Blueberry Overnight Oats

I’m (Fit, here) back again! Two posts in a row. Crazy, right? I know I’ve been off the blog for a while, but I thought I’d pop in a bit more to share some recipes. And today’s recipe is…Blueberry Overnight Oats! Overnight oats may seem like a trendy breakfast you’ll only find in Los Angeles, but there’s more to it than just the fad. Overnight oats is (are?) a timesaver. It’s a nice colder alternative to traditional oatmeal, especially nice in the warmer months. And you can get really creative with the ingredients you put inside.

We nicked this recipe from the lovely Fit Foodie Finds and made it our own. If you haven’t checked her out, head on over–lots of great recipes to find there. This overnight oats recipe is all about the blueberries! Though, again, overnight oats can be whatever you want to put in, as long as you have a liquid. It’s so incredibly easy to throw these ingredients together and enjoy them the next day in a nice chilled bowl!

Feb072014

Maple Orange Butter Recipe

If you’re looking for a super simple, delicious recipe, then you’ve come to the right place! This post directly follows yesterday’s post as the two go together perfectly! This maple orange butter goes great on tons of things: muffins, pancakes, toast, waffles, scones–you name it! I took this right out of the Cuisinart mixer cookbook and it was so good, I wanted to share. Easy as 1-2-3!

Creation Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
zest of 1 orange (I did two clementines)

Directions

1. Beat the butter in a bowl until nice and light

2. Grate the orange into zest and mix that in along with the maple syrup

3. Refrigerate until ready to serve

Yeah, I was serious…1-2-3! Whip this up in five minutes to make another baked product have some shazaam! It’s easy, it’s delicious, it’s butter! Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: Do you ever used flavored butters?

BONUS KITTY PIC

Dec092013

Sugar Cookie Chex Party Mix Recipe

This weekend, Chris and I attended our first blogging event. Chex had researched the blogs in the Colorado area and we popped up on their list! We drove down to the Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree (which is BEAUTIFUL) and attended the event for about an hour. The bloggers were all female and a slightly older demographic. Everybody was super friendly and it was great to meet other bloggers, especially some of who I follow daily like Dinners, Dishes and Desserts. We spent half the time trying out the easy peasy Chex holiday recipes and then the other half bundling up the goodies in little gift boxes and bags. All the recipes we learned were easy and delicious–perfect for procrastinators like me for gift-giving. And then Chex sent all of us home with goodie bags that we very much appreciated. Thank you, Chex! It was hard picking one recipe out of the many we tried, but I’m going with the Sugar Cookie Chex mix. Now onto the yummy stuff…

Their setup

Ingredients

6 cups Rice Chex cereal
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
SPRINKLES!!

Ingredients all ready for us! Very nice

Directions

Put the cereal in a large bowl that can be microwaved
Line a baking sheet with some wax paper or foil for when you are finished
Get your butter melted, whether through the oven, microwave or other means
Mix the regular sugar and corn syrup into the butter, then microwave to loosen everything up
Stir in the vanilla.
Pour the mixture over the warmed up cereal and stir it so it is mixed properly. Also add in the white chocolate chips at this time
Microwave for 2 minutes
Sprinkle with the powdered sugar and really spread the sugar around
Now let’s lay the delicious cereal mixture onto that lined baking sheet. Sprinkle those sprinkles on top and have fun with it!

Amazingly delicious and simple

And that’s it. You can absolutely make this in under 15 minutes, no problem. If you prefer the oven, go for that! Next time when I do it on my own, I will probably substitute the corn syrup for some sugar and water. This dish is really delicious and it’s perfect for the holidays and school parties. Take advantage of it! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: What is your favorite holiday treat?

BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria and I watching kitty videos

Nov092013

Jazz Up Your Ramen

Chris has a serious ramen obsession, and I mean with all kinds. Since we don’t have a usual ramen place here in Boulder, we usually go with the packaged stuff. Now I rarely ever eat that packaged stuff, because it’s not the best for you. However, I did get him off the Top Ramen crap and now he eats the stuff that actually gets imported from Japan (a little more expensive, but worth it). Most people who have ramen have just that–just the noodles with hot water. I, however, dare you to jazz it up a little! Make it healthier! There are many ways to do this, but this is how we did it.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
Serving Size: 2

Finished product…oh so good

Ingredients

2 packets of Sapporo Ichiban ramen
2 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 cups spinach
1/3 block firm tofu
2-3 eggs

Directions

First, fill up a pot with water, about 4 inches of water. Start on high heat, aiming for a boil. Put the soy sauce in the water
Cut up the tofu into squares or thin strips
Wait for it to start boiling, and then put in the tofu
Turn down the heat slightly and let the tofu boil for about 20 or so minutes (I went and took a shower during this time)
Now it’s time to add the spinach or whatever kind of greens you want. Stir them around so they get submerged

Boiling boiling boiling

When you’re two minutes out, go ahead and crack the eggs into the boiling pot
Get out the ramen packets. You can use the flavoring if you want. Put into large bowls so that you have room for all the other fun stuff

Now slowly start to pour the contents of the pot into the bowls, you want to try to get the liquid out first and pour as evenly as you can. Then the other stuff will come plopping out too. And that’s basically it! Make sure to let the ramen sit a little bit so the noodles can expand

Not as appetizing as it tasted, but this is what it might look like when you first pour it

This is a quick meal with carbs, proteins, and fats in it to make it well-rounded. Yes, it’s still ramen from a package, but it certainly didn’t taste or feel that way after jazzing it up. Again, this is just one way of doing it. Next time I might add ground turkey for Chris’, more greens, and play with it! Add nutrients to food to stay hungry and fit!

