How To Secretly Make Breakfast Seem Bigger

Slowly but surely, I think I’m on the mend. I mean, sure, it’s “just a cold,” but sometimes I swear they just knock the life right outta me! I have lots to cover here, so let’s get to it…

After I finished posting yesterday morning, I did exactly what I said I was going to do, and I took a nice 1-1/2 hour nap. It was definitely needed and I woke up feeling slightly better (aka, my faucet of a nose had temporarily stopped) but still just BLAH.

It was lunch time when I woke up, and I was hungry, so I made myself a simple bowl of soup.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t homemade, but I was thankful for the fact that we had something. I like to keep cans on hand in case of emergencies, and Jay really enjoys them too, so we almost always have a few in the pantry.

The soup looked a little boring when I poured it out, so I decided to add in a few big handfuls of torn spinach leaves. Hey, at least it was something fresh, right?

I had my soup along with about a serving of Wheat Thins, which I actually ended up crumbling right into the soup. This only made me really wish that I had Ritz crackers on hand; growing up, that was pretty much the only way I ate soup…and most of the time, there were wayyyy more crackers in there than I needed.

Before heading off to go back to work, I made myself some Honey Lemon Ginseng Green Tea.

I bought this last week on a whim, and I’m so glad I did. I’m not usually a big green tea drinker, but with just a little squirt of honey, this stuff is great. Hmm…maybe it was intuition that I bought it?

After my short shift at work, which also included another awesome group session, I was back home in my cozies and ready for dinner.

Jay took care of preparing the Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders while I was gone, so by the time I got back, I just had to throw ‘em in the oven and make our sides.

I cooked up a big batch of quinoa (which Jay actually ate…and LIKED!) and sautéed some fresh zucchini, baby carrots, and grape tomatoes in a little olive oil, Garlic Gold, and dried basil.

It was a pretty big meal and rather filling, but as a side note…has anyone ever noticed any sensitivities to eating quinoa (i.e., bloating, gassy, etc.)? This meal left me feeling like an enormous balloon, and I honestly have no idea why. I’m lost.

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I made sure to get to bed at a decent hour last night, and I also didn’t have an early work shift, so I was able to clock about nine hours of sleep. It was great. Of course, it’s still slow goin’, but as soon as I was up and moving, I headed straight to the kitchen to finish up the breakfast I started prepping last night…

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So here’s how I make ‘em (thanks to Chelsey for introducing this to me months ago)…

The Night Before:

In a small sauce pot, combine:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 tsp chia seeds
• Sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, or any other spices you might want

Bring to a boil, and as soon as it starts to bubble, turn off the heat, stir, and cover. Leave overnight.

The Next Morning:

Stir your oats mixture (it will be thick). Add 1/3 cup almond milk (or any milk) and any of the following optional add-ins:

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or almond, also a favorite)
• 1/2 mashed banana
• 1/3 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 – 1 scoop protein powder
• 1-2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp dried fruit
• As much fresh fruit as you want!

Stir oats mixture again, turn heat on high, bring to a boil. Once bubbling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer, about 5 minutes. Top with any desired toppings and go to town!

For today’s batch, I used vanilla extract, 1/2 a mashed banana, and loads of fresh strawberries and blueberries, as well as a sprinkling of Love Grown Foods granola.

Thanks to all of the fresh berries, this bowl had to be one of the largest yet. Gotta love that extra volume!

Now I’m waiting to see whether or not I want to try and squeeze in an easy workout. We’ll see how that goes…but in the meantime, a few quick things:

1. I will be announcing the winner of the Sparkly Soul Headband Giveaway this afternoon, so you still have time to get your entries in!
2. Check out today’s DailyBuzz Healthy Living Top 9 – one of my favorite workout playlists is featured!

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Tagged as: cold, dailybuzz healthy living, healthy baked chicken tenders, honey lemon ginseng green tea, how to make voluminous oats, sauteed veggies, soup