add the ginger ale. Give a quick stir and pour over ice in highball glasses.
3. Garnish with a thin slice of lime.

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This drink was very simple to mix up and was delicious. Okay, so I didn't have a lime and used 3 tsp of lemon juice instead. I also went with the vodka option. ;-) This drink wasn't overly sweet or overly sour. It was perfect.

I've never really had pomegranate juice before, and it was delicious. But man, is it ever expensive! I think it might be the most expensive juice I've ever purchased.

Are you a fan of pomegranate juice?

As a Cocogo Ambassador, I have the pleasure of giving you a promo code to enjoy 10% off your order at the Cocogo store. Just enter code ENJOYINGTHECOURSE (code must be in all caps) during checkout. Enjoy!

Holiday Drink #2: Cocogo's Hot Wassail topped with Salted Caramel

Who's already counting down to Christmas? Jeff and I don't really do much to celebrate, but I am enjoying trying out these holiday drinks from Cocogo!

Recipe #2 is perfect for those cold, winter nights. Even if cold is only in the 40s here in Vegas, it's cold enough for me to want to wrap up in a blanket with a hot beverage and watch a movie.

Cocogo's Hot Wassail topped with Salted Caramel

picture courtesy of Cocogo

Yield: 4 servings

Calories per serving: 89 (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 3 stick packs Lemon Lime Cocogo
• 3 stick packs Raspberry Passion Fruit Cocogo
• 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
• 1/8 tsp Ground Allspice
• 2 1/2 cups Water
• 1/2 cup Water or Rum
• 4 sticks Cinnamon Sticks (for garnish)
• 8 Tbsp Whipped Cream
• 4 tsp Salted Caramel Topping

Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients in a medium saucepan and add water. Stir. 
2. On medium heat, bring to a simmer. Add additional water or rum and stir.
3. Serve in mugs. Garnish each mug with a cinnamon stick. Top with whipped cream and drizzle salted caramel topping over the whipped cream.

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37 years old, and I don't think I've ever actually had a true wassail before, so I was excited to try this recipe out. It says it's traditional with a twist, so I'm not sure how it compares to a traditional wassail. I will tell you it is a little on the sour side. Jeff likes his drinks sweet, so he wasn't a big fan of this.

We tried it without the rum, because all of our rums are flavored, and I wanted to test this as close to the original recipe as possible. Not sure if rum would have cut any of the sour. Hmmm.

The whipped cream and caramel topping were a nice contrast (for me) with the sourness of the actual drink, but I had to finish Jeff's for him. Maybe it was a good thing I left out the rum. LOL.

Have you ever tried wassail?

As a Cocogo Ambassador, I have the pleasure of giving you a promo code to enjoy 10% off your order at the Cocogo store. Just enter code ENJOYINGTHECOURSE (code must be in all caps) during checkout. Enjoy!

Holiday Drink #1: Cocogo's Cranberry Cocktail

I hope you stocked up on some Cocogo on CyberMonday, because here comes recipe #1 for a delicious holiday drink. :)

Cocogo's Cranberry Cocktail

picture courtesy of Cocogo

Yield: 6 servings

Calories per serving: 66 (non-alcoholic)

Ingredients

• 1 stick pack Lemon Lime Cocogo
• 1 stick pack Grape Cocogo
• 2 cups Cranberry juice cocktail
• 1 cup Grapefruit juice
• 1 cup Water or Vodka

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, combine all ingredients. Stir until powder is dissolved. Pour over ice in cocktail or champagne glasses. As an option, top with champagne and garnish with a thin slice of lime.

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As a Cocogo ambassador, I was asked to try out and share this holiday drink recipe with all of you! It's definitely a winner! Of course I tried it with the vodka option. ;)

If you're not a huge fan of grapefruit juice, then this might not be the drink for you. It's kind of powerful, and makes the drink taste stronger than it really is. :)

Do you have a favorite holiday drink?

If you missed out on CyberMonday, you can always enjoy 10% off your Cocogo order anytime with code ENJOYINGTHECOURSE (code must be in all caps)

Ultimate Coffee Date - July 2014

Did you enjoy a fabulous 4th of July? We didn't really do anything. Spent a little time in the pool for some cross training and fought the crowds at Walmart for our weekly shopping trip. Now we have two full days to do whatever we want and not have to worry about running errands.

But first, it's coffee time!

If we were having coffee this morning... I'd tell you how great half marathon training is going with my husband. We're heading out for a 7-miler this morning. This will be by far the longest distance Jeff has ever run. We're dropping Genie (our car) off for her 30,000-mile check-up and we'll hit the road instead of simply killing time at the dealership.

If we were having coffee this morning... I share with you some of the creamiest, most delicious fruit dip that I made the other day. And, of course, I'd share the recipe.

Creamy Peanut Butter Vanilla Fruit Dip

Ingredients

• 6 oz Yogurt, plain, unsweetened
• 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter, heaping
• 2 squirts Pure Via® vanilla stevia liquid
• 1/8 tsp Cinnamon

Cooking Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve with apple slices, bananas, grapes, or your choice of fruit.

If we were having coffee this morning... I'd definitely ask you if you were going to join me for my birthday party. I'm so excited about this run and/or yoga streak, and I really want it to be the biggest party ever, so the more the merrier. :-)

If we were having coffee this morning... I'd tell you how I've been fighting a major sweet tooth lately. And by sweet tooth, I mean chocolate. Seems like if there isn't chocolate involved, I just don't feel satisfied. I'm trying to grab fruit when I have a sweet craving, but it doesn't seem to help. Though my fruit dip did help a little.  I'd also ask how you deal with unhealthy cravings.

