Shellington's Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal

Monday through Friday I am totally Bill Murray from Groundhog Day. I wake up, eat oatmeal for breakfast, go to work, go to the gym, eat the same thing for dinner, have a bath, watch some eps of Breaking Bad and go to bed. Wake up and repeat. I hope you didn't read that in a whiny voice, because I actually enjoy having a strict routine during the week. I never have to worry or wonder about what's for breakfast or lunch or dinner. I am food-motivated, so those things are important to me. That being said, sometimes by Thursday I am getting slightly less enthused by my pre-devised meals, and often on Friday I am stoked that they are coming to an end. This week, however, I suffered no such thing. Why? Let me tell you.

Spoon Fork Bacon. Huh? It's a blog I stumbled upon. I honestly can't remember what I was looking for when I found it, although it was probably something bacon related. What made me stop and fall in love was a recipe for "Persimmon and Cranberry Baked Oatmeal". It could have said poop and beans baked oatmeal and I still would have loved it. The idea of baking oatmeal for breakfast stole my heart. Why I haven't done this before is a huge mystery. Perhaps I was not ready for baked oatmeal. I sure am now! 6 days in a row of baked oatmeal for breakfast and I wish I had another six days to go.

I made some changes to her recipe, as I apparently am unwilling and able to follow a recipe as directed. It made 6 portions, which I left in the fridge all week. I heated in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes and served with skim milk, although Greek yogurt would be good too. My next batch will likely contain a sprinkling of chocolate chips and maybe some applesauce for extra fibre and moisture. Here she is:

Shellington's Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:
2 cups steel cut porridge oats (contains oats, flax, oat bran and some other goodies. it's a step up from regular oats)
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup ground flax
2 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus some extra for the chef.
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can low-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup skim milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons melted coconut oil (it's the cheapest to buy at Costco, obviously)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 banana, mashed with a fork, or chopped. (I think mashed will be more banana bread-like.)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Generously grease an 8”x 8” baking dish and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
4. In another mixing bowl whisk together both milks, the egg, vanilla and melted coconut oil.
5. Pour the milk mixture over the oat mixture and stir together.
6. Fold in the blueberries and banana until just combined.
6. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth surface with a spatula.
7. Bake for 40 to 45 minute or until golden brown.

healthtastic.

Let's talk about health, baby. let's talk about you and me. Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things. Health, baby. Let's talk about health!

I hope that song gets stuck in your head! Ok, so I've decided to do a spiel on health by sharing some of the things that I do as part of my normal routine that I believe keep me healthy. I actively pursue new ideas and trends to see what others are doing to keep themselves healthy and fit. Some I try out and nix within a week or so and some things I keep and mix into my own routine. Hopefully one or more of these things will make your life a little bit better! Ready? OK!

#1. I take vitamins, daily. What kind, you ask? Depends on what's on sale when I go shopping for vitamins. Currently I take a multi vitamin, a cranberry pill, and biotin (helps to metabolize carbs, protein and fat - rumoured to make your hair grow faster). Occasionally, I take Omega 3 pills, probiotics, vitamin C and echinacea.

7. I squeeze a lemon in my first bottle of water in the morning. Lemon water helps balance your pH, has tons of vitamin C, aids in digestion and helps the purging of toxins. The rest of the day, I drink plain boring old water, but lots of it so that I don't dry up like a prune.

#4. Oatmeal for breakfast, every day.... sounds boring, but I've been eating it for years and never get sick of it. I make mine with skim milk and add in banana, ground flax and vanilla protein powder. Sometimes I get wild and will throw in blueberries, chocolate chips or even nuts. It's a hearty, well-rounded breakfast that keeps me full until snack time.

5) I work out 6 days a week, doing both cardio and weights. One of those workouts if spent with my personal trainer who gives me the extra push I want and the accountability I need. I spend a lot of time on the treadmill with my ipod, and find it helps me get my thoughts in order. I also love running really fast. I especially love running in front of the mirror because I feel like I'm racing myself.

6. I eat 3 meals a day and a couple of snacks. Eating often keeps my metabolism up and stops me from ever being hungry. I try to eat lean proteins, lots of vegetables, whole grains and low fat dairy. That being said, I rarely choose salad over fries at restaurants and I will take a steak over chicken almost any day of the week.

2. I have warm baths with Epsom salts a few times a week. Some of the countless health benefits include relaxing the nervous system, curing skin problems, soothing back pain and aching limbs, easing muscle strain, healing cuts, treating cold and congestion, and drawing toxins from the body.

8. I don't watch a lot of TV, especially since I JUST finished all 5 seasons of Sons of Anarchy and have nothing else I want to watch... I spend a lot of my free time reading. I read somewhere that reading burns more calories than watching TV because your brain has to work harder. Reading also keeps my vocabulary up to snuff. Speaking of vocabulary, you'd think with all the reading I do that I could come up with a better word than 'snuff'!

3) I get an embarassing amount of sleep. On weeknights I'm usually in bed by 9:30 and up at 6:30, which is 9 hours each night. I like to think I bank some of those extra hours for the weekends where I'm up until 4AM.

The end. That's it? Yep! I know, I know, nothing earth shattering. I am not a health nut by any means. There is an equally long list of things I do that are super unhealthy (see: binge drinking, McDonalds, aspartame and all-night partying) but I can definitely tell you that everything on my list is shelly tested and approved! Are you on pinterest? Go check out my healthtastic board here.

Now, go be healthy!