Chris ended up finishing mine too…no surprises here

BONUS KITTY PIC

The cats FINALLY realized Dovah exists last night. They were so curious and interested they didn’t want to sleep

Aug222013

No-Bake, No-Sugar Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Woah, what a title. Are you out of breath? Well you should be, because these are delicious. I took the recipe from this blog (which I think will be a new favorite of mine) and took out the sugar and reduced the butter. The other day, I was simply craving to bake something, but we didn’t have many ingredients in the house. We did, however, have these ingredients. This is such an easy recipe to make such decadent cookies. And you don’t even have to turn on the oven! Amen to that for hot summer nights.

Piled up, ready for eatage

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Baking Time: …0 minutes
Makes: 9 (I cut the recipe in half, if you want to double it, the way OMFG So Good did it, go for it!)

Ingredients

2 cups oats
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
3/4 stick butter
1/4 cup agave or honey

Directions

Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, cocoa powder, butter, and honey.

I just thought it looked pretty

Mix and stir until butter is melted.
Bring to a boil for a little over a minute and then take off heat

Boiling boiling boiling

Once off the heat, stir in the peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Stir it real well, getting it as smooth as you can with such ingredients.

All stirred up!

Use an ice cream scooper (this is the perfect way to do it!) and scoop a ball of each and plop it on your baking sheet.
Once they’re all lined up, let them cool for a bit and then put them in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Once nice and cool, go ahead and serve! It’s delicious with a glass of milk (almond or regular, your choice)

Ready to be gobbled up

And that’s it! Pretty simple, huh? I give thanks again to OMFG So Good (brilliant blog title too) for bringing this to my attention. And by bringing, I mean I hunted the recipe down. These are very decadent cookies, rich with the mixed combination of chocolate and peanut butter (Reese’s, anyone?). That is a combination I can near never refuse. This recipe has plenty of protein, fiber, and unsaturated fat to keep you satisfied in the afternoon! Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria exploring the shower…

Aug052013

Easy Chicken Parm Recipe [Made By a Vegetarian!]

This is my first time making Chicken Parmesan (or better known–Chicken Parm) and I think I did pretty darn well! I’m a vegetarian, so I can’t taste while I cook, which I don’t particularly like, but I was able to feel it out and follow directions and made ’em nice and tasty. I found this easy recipe here and changed it to fit what I wanted. This is a quick fix for any hungry meat-eater and boy did Chris like it!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 7-10 minutes
Serves: 2-3 people (or JUST Chris)

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup marinara sauce (I used homemade)

Directions

Wrap the chicken breasts in some plastic wrap. AND BEAT IT! JUST BEAT IT! Really, smack the heck out of it until it’s around 1/3 inch thickness. Or just eye it.
In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, and oregano. In another bowl, combine the egg and salt.
Now roll those smacked-up chicken breasts first in egg and salt mix, and then, once coated in that, roll it in the breadcrumb mixture. Really coat it.

Heat up some oil and once it’s nice and hot, place those breaded-up suckers in. It should only need about 3 minutes on each side, but just keep an eye on them until they’re golden brown. The original recipe calls for putting mozzarella on top, but, ummm, I forgot to put it on and it was just fine without it.

Heat up some marinara sauce (I made mine from scratch) and pour on top of the beautiful golden breaded chicken and serve!

It was delicious and Chris literally ate all 4 chicken breasts. I served it with a broccoli-zucchini mix on the side. It’s the perfect meal for after work because it takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s DELICIOUS. It feeds a whole family if you don’t have a freak like Chris who can eat the world (hi Vishnu). Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

yum!

Homemade sauce

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Close-up

Jul242013

5-Minute Protein Pancakes

So I’m still prepping for contest, so I’m upping my protein and lowering carbs somewhat. It’s about two hours before my second workout (just cardio) and my tummy is rumbling. Hmmm…what to eat? I don’t want to eat any straight-up carbs (during this LAST week of contest, I’ll get my carbohydrate grams from other sources like veggies and shakes) like cereal or oatmeal, I don’t feel like having tunafish or a salad, but I could always use more protein. Hmm…oh yes–protein pancakes! I had played around with a recipe before, didn’t quite get it how I wanted it, so I used this recipe and altered it a bit to fit my needs. It’s extremely easy and filled me up without feeling sluggish.

Oooooh yes!