If we were having coffee this morning... I'd tell you how I feel like summer is slipping away. There are so many things I'd like to do this summer, and I feel like I'm running out of time. Good thing I live in Vegas, so summer lasts a bit longer than other places. :-)

If we were having coffee this morning, what would you tell me?

Why not grab a cup of coffee, relax for awhile, and catch up with some other bloggers at the Ultimate Coffee Date?
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Happy National Iced Tea Month

I can't believe how quickly June has gone by! I'm a little late to the party, but did you know that June is National Iced Tea Month?

I had no idea until I received a Summer Fit Kit complimentary from Pure Via as a FitFluential ambassador.
In fact, I'd never even tried iced tea before! Crazy, I know. :)

I've been having some fun testing out Pure Via stevia sweetener. In tea. In coffee. In whatever. It's good.

Pure Via comes in either packets or liquid. Both are an all natural alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. The packets are also non-GMO (the liquid isn't), which is just one more plus in my book.

The liquid comes in two flavors - original and vanilla. Both are delicious, but the vanilla is my favorite. I made a papaya sweet tea with the vanilla, and it was perfection!

One packet of Pure Via equals about 2 teaspoons of sugar and one squeeze of the liquid is about 1 teaspoon of sugar.

What I loved most about both the packets and liquid was the clean, sweet taste! No weird flavor like with some other sweeteners I've tried, and I dare say I might even like it better than regular sugar.

Maybe you'd like to give it a try, too! Pure Via was generous enough to offer one of my readers a Summer Fit Kit - just like the one I received.

The ‘Pure Via Summer Fit Kit’ contains:

• Box of Pure Via® non-GMO packets
• Bottle of Pure Via® stevia liquid
• Bottle of Pure Via® vanilla stevia liquid
• Container of instant iced tea
• Pure Via mason jar
• Pure Via pedometer
• Pure Via SPF 15 lip balm

Enter to win using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'm excited to keep experimenting with Pure Via and hope to create a few fun recipes to share this summer.

Here's my first one.

Apple Vodka Iced Tea

An adult twist on the classic sweetened iced tea. Perfect for summertime!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tsp Lipton Unsweetened Iced Tea
• 1/2 cup UV apple-flavored vodka
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 squirts Pure Via liquid stevia
• 5-6 ice cubes

Directions

1. Mix together all ingredients, except the ice cubes, in a mason jar. Stir until dissolved.
2. Add ice cubes.
3. ENJOY!

What's your favorite flavor of iced tea?
Have you tried Pure Via?
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Fall Foods: Soup and Cheesecake

Today the SITS Girls challenged to share our favorite fall craft or recipe.

I'm really not a very crafty person, but something I love about fall is the return to soup season. Potato soup is one of my favorites, but I'll take just about any kind of warm, liquidy goodness. What I love about making soup is that I don't need a recipe. I just toss about a bunch of stuff in a pot or slow cooker and voila! a wonderful, fill-the-house-with-good-smells soup. Yum!

Since I rarely use a recipe, I'm going to share with you a lovely recipe for squash (pumpkin works, too!) cheesecake that I made last year.

Flying Witch

Yields 2+ cheesecakes

Ingredients:

• 2 ready made graham cracker crust
• 4 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• ¾ c granulated sugar
• ¼ c packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 small golden nugget squash
• 4 eggs
• ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice (or ¼ tsp cinnamon, ⅛ tsp nutmeg, ½ of ⅛ tsp each of allspice and cardamom)
• 1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
• Pictures of a flying witch or a howling wolf or whatever you'd like on the cheesecake

Directions:
1. Pierce squash a few times with a fork. Soften in microwave for 45-60 secs. Cut in half; remove seeds. Place in a microwaveable dish; cover with plastic wrap. Cook for 9 minutes or until fork tender. Scoop squash into a food processor and blend until smooth. This should give you about 1 cup of purée.

2. While squash is cooking, cream the cream cheese and sugars together in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and eggs . Mix until well blended. Reserve 1 cup of batter. Pour remaining evenly between two graham cracker crusts.

3. Add squash purée and pumpkin pie spice to the reserved batter. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto the white batter. Gently swirl with a knife. I swirled in one direction to give the impression of a windy, stormy, scary, Halloween night. I had a LOT of leftover squash batter, so I put it in a small dish to bake a 3rd, smaller, no-crust cheesecake.

4. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 min or until the center is still barely jiggly or right before cracks start to appear. Remove and let cool on cooling rack.

5. While cheesecakes are baking, place pictures under wax paper. Put melted chocolate into a plastic baggie and snip off the corner. Pipe the chocolate over the pictures. I had some extra chocolate, so I hand drew a full moon, a spider web, a spider, and some bats/birds/whatever. Place on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer to harden.

6. Once cheesecakes have cooled, cut the wax paper around the chocolate pictures and place pictures on the cheesecake, wax paper side up. Leave waxed paper on and chill cakes in the fridge for 8+ hours or overnight. Gently pull off waxed paper.

This recipe was originally posted over at my other blog: Tale of Two Sisters and Their Kitchens

What's your favorite fall recipe or craft?
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