Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats

THIS my friends, is heaven in a mason jar!

My life is hectic as it is; I don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen – but when you eat 6x a day, it can seem IMPOSSIBLE to keep it all clean, all the time. Welcome to my life, overnight oats!

I discovered overnight oats about 2 months ago through my second love, Pinterest – were you expecting anything else?

Talk about a QUICK & EASY meal with on-hand ingredients. It’s as if overnight oats were calling my name. Good news, I’m finally listening!!!

If you have 4 minutes and 2 mason jars, then get in your kitchen (like right now) and make this for yourself!

Ingredients:

1 mashed banana
1 cup oats
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup all natural creamy PB
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp light agave or pure honey

Directions:
Mash up your banana in a large bowl with a fork or potato masher. Throw in the rest of the ingredients and mix together very well. Split between 2 air tight containers. I used mason jars because they're awesome! Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or conveniently, overnight! Top in the morning with a bit more milk/hot water, and your favourite CLEAN toppings!

** nutritional information is approximate

Clean Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies!

Picture this: It’s Friday night, you’ve chosen to stay at home instead of spoiling all your accomplishments during the week with booze and fried foods, BUT you still have a sweet tooth. Insert CLEAN treats!

If you’re anything like me, you’re already thinking about dessert before you’ve even started dinner! This weekend I needed something sweet to satisfy my cravings, but I wanted to keep it CLEAN so I stayed in line with my goal of eating clean, unprocessed foods.

So I took to the kitchen (and Pinterest!) to find something that was clean and made from ingredients I enjoyed and had in the kitchen.

Knowing that I could eat 10 cookies in 2 minutes, I knew I needed to start there! Instead one of my favorite fruits – blueberries – and I’m sold! And then, like magic, my oven popped out some Clean Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies!

(I swear there wasn’t a hair on my cookie even though it looks like it!)

Ingredients:

• - 1 cup quick rolled oats
• - ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• - 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• - ½ tsp. ground cinnamon (use a tad more if you lovvvvve cinnamon!)
• - 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• - 2 tbsp. coconut oil (melt first)
• - 1 whole egg at room temperature
• - 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• - ½ cup all-natural honey
• - ¼ cup dried blueberries

Preparation:

1. Use a medium bowl to whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the honey to the wet ingredients until fully mixed together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together. Fold in the blueberries. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops on the baking sheet.
4. Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes.
5. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

It’s ALL About That Fresh Summer Salad!

I’ve never been a salad person. In fact, I’m still not a salad person. Ok, what the heck IS a salad person? In my definition, a salad person is one who constantly eats salad only, in hopes that they will lose all the weight they’ve gained and want to lose! While salads ARE super delicious, I personally need MORE! However, whenever summer time rolls around, there’s nothing better than fresh greens and color to make a bowl full of wonderfulness! Salads can be quick & easy to pack any day of the week or as a light dinner. My go-to, simple salad contains the following:

Ingredients:

- 4 romaine lettuce leaves, cut into small pieces

- ¼ yellow bell pepper, diced

- ¼ orange bell pepper, diced

- ½ tomato, diced

- ½ cup cucumber, chopped

- 1 stalk green onion, chopped

- 1 tbsp. light feta cheese, chopped

Top with your favourite protein - I usually 2 hard-boiled eggs or 4oz. chicken breast - and your favourite dressing. VOILA!

Life & lunch MADE!