Banana Baked Protein Oatmeal Recipe SHARE

photo & recipe from: Southern In Law

I found this recipe during a routine pinterest scroll, of course, & added it immediately to the recipe que.

While I'm not the biggest fan of bananas, I LOVE them mixed into to just about anything baked.. and when you add in some oats & protein, forget about it. I'm all over it!

Not only does this recipe seem very simple to make, it's packed full of healthy foods and is a make AHEAD breakfast option.

Alright, give this gem a try from & let me know what you think. 

And hop over to Southern In Law using the link above to check out other healthy, gluten free recipes!

Healthy Baked Banana Protein Oatmeal Recipe serves 4-6

low fat, gluten free, high protein, clean eating friendly, refined sugar free

1 cup (90g) gluten free rolled oats or gluten free quick oats *see notes

1/2 cup (ours was 60g**) protein powder

1 tsp baking powder

2 medium bananas, mashed (about 250g/just over a cup mashed)

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

1/2 cup (120g or 4 large) egg whites

1 cup milk of your choice (we use unsweetened almond)

Optional: choc chips/nuts/spices of your choice 

Preheat oven to 180C/350F

Grease and/or line a 8" square or round tin and set aside 

Mash your banana in a medium mixing bowl and add in all of your other ingredients, mixing until combined. 

Pour your oatmeal mix into your baking dish and bake for 20-35 minutes, or until cooked through.

Once baked, allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving. I actually like mine cold so I usually pop the whole batch in the fridge once it's cool and then slice it in the morning.

This will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge or can be frozen in slices in individual zip lock or freezer bags and then defrosted as needed (I just take one out the night before and leave it in the fridge and it's ready to go in the morning!)

Top with nut butter, eat as is or serve however you fancy!

Notes:

*Find out more about oats on a gluten free diet. If you can't tolerate oats you can replace them with quinoa flakes, however, the taste and texture will be different.

**All protein powders differ in weight so be sure to measure by cup. We recommend brown rice protein powder for the best results (particularly this one or this one), however, you can use your favourite protein powder - but do note that meal replacement drink mixes aren't protein powder

If you like things really sweet, you may want to add some maple syrup or sugar into the recipe (but you may not need to do this if your protein powder is sweetened). If using a liquid sweetener, just take out an equal amount of the milk to account for it!

Tiny Kitchen Diaries: Food Prep Sneak Peek

So my hubby and I have been in a mega state of transition the past couple of months. Let me paint a picture for you::

He came home from a 7 month deployment

We renovated for a week straight (after spending only one day together)

Listed our home for sale- under contract in 3 days.

Traveled for about 2.5 weeks+ to see family

House contract fell through

Hubby left for another month on the day our AC broke (womp womp- typical murphy's law)

I showed house alone (with two giant pups) for 3 weeks before getting another contract on it

Hubby came home and we packed/moved out in a week

whirlwind..--> PHEW. glad that's over!

welllllll almost.

We then moved into a hotel room where we are currently residing for 27 days, while my hubby completes a month long, strenuous & extremely time consuming work process; however, it's over next Wednesday and we get to FINALLY move to the sunshine state.

#hallelujah 

We have been waiting 6 years for the chance to be closer to my family, soak up some beach rays and just relax down south for a few years of deployment-free bliss!

Reminding myself of ^^^ makes this temporary madness all worth it. Plus, I know that one day, these will be stories we share with laughter and maybe a fond memory or two. Oh and honey, there's no one I would rather be doing this all with {insert smoochey face here}.

In the mean time, it's mega entertaining for people to partake in our shenanigans. SO, today I bring you a food prepping sneak peek from my teenie weenie kitchen.

Here's what I've decided is totally doable with two baby burners, one microwave, a couple of super sticky pans & one whacked out spatula!

Breakfasts:

Shakeology /or/ coconut greek yogurt + granola

Lunch:

Shakeology /or/ plain greek yogurt tuna salad with sliced peppers /or/ pre-assembled green salads

Dinner:

Quinoa // Turkey Sausages // Chicken Burgers // Sweet Potatoes // sautéed kale // zucchini + onion stir-fry // steamed broccoli 

Snacks:

cubed pineapple /or/ hard boiled eggs /or/ sliced peppers

Not too shabby, right?

I also snagged strawberries, nectarines, cheese sticks, unsweetened almond milk, fig newtons, KIND bars, granola, pop chips, wheat thins & frozen yogurt + chocolate covered pretzels.

All things considered, we have pretty darn healthy choices for a whole week with a few tasty treats thrown in the mix. And this whole order took me about an hour (had to wash pans in between uses!).

Btw, I spent like $7 on baggies + minimal tupperware to use for our month here. 

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I hope this inspires you to stay health & grounded in your routine while you're on the go. Hotel living isn't always easy and it's certainly not the most convenient. BUT -> It's totally possible if your goals are important to you!

Need more tips? I'd love to chat!

