End of School Countdown Day 6 - Breakfast

Oops! A day late on my end of school countdown. Oh well, better late than never right?  Since I have to drive so far to school (about 45 minutes) I usually leave pretty early in the morning and I am not usually hungry at the crack of dawn.  I usually need something healthy, filling, and on the go. Here are my three favorite go to breakfasts from this school year.


Creamy Chocolate Avocado Smoothie from Against All Grain

I know you are thinking, ok Heather, a smoothie for breakfast? That's not really filling... Trust me, this one is! It has avocado, banana, almond butter, almond milk; it really does fill you up and keeps you satisfied for a while.  I think it is absolutely delicious and you really can't taste the avocado.


Overnight Maple Blueberry Oatmeal

Oh my gosh, I just love this. This has been my go to breakfast for so long for so many reasons: it's easy, you can make it the night before, it is so portable because you can make it in a half pint mason jar.... I really just can't say enough good things about this.  When blueberries are on sale I buy a ton of them and then flash freeze them. That way I can make this year round no matter if I have fresh blueberries or not! I just put a small handful of frozen ones in when I make it the night before and they turn out perfect the next day.


Avocado Toast

I don't really know how healthy this is, but it is darn tooting good. Just grab some bread, whatever your poison is and toast it. Put some Veganaise on it and top with some sliced avocado. Smush the avocado a little bit, put some Spike seasoning* on it, and a little squirt of lemon juice.  Sooo delicious!

*If you haven't tried Spike seasoning you should because it is pretty tasty. You can find it in most grocery stores in the dry spices section.

What are your go to early morning breakfasts? Do you have time to eat breakfast at home in the morning or do you have to take it on the go like I do?

End of School Countdown Day 10 - Coffee

COFFEE...

How I love thee.  

I understand everyone may not appreciate this post because not everyone likes coffee. My husband hates it and I have been perhaps a little persistent (aka downright forceful) at trying to get him to like it. I have this fantasy that when we are old and retired we will drink coffee together in the mornings in our rocking chairs out on our fabulous porch. And that fantasy just gets ruined if he is drinking a soda! But I digress, back to the topic at hand. :)

I don't know about you all, but there are some mornings that I just want iced coffee. Especially here in Phoenix, it gets so toasty the last thing you want to do is cuddle up to a nice mug of hot joe.  Iced coffee is such a pain because if you pour hot coffee over ice, it just gets all watered down and then you have this weird cold, watery, burnt tasting coffee. Yum...

I saw on a blog the idea to make iced coffee overnight in your french press and it is AMAZING and totally works.

The night before when you are getting ready for the next day, put however much coffee you would normally use in your french press with however much water you would normally use on top of that. I usually pour in two cups of water and add in 4 heaping tablespoons to that.  That might be a lot or too little, everyone is a little different about how much coffee they put in their machine.  

Ignore my messy fridge.

Stir together and push the lever down, just to the liquid level and then stow away in your fridge over night. The next morning, push down the lever into that dark mud liquid gold and that my friends is the best iced coffee you are ever going to make at home.  I usually just add milk or half and half at this point and enjoy!

A little variation that I have done in the past is to add like 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and part of a cinnamon stick (2 inch piece) to the coffee liquid the night before and that's delicious! More of a special occasion iced coffee.

If you love sweetened coffee but want a more natural sweetener, you can mix a little maple syrup into your milk or half and half.  Swirl them together in the glass first and then add your iced coffee and that is super delicious too.  

Have you all ever tried this? If you don't own a french press and are a coffee fan, you should definitely make thine way to a store nearest you to purchase one.  They are amazing!  I hope some of you can use this "recipe" and share any variations that you discover with all of us! 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! We are getting ready to celebrate all day long with our family and friends.  Since George's parents are divorced, we often have two different celebrations every holiday. My parents live in Texas otherwise we would be having three today! That's a whole lotta food (not that I'm complaining...).

I was in charge of desserts for the first stop on our Easter food bonanza. Here's what I made...

Frozen Key Lime Pie - find the recipe here. My limes look a little gross since they have been in the freezer. I will probably replace those with fresh limes when we leave.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes - find the recipe here. I used a German Chocolate cake box mix for the actual cake part because I made homemade caramel sauce. I had to cut myself a break somewhere! I hope Martha Stewart doesn't read this.

I hope everyone has a fabulous day filled with love and happiness!

