Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie

Odd that today, a day that is a little grayer and cooler than the previous four days, I decided to make an ice cold smoothie for breakfast.  Yesterday morning I woke up with damp hair it was so warm, but did I think to make a frosty beverage?  Nooooo.

Of course it was warm when I went to bed last night and I’d been thinking about a smoothie all day, so it wasn’t going to matter what the weather was like today.

I had smoothie on the brain!

Specifically I was dreaming of a smoothie Bob Harper posted on his Facebook page yesterday.  He uses cooked oatmeal.  I’ve added dry oats to my mixes before but never cooked.  I was intrigued.

I didn’t particularly feel like cooking a hot pot of oats last night though, so I opted for soaking a portion overnight for a similar effect.  A little chia seeds helped things along.  The resulting smoothie is thick and delicious…and more protein packed than my usual combinations.

Blueberries also had to join the party…the plain oatmeal smoothie would do the trick I’m sure, but why wouldn’t a little berry love be acceptable too?

Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie

yields 1 large meal-size serving

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• 3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder*
• 1/4 cup UVAB
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 3-4 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Prepare the night before: Stir rolled oats, chia seeds and 1/2 cup water together.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. In the morning: Add overnight oatmeal and all remaining ingredients to blender and blend on high 45-60 seconds, until smooth.  Add more water to thin if necessary.

Enjoy!

Nutritional stats according to MyFitnessPal:

287 calories, 6 grams fat, 41 grams carbs, 24 grams protein, 7 grams fiber.

* I use Kaizen Natural Whey Protein Powder (Vanilla Ice Cream flavour).  One scoop is 29.4 grams for 115 calories.

And so it begins...

Time to get organized and stay organized.  By tomorrow I should have my movers confirmed...and that means...if all goes according to plan... YIKES... I'm outta here in 24 days.  *gulp*

You should see the lists I have on the go.  The goal this week is to get those cleaned up and as simplified (yet detailed) as possible. 

Last night I wrote up this week's plan...so I know what room to sort on which day, which workout I should be doing, and have a good idea what to make to eat.  The food will probably change a bit here and there, but everything else pretty much needs to stay the way it is. 

I will allow myself to skip a workout if needed though...because things will rear their heads but I can't very well give up packing or eating!! 

Today was a nice, easy start...coffeeeeee with soy milk...

A refreshing green smoothie to help clean away the weekend junk.

I picked up some Maca Root Powder at Bulk Barn the other night to give it a try.  It doesn't smell too good, but once blended up I couldn't really tell it was there.  It's considered a superfood powerhouse so it is definitely worth a bit of an odd odor.

From Wikipedia: "The nutritional value of dried maca root is high, similar to cereal grains such as rice and wheat. It contains 60% carbohydrates, 10% protein, 8.5% dietary fiber, and 2.2% fats. Maca is rich in essential minerals, especially selenium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, and includes fatty acids including linolenic acid, palmitic acid, and oleic acids, and 19 amino acids, as well as polysaccharides."

In the KA today:  ice, 1/2 frozen banana, 4 chunks fresh pineapple, 2 big handfuls organic baby spinach, 1 tsp maca, 1 heaping tsp Amazing Meal, 1 tsp flax meal, about 2/3 cup UVAB.

Alongside this bevvie I made some deliciously chewy sprouted grain toast...with natural peanut butter & Supercrack.

It's a quiet work day because of the US Memorial Day holiday so I burned through a fair amount of work this morning...which worked out well because I received a last minute call to meet Cosette and Sarah for afternoon coffee at Two if by Sea.

Who am I to turn down a fabulous cafe au lait?!  Especially since it's Sarah's bday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!!

Sadly (thankfully!!) they were out of chocolate croissants.  I definitely need another one (or ten) of those before I leave town.

When I got home it was way past lunch time so I went straight to the kitchen to whip up my salad...

Romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, celery (totally underrated!), and yellow peppers.

Dressed with Renee's Spring Italian dressing...and topped with 1% cottage cheese.  Did you know that cottage cheese contains a WHOPPING 15 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving?  Score.

Added even more protein in the form of hummus...

Served with Mary's Gone Crackers!  Nom!!!  Love these addictive seedy little things...

The last few hours have been spent working and scrutinizing my initial road trip plans.  Halifax to Victoria.  Just me and my cat.  It's going to be a loooooong 11 days...totally scary...and totally exciting. 

This once in a lifetime adventure needs a name.... any ideas??

Simplicity

Last night I wrote some simple goals for the week…

Then wrote one more for first thing this morning…

Thankfully I also remembered to set the coffee maker last night so I was caffeinated enough to tackle the cleaning of my desk before starting my work day…

This week’s fruit bowl is filled with a few different things.  Yesterday was the Ya pear…today a pink grapefruit…

I ate half and it was AMAZING!!  Especially when consumed alongside a dish of equally tangy Lemon Liberte topped with some yummy granola…

 

And a slice of sourdough toast with Dark Chocolate Dreams and Superfruit Spread…

It was like a breakfast party platter! :)

In keeping with the theme of lower grocery bills and using things on hand, I rifled through the cupboards for today’s protein source…tuna.

Mixed simply with light mayo, grainy dijon and green relish.  Served on Light Rye Wasa Crackers…with pickles…and a side of particularly tasty baby carrots…

Come dinner time I wanted to keep it light because Katie and I were heading to the gym for cardio and yoga tonight.  Sooooo… back to the tuna dish!

This time on half a toasted sesame bagel with light herby cream cheese…

 

With a small dish of leftover steamed sweet potatoes…which I melted a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil on.  O.M.G.  Deeeelish.  I’m loving the diversity of the coconut oil!

At the gym I went for a 20 minute run on the treadmill. Seems to be my go-to when I’m only doing cardio.  I feel like I need to burn the most calories possible if I’m only working out for 20 minutes…LOL…my brain needs to wrap around the fact that the hour long yoga class counts as a workout too!

Different instructor this week with a different style, but we still liked her.  Good stretch, good stretch, good heart pumping. :)

My after gym snack was a bowl of cereal and milk.  I wanted sugar, carbs and protein so I grabbed the Kashi Cinnamon Bites and checked out the milk containers to see which one had the biggest protein bang…

Skim milk is clearly the winner with 9 grams of protein per cup…

 

vs Vanilla Soy (So Nice brand) at only 6 grams…

and UVAB weighing in at only 1 measly gram.  Clearly I only use this because it’s considerably lower in calories and has a creamier consistency for making oats and smoothies.  (and apparently they think 1 cup is only 240mL???) 

Now it’s time for the Castle continuation.  “Did Beckett go BOOM?” I’m guessing not, but I still need to see for myself.  :)

A few mini peanut butter cups might help!