Thanks for the advice on the media library situation. Since I don’t have a PC, I can’t download Windows Live Writer 🙁 But I’d never give up my Mac!! What a crime that would be 😉 So, long story short, I ended up deciding to get a space upgrade, so I should be set for quite a while now!
I’ve got a case of the Mondays, for sure. But I think it has more to do with a certain impending doom that is the start of school 😉 I can’t believe how quickly three weeks have gone by here at home. I know many of you are already out in the working world, but if you can recall what it was like when you realized you only had one week left of any semblance of a summer break – that’s where I’m at right now!
BREAKFAST
After weeks of hemming and hawing, I finally buckled down and gave savory oats a try this morning! Now I wish I would have tried them even sooner – I didn’t know what I was missing! I decided to turn it into a Sunday Brunch recipe, so here goes.
Savory Oatmeal
Ingredients (serves 1):
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• 1 tbsp. cottage cheese
• 2 tbsp. ground flax
• 1/4 cup liquid egg whites
• 1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge
Directions:
Combine the dry oats, water and almond milk into a pot on the stove. Set to medium-high heat. At the same time, combine liquid egg whites and 1/2 of a Laughing Cow cheese wedge into a small, microwaveable bowl. Heat in the microwave until the egg is cooked through.
Once oats begin to boil, stir in ground flax and let the ingredients thicken. Turn off heat and stir in cottage cheese. Pour into a bowl.
Add the microwaved poached egg to the bowl of oats, then dab the oatmeal with the other 1/2 of the Laughing Cow Cheese wedge. Place in microwave and cook all ingredients together for another 20 seconds.
ENJOY!
Nutrition Information:
• 325 calories
• 12g fat
• 36g carbohydrates
• 9g fiber
• 22g protein
These savory oats tasted fantastic – definitely a big difference from the sweet bowl of oatmeal that I’m accustomed to, but it was a welcome change this morning! I paired it with a sweet mug of Coffee Cocoa.
The savory and sweet complemented each other very well 🙂 If you haven’t tried savory oats yet – do it! Especially on mornings where you need a lot of fuel. After eating this breakfast, I let it digest for about 30 minutes and then headed to the gym, where I did 30 minutes on the elliptical. I knew it wouldn’t be my only chance to go to the gym for the day since my brother and I would be going when he got back from school, so I kept it light.
LUNCH
I’ve got a new find for Costco lovers: Tyson Teriyaki Chicken Breasts!
These are perfect for a quick meal. The chicken is already pre-cooked, so all you have to do is stick it in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes. The flavor is superb and the chicken itself is very soft and juicy. There’s quite a bit of sodium, but it’s basically like your average cup of soup. I highly recommend them!
On the side, I had 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese.
And then I balanced out the savory with some more sweetness – a delicious bowl of Peaches ‘n Cream! Reminds me of that rap song!
I mixed 1/4 cup sliced peaches with a dollop of whipped cream – better than dessert!
SNACK
I needed something to fuel me through Round 2 of my workout, so I grabbed a slice of whole wheat cranberry bread and topped it with some Barney Butter.
This proved to be perfect for another 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, plus a leg workout that included:
• 20 reps (10 per side) of bouncing lunges
• 24 reps (12 per side) of stationary lunges
• 24 reps (12 per side) of backward lunges
• 24 reps (12 per side) of diagonal lunges
• 24 reps (12 per side) of side lunges
• 3 sets of 40 squats
I love this leg workout because it’s super intense and never fails to leave me sore the next day! I remember reading it in Shape magazine a long time ago and the first time I tried it, I couldn’t get all the way through. Practice makes perfect!
DINNER
Would you believe that tonight was yet another Papa Bender creation? As you can tell, my mom is not the cook in our household. In fact, whenever my dad is out of town, we usually go out to eat or order in 🙂 She has two our three dishes that she’ll cook on occasion, but for some reason, the cooking bug never bit her! Oh well – I’ll take Papa Bender any day!
Tonight we started out with a yummy salad filled with black olives, cucumber and red pepper. I topped mine with the miso vinaigrette that I can’t get enough of now.
We also had some delicious corn on the cob – I’m really going to miss fresh corn 🙁 I love it so much! I topped mine with a little Smart Balance for some extra flavor.
And last but not least, my dad grilled us some salmon, rubbed in olive oil and topped with fresh dill. Oh boy, this was SO GOOD! I love salmon!!
As you can see, I’m spoiled rotten at home 🙂 Too bad I can’t inspire myself to cook this way at school! I’m going to make a promise to myself to make every effort to get more creative in the kitchen when I get back!