The Most Ridiculously Delicious Tea

My break is dwindling down. Isn't that the worst when you just slowly watch your days off tick away? You try to ignore it and tell yourself to focus on the present, don't focus on how many days you have left. I can never do that, I wake up and go "Well it's Thursday, only a few days left..." Haha, it's a chipper way to start my morning. Does anyone else do this or is it just me?

I had to share a new favorite thing with you these days.  I absolutely love tea! Of course I also love coffee, hot chocolate, hot toddys, pretty much any beverage at an above tepid temperature. If you are the same, you are going to LOVE this festive tea.

I walked into Teavana a few weeks ago. I really wasn't planning on buying anything because it really isn't cheap, but then I tasted the white chocolate peppermint tea and it was all over.  If you could drink a holiday, this would be it. It is sooo good!

I think I paid $12 for 2 ounces which is a little pricey, but it has really lasted because you only use a teaspoon and a half for each cup.  You will need a tea ball because all of their teas are loose leaf. I bought this one and love it.

You should try it, you won't regret it.  Do you have a favorite holiday drink?

Beer Float?

Sounds weird, I know, but hear me out. If you get a really yummy porter or stout and combine it with vanilla ice cream, it's actually not half bad.

Random Side Note: What is it about a pint of ice cream that has been sitting out for a while that looks so irresistible? Is it the frosty exterior, the anticipation of melty oozy goodness, or what? Anyway, back to the cocktail...

It's pretty simple and I am not really sure why I felt the need to do a picture step my step directions. In fact, I don't think I even need to type anything here. Let's see if it works!

Got it?? Last step, drink! It's yummy! It is definitely an acquired taste, but I think you are woman or man enough. Enjoy!

Chimichurri

Raise your hand if you love cilantro!  I love it, a lot of people hate it. Someone I know thinks it tastes like soap... Weird.  Anyway, if you love it, this sauce is totally for you. It's nothing new, but I never realized how many different uses it has!  All chimichurri recipes are pretty similar, but this is what I have been making.

Chimichurri

1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves minced garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Giant pinch of salt

Blend it all together in a food processor and enjoy!  I would let it sit for a while to let all of the flavors combine before you use it.   It's such a beautiful vibrant green color!

I made this Indian turkey kebab dinner the other night and I not only stirred in the chimichurri into the corn, but also the brown rice. It was heaven on a plate. You have to try it!

Happy eating!

Grapfruit Fizz

I don't know why, but I have been on a cocktail kick. I always love getting fancy cocktails out and about but usually I don't make them at home. Not anymore!  I saw a recipe for this one and changed it a little, but it's based off of it.

Grapefruit Gin Fizz

2 ounces gin
1/2 to 1 ounce simple syrup* depending on how sweet you want it
Grapefruit juice
Club soda
Lots of ice

Combine the gin and simple syrup together. Add plenty of ice and splosh in some grapefruit juice. Top it off with some club soda to make it fizzy.

This is so delicious and refreshing for the hot summer time. It helped with this situation happening here...

*Simple syrup is super easy to make and I use it in a lot of different cocktails. Just dissolve equal parts of white sugar and water (I usually do 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water). Heat it up until all sugar has dissolved, cool it down, and then store it in the fridge for up to a month for a variety of uses!

Breakfast

Lazy weekend mornings are my favorite! I love making breakfast for my G and myself and this one was a new recipe based on one I had seen on Pinterest. This keeps your super full and is protein packed.

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes (based from Sophie's Sweeties OnSugar blog)

 Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 of a banana, mashed
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbs. maple syrup (or one packet of sweetener)
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tbs. almond milk or milk
• Oil spray or coconut oil
• Various berries, banana, maple syrup, coconut, nuts, or whatever for toppings

Tip: I mash up my banana on a plate with a fork and that makes it super easy. 

Mix all ingredients up. It's going to look a little gross, but trust me, it does turn into a pancake.

Spray your pan down. I have also used coconut oil and melted it in the pan first which works just as good.

Cook on each side over medium heat for around 4 minutes. Flipping it is a little tricky because the pancake is huuuuge.

Add berries or bananas.

If you want to be really naughty you can add more maple syrup. You know you would've too, don't lie.

This a fast recipe that you could probably make even on a weekday morning. If you don't like oatmeal, you definitely won't like these. I know that sounds obvious, but the texture is very "oatmeal-ish".

Nutrition Information (without berries or additional maple syrup as toppings)
Calories: 180 
Fat:  1
Carbs: 34 
Protein: 11
Sodium: 129
Sugar: 23