Find me on Facebook.com/LindseyKollarGhoens

/or/

email me at lindseykollar@yahoo.com

Let me share with you the food guide that rocked my nutritional world.

If you've never heard of shakeology before & want to know why I love to drink it every.single.day for breakfast or lunch, check out my experience HERE. 

For all you beachbody lovers out there:: yes, everything prepped above is 21 Day Fix approved! 

Can't believe I cooked in this kitchen for the last time. Time for a mini glass of wine to celebrate :)

Cheers!

XO

21 Day Fixed Approved: Chocolate, Peanut Butter OATS

Today's recipe is a special one, folks. This tasty treat is straight out of Autumn Calabrese's new cookbook called Fixate; for those of you who don't know who Autumn is, she's the creator of the 21 Day Fix that gave me these results in 3 weeks. Yeah, she's one of my heroes. Ha!

ANYWAYS, this recipe is an awesome breakfast option for the days I save my shake for a quick lunch or on the weekends when Nate and I want to eat a yummy, guilt free breakfast together! 

So let's start with the main ingredient: Steel Cut Oats.

For those of you who aren't familiar with anything other than instant, old fashioned or rolled oats:

"Whole grain oats provide a healthy start to your day. Steel-cut oats, also known as Irish oats, are a type of whole grain oat cut from the center portion, or kernel of the oat, called the groat. Although steel-cut oats undergo less processing than rolled oats or instant oatmeal, all whole-grain oats have essentially the same nutritional value, as long as the finished product contains no added sugars. Steel-cut oats do take longer to cook than rolled or instant oats and have a chewier consistency."

Personally, I prefer steel cut oats because I'm a texture gal! Take the extra time to try them, I bet you'll like them! Go ahead and make these bad boys start to finish before you move onto the other ingredients.

Next, you're going to need some shakeology. This is going to give your oats a CREAMY sauce to bathe in & that desert-like chocolatey taste! PS, the shakeology is also adding a protein element to this meal.

If you aren't sure what Shakeology is, check out my blog post about it here; it's a nutrient dense shake that costs about $4 a day to drink and replaces a meal, vitamins and supplements. It's a game changer in healthy eating and the pursuit of fitness goal, I highly recommend you try it risk free for 30 days.

Now you need to stir in some all-natural peanut butter! My household is 100% crunchy, but you could of course go the creamy route.

SO this is where my rendition of this recipe gets comical. My hubby and I moved on Friday.. who cares, you just want the recipe.. WELL, most of my food items were either packed, discarded or misplaced. A few lucky ingredients made it over here to my two burner, no oven kitchen. SO, when the cook book says himalayan sea salt, caramel extract and cinnamon- I say no biggie!

All I had here was vanilla extract, so I used that and went without the cinnamon and sea salt. You know what? This stuff still turned out to be AMAZING! I can only imagine how much richer the other ingredients would make it.

Okay, so here's the recipe!

4 Cups Water

1 Cup Steel Cut Oats

1.5 Scoops of Chocolate Shakeology

4 TBSP All Natural Peanut Butter

Dash of Cinnamon (omitted above)

Dash of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (omitted above)

1/2 TSP Caramel Extract (substituted pure vanilla!)

Optional: Mixed Berries for Topping (or in my case- I had like 2 strawberries left in my mini fridge) 

Top this treat with some mixed berries & you're SET!

Bon Appetit, My Friends!

xo, Lindsey

Hacka-Lackas & Coconut Oil

I am a TOTAL life hack fan & when I came across these, I knew I had to share!

Hack Numero UNO::

KUERIG Oats

So there's basically nothing to describe here, but when I saw this no the inter-web I literally thought "WHY DID I NEVER THINK OF THAT BEFORE!?"

BOOM- oats in a minute & cooked to perfection. Just add toppings. My favorites: Fruit, chocolate chips {ahem}, coconut, vanilla beans, peanut butter, etc.

Hack Numero DOS::

{Straw, Blue, Rasp} Berry Cleanse

Nate & I eat fruit like it's candy. No really, it's how we stay away from it. When I hit the store on the weekends, I usually buy every berry on the shelf. But usually mid-week, I'm having to sift through them for the nuggets without mold on them.

You feeling me?

Okay, grab your berries, some vinegar, a large bowl and water.

Soak your berries in a 10:1 ratio of water to vinegar. For 2 pounds of strawberries, I used 1/2 C. white vinegar and 5 cups of water. If we had more berries laying around the house, I would have used this mixture again. Soak the berries for 2 minutes and rinse them thoroughly. The vinegar is supposed to kill any mold producing spores, lengthening the shelf life.

Hack Numero TRES::

Toilet Cleaner + Toothbrush Grout Cleaning Method

Ever wonder how to get that DEEP set gunk out of your grout?

Now, this method is a little time consuming, but worked like a CHARM! Just turn on a good audio book, throw on some junky clothes & get comfortable on the floor.