I’D LIKE TO THANK…
Finally, I would like to give a big shout out and thank you to Meg over at Megan’s Munchies for presenting me with this blogging award!
Since I love so many blogs “this much” – think arms stretched out as wide as they can go – I am going to take the easy way out and give the award to all of you foodie bloggers out there 🙂 Lame-o! But really, you all deserve it so it would be impossible for me to choose!
Have a great night, everyone – and a terrific Tuesday 
Savory oats..? What a clever idea! I’ve always associated oats with sweets. Actually, I associate anything good and delicious with sweets. haha
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Leng ~ I always thought the same thing about oatmeal! Good thing we’ve got such great foodie bloggers to show us the flip side 🙂
That Salmon looks A.Maaazing! Lerve!! 🙂
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Julz ~ I lerved it, too!!!
-PS- Are you feeling better????!!!!!!
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Julz ~ Little by little – still haven’t gotten the test results, though 🙁
What a wonderful idea to put the laughing cow cheese in your savory oats! That salmon looks amazing!
Great idea to share the award with everone! I certainly love all the blogs I read! They bring a smile to my face every day!
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Megan ~ Me too! Any day where I’m too busy with life stuff (psh..) to read all of my favorite blogs makes me sooo sad!!
love the new berry banner Jenn!
and that salmon. wowie!
have a wonderful Tuesday, mama!
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glidingcalm ~ Thanks for noticing!! Glad you like 🙂
MACS ARE AMAZING!!! I love my MacBook Air 🙂
Such a cute bowl of oats!!
That Peaches ‘n Cream song is by the group 112 – that song was a TOTAL guilty pleasure, back in the day 😉
Cranberry bread with peanut butter?!??!?! Sounds like puuuuure bliss.
Congratulations on the blogging award!!! Yay!!!
HAPPY TUESDAY!!
Hooray for a Papa Bender dinner!! 🙂
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VeggieGirl ~ Hells yes MACS! And yes 112 – NOW I remember!! I loved it 🙂
You def deserve every award out there ;o)
Ugh, and I have a case of the Tuesdays!
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CCV ~ Thanks, lady 🙂 Hope your Tuesday turned out better!
HAHA – I totally thought the poached egg whites was a HUGE glob of butter when I first saw the picture!! 🙂
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Melissa ~ Haha now THAT would be interesting…
Ok! The salad and the Salmon! All good my friend! 🙂
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Mark Salinas ~ Thanks!
Wow, what a beautiful bowl of oatmeal! I want to try it, but it’s just hard to get away from the sweet in the morning, ya know?
Salmon looks totally amazing, Jenn.
I remember that feeling of doom (you’re so funny) when I realized SUMMER WAS ALMOST OVER! Wow, that seems so long ago. 😉 I hope you get to cram in all the good times while you can girl!
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Erin ~ I know what you mean about sweet in the morning. I could definitely never have savory every day!!
Oh, I like the new batch of berries at the top of your blog… Not sure how long it’s been up there – so I might be behind in saying that.
Honestly, and I know I keep saying this, but your pictures are seriously getting better and better – did you get a new camera? Everything looks totally amazing – esp. the salmon!!
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Rose ~ Thanks for noticing! You’re not behind at all 🙂 And you are too sweet – I didn’t get a new camera…but I am trying to work on those photography skills!!
ohhhh you are killing me with that salmon. i seriously could eat salmon everyday, i love it so much. everytime we go out to eat, my family are always like “i know what mi is going to have – the salmon blablabla or the salmon blablabla” 😀 and i’ve yet to try savoury oats – i’m glad you gave it thumbs up, along with most other bloggers, it encourages me to try!
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wholefoodswholeme ~ Haha, funny about the salmon 🙂 It really is amazing! And I hope you like the savory oats, if you try them!
those berries in your banner, they’re new right? hhehehe…love them anyways.
and like the other melissa, i thought the egg was a glob of butter at first also!
but fun eats…gotta love papa bender and his gorgeous looking meals!
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Melissa S. ~ Why yes, they ARE new! Thanks for noticing 🙂 And so funny about the glob of butter! That would be so narsty!
MMMmmm, berries 🙂 Gotta get me on those savory oats! Papa bender’s salmon *swoon* so lucky!!
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ttfn300 ~ Hehe, thanks for noticing 🙂 And yes, Papa Bender makes me feel very lucky!