Work by section, using the Clorox toilet bowl cleaner (which squeezes out in a gel form) to line your grout- apply liberally. Let this sit on the grout for about 10 minutes before you come back & SCRUB. Let the scrubbed grout sit for another 5 minutes before you wipe up the excess Clorox & clean with a wet sponge. Repeat until things are looking squeaky clean!

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Okay, I mentioned something super random about coconut oil. Have you ever tried it in your COFFEE?? I did today & oh-my-lanta! CREAMY, frothy, no-guilt goodness.

Ingredients:
Hot Coffee
Coconut Oil
Blender

{if you're feeling frisky, add cinnamon/vanilla/nutmeg/etc}

Make sure you give all of these a try & let me know what you think! 
linz

Blueberry Spinach Muffins

I'm always on the hunt for healthy, no-guilt treat recipes that are easy to whip up, as I am by NO means a baker. Tonight, I was paroozing pinterest, while standing hungrily in my kitchen post-workout, & found my inspiration for this recipe.

{recipe found here, but my recipe includes adaptations}

My Ingredients:

1.5 C Whole Wheat Flour

2 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons of Truvia

1.2 C Unsweetened Applesauce

"Palm-ful" of Fresh Blueberries

1 Large Egg

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 C Fresh Spinach

2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Dash of Salt

[[I also ended up using a splash of unsweetened almond milk]]

Directions:

1. Turn on your favorite iTunes station or the latest episode of The Bachelorette.

... THEN, Pre-heat oven to 350° F :)

2. Combine Truvia, Egg, Applesauce, Vanilla Extract, Oil & Spinach in a blender or food processor and give it a whirl! Pour blended spinach liquid into a large mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt.

4. Mix the wet & dry ingredients together with a spatula- the duo will form a thick dough.

**To loosen mine up a bit, so I could fold in my blueberries, I added a splash of unsweetened almond milk.

5. Fold in said blueberries

6. Spoon dough into a greased muffin tin & place in over for 15-18 minutes.

7. Eat a muffin IMMEDIATELY after baking (just kidding, watch out for burning your mouth!). Then, portion the rest of the muffins into baggies so you can freeze or refrigerate the perfect amount.

**This recipe makes about 9-10 large muffins**

If your sweet tooth is super cray-cray & you need to take these bad boys to the next level, try drizzling a small amount of honey or agave while hot!

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Bon Appetit

xo

Healthy HOTCAKES

I found this recipe is from the 21 Day Fix Extreme Food Plan book and thought.. WOAH, pancakes!?!? If you're looking for a TASTY breakfast option to switch things up during the fix, try these!!

Ingredients:

2 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. raw cashews

dash of himalayan salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 large egg (I used egg whites)

1 tbsp. coconut oil

1 1/3 c. water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

5 cups of your fruit of choice (I used strawberries)

coconut cooking spray

Directions:

-pulse in food processor oats, cashews, salt and cinnamon until ground

-add egg, oil, vanilla and water and pulse until the batter is thick (add a little water if it seems too thick)

-spray a warm skillet with coconut spray and spoon 1/4 c. batter for each pancake. cook on each side until golden!

-you can serve with fresh fruit, OR you can warm the strawberries in the same skillet until they make their own syrup and spoon over

PS, this recipe comes out to 1 yellow container, 1/2 purple, and 1 teaspoon per serving

Blueberry Banana Bread Muffins

With my mom and youngest sister coming to town in a few days (YAY!), I decided to make a few things ahead of time.. as we usually keep busy doing things like bike rides, card games & playing with the pups.

I started paroozing for a healthy banana bread recipe, but the last few I've tried have been BAD.. with mushy/gooey insides. YUCK! I found this one through allrecipes.com and only made a couple of small changes that turned out great. Oh and I prefer muffins over bread loaves, so I switched that up too. Next time, I will find a substitution for the brown sugar!

Ingredients:

2 c. of flour (I used 1 cup of whole wheat & 1 cup of gluten free all-purpose)

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt (I used himalayan salt)

1/4 c. butter (I used 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce)

1/8 c. non-fat greek yogurt (I used 0% greek)

2 eggs

2 1/3 c. mashed bananas

2 palmfuls of blueberries (yep, palmfuls)

cinnamon

coconut oil cooking spray

Directions: 

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin tins

-Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt in a large bowl

-Beat butter (or applesauce), yogurt, & brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth

-Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth

-Stir in mashed bananas until well blended

-Pour banana mixture to flour mixture; stir until moist

-fold in blueberries

-pour batter into muffin tins

-bake for 20 minutes or until tops are golden & muffins are baked through.. let cool before storing!

*you can opt to make this in a 9x5 bread pan, but you will need to bake it for about an hour*

This recipe was adapted from:: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/healthier-banana-banana-bread/

Try this recipe and let me know what you think.. I accidentally ate 2 already! Time to go burn those carbs off.. Enjoy!