That oatmeal looks fabulous. And you can never go wrong with salmon, can you? 🙂
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Fit Bottomed Girls ~ Nope, never 🙂
oohhh i’m literally drooling over that salmon. i miss real home-cooking…my sandwiches and salads that i’ve been eating for dinner here just aren’t cutting it : ( I went back through my archives from this summer and looked at all the yummy food i made and it made me so sad!
i still need to get on the savory oats bandwagon–lately just plain oatmeal hasn’t been doing it for me, I get hungry too soon! adding cottage cheese has helped but i’m sure an egg would do the trick to.
EXCITEMENT: I tried overnight oats for the first time this week and L-O-V-E-D them! You must must must try it. So easy too—just soak 1/2 c oats in 1/2 c water, pinch of salt and 1 T flax overnight. In the morning add banana, greek yogurt, cinnamon, and maple syrup. So delicious, so filling, so creamy. My new obsession!
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Sarah ~ You certainly had some yummy meals this summer. I really am going to miss my dad’s cooking 🙁 Le sigh…BUT I’m really excited to try overnight oats, now that YOU recommended them, since that means I know that I will like them 🙂 I MUST get to the store and buy Greek yogurt because I’m all out!
The savory oats look gooooood. But quick question: how do you poach an egg in the microwave? I love poached eggs but am too lazy to make them in the mornings…
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HeatherBakes ~ Well, it’s not technically poaching 🙂 Basically all I do is stick the egg in a bowl or cup with some cooking spray, the put it in the microwave for about a minute, check it, and if it still needs a bit more time adjust accordingly. It’s the lazy way, but it tastes the same!
i LOVe those chicken breasts! i used to work at a sub shop (first job, sue me) and we had those for ceasar chicken salads. best chicken ever.
http://www.groundedfitness.com
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Grounded Fitness ~ Yum, I would’ve loved to work at a sub shop 😉
I can’t WAIT to try laughing cow in oatmeal. GENIUS.
Those chicken breasts look SO good and I love how easy they sound. I really need to get myself to Costco and hope to find them! Now if only I had a membership.. kind of important haha
And once again your papa manages to make a magazine-worthy meal. Just look at that PERFECT salmon. Whoa.
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Kristie ~ Hehe, thanks! Yes, you need to get yourself a Costco membership!! So very worth it.
The oats and the salmon look great!
I still need to do my blog award, things have been crazy for me!
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Christie I ~ Congrats on your award! I understand crazy, no worries 🙂 Hope it gets a bit slower for you though!
I need to try savory oats soon, I just love my banana-pb combo soo dearly 🙂
You are spoiled rotten, I’m jealous of that salmon! When do you have to go back to school again? Are you dreading it?
Yay for the blog award you deserve it! 🙂
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jenngirl ~ Banana-PB oats are still numero uno! And I have to go back to school in ONE WEEK – oh my gosh am I dreading it? That’s an understatement!! Haha 😉 But I am excited to see my friends again.
this post is full of so much beautiful and delicious food!!
that papa bender is AMAZING! i’m still salivating from the salmon… everything looks wonderful!!
haha peaches n cream… high school flashback! it’s in my head now, too 😀
where did you get the whole wheat cranberry bread??
hope you have a wonderful day!!
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fitnessista ~ Haha, that song is STILL in my head! I got the whole wheat cranberry bread at a place called Epicurean Delight – have you heard of that one?
are you crazy with all those lunges hahah i would not be able to walk for like 2 days!
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Christie ~ Maybe slightly crazy 😉 It’s a once a week thing though, so I deal!
Love that chicken from Costco too! And that leg work out would have probably put me in the hospital! 🙂 Great job.
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danica ~ Haha thanks! It took me a while to work my way up to it, but it’s so worth it! I always feel like I accomplished something major afterward!
Thats a super cute award! Congrats 😉
I wonder if they have chicken like that at BJs…hmm I will have to look! Thanks for pointing out that product!
Enjoy every last day before school, I totally remember that feeling!!
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Erica ~ Thank you! I hope you find the chicken at BJ’s 🙂
All of your food looks awesome – the savory oats are making my mouth water.
I also want to try the leg workout that did- I am going to write it down right now.
Also, I have a mac as well and was disappointed that I couldn’t use Windows Live Writer, BUT I found a sub. I don’t know how it really compares to Live Writer – since they discriminate against us Apple users, however I like this program better than just using the wordpress editor. It’s much easier because you can upload all your pictures on a post at once. It’s called ecto and it does cost around 17 bucks. But, I’ve been using it for a about 2 weeks and love it. click here if you want to check it out or try it for free 21 days. You can email me if you have any questions about it.
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eatingbirdfood ~ Oooh, let me know if you do the leg workout! And thank you so much for the ecto link! I do have a question – check your email!