Jul182013

Quinoa Chia Bowl

I always like saying quinoa the wrong way (“kih-no-ah”) just to bug Chris, so it’s always great when it’s in my life more frequently. This is an easy (PEASY) recipe that is perfect for breakfast, but will serve as a nice refreshing snack anytime of the day. I was inspired by Happy Fit Mama when she instagrammed a picture of this dish. I had to try! It fit my clean-eating perfectly. After all, I’m getting close to the end of contest prep! She gave me the ingredients she used, but I went ahead and created the recipe with measurements and all. Kinda winged it, but it worked! Enjoy this perfect recipe for summer living.

Mmmmmm!

Macros (for 1 serving)

Serves: 2
Calories: 208
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 33g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 8.3g

Ingredients

3/8 cup uncooked quinoa
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp drizzled honey
1/2 cup Silk Vanilla Unsweetened Almondmilk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
Mix together the quinoa, cinnamon, chia seeds, and honey in a small dish that can be put in the oven

Mixed up and ready for bake-age!

Put in the oven for about 15-20 minutes (until well-bonded and kinda crisp)

THIS is the proper serving. If you eat the whole thing, double the macros at the top of the post

Pour 1/2 cup almond milk over and enjoy!

Mmmmmm!

Yeah it’s that easy. And I was able to have the other half for breakfast the next morning! Talk about a good deal. The texture of the chia seeds after baking and then drowned in almond milk is next to perfect. It feels like a truly wholesome meal whether you have it for breakfast or any other meal of the day. Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Sajah trying to help me with work

Jul132013

Easy Korean-Style Beef Bowl

If you know us, we love Korean food (as Chris spent a summer in South Korea and consequently fell in love with the culture he had already been into). So when I stumbled upon this fantastic easy (ridiculously easy) recipe by one of my favorite food bloggers, I had to recreate it (altered it slightly)! Mine may not look as pretty, mostly because it was all for Chris so he got the entire beef bowl (4 servings) so that you can’t see the rice (oops!). My version of the recipe has less sugar, less spice (Chris has a Geographic Tongue, so he can’t have spice), and brown rice instead of white. Makes it a little bit healthier, but it was healthy from the start. He had worked a long day at work, and I was taking a rest day on workouts, so I decided to make him something that he would love and fill him up...Korean style!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 3-4 normal people (Chris ate it all)

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame teriyaki sauce
1/4 crushed red-pepper flakes [you can use more if you like spice]
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon oil
1.5 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
cooked brown rice

Directions

Mix together the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame teriyaki sauce, ginger, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. It’d be best to use a fork or a whisk to really blend everything together.

Leave that to the side. Heat up the oil in a saucepan over medium to high heat. Add the chopped garlic to the oil

Once you get that lovely cooking garlic smell, it’s time to throw the ground beef in. Cook it until it’s browned, breaking it up as you do. Could take 4-8 minutes depending on your stove. While it’s cooking, chop up your green onions.

So purdy

Drain the excess fat (ew). Stir in the magical mixture we created at the start, letting it get to all of the meat and soak up the flavor. Add the green onions as well. By this time, it will be smelling goooood.

And serve over rice! It’s smart to cook it beforehand so it’s ready there waiting for you.

You won’t be able to see the rice in my dish, because it’s smothered by the beef! It was such an easy, quick recipe (perfect for summer days when it’s too hot to cook a lot), I would do it again in a heartbeat. Chris loved it and literally ate the whole pound of ground beef plus the rice. Guess it was alright. Thanks to DamnDelicious for the recipe and use it to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC

Sajah watching me cook

Jul012013

Kiwi Recipe: Bubble and Squeak [Leftover Magic]

If you know me, or if you’ve been reading long enough, you’ll know that I’m half-Kiwi (meaning half “New Zealandish”). My mum is from New Zealand and thus I grew up with a lot of different cultural things coming from her. As you know, New Zealand is a part of the Commonwealth, and so it takes things from England and either keeps it the same or changes it. New Zealand, by the way, is the best place ever with the best people ever, and we can’t wait to someday move there (dual-citizenship comes in handy). Alana, what’s this back story for?! It’s for the recipe I’m about to share with you, Bubble & Squeak.

You can read that link if you’d like, but I’ll give you a short description here. Many mornings, if we had leftover mashed potatoes from the night before, mum would make me bubble and squeak. It’s a little different than the one you’ll read about in that link, because my mum would normally just use potatoes (if you have other leftover vegetables like carrots or broccoli, you can use them too). She would put the mashed potatoes into a cast-iron skillet and just continually let them cook, then scrape them, cook them, scrape them. This results in a delicious manner of browned mashed potatoes, as best as I can describe. Once it’s browned all over, you serve it on some toast and pour lemon juice over it. My mouth is watering as I write this and making me miss home! Alright, let’s get down to the details.

Yum, ready to go!

Prep Time: 0-2 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients

leftover mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes, that’s what is in these pictures. You could even have boiled taters and mash them for this specific meal if you really want)
toast
lemon

Directions

Take out mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or any leftover vegetables out and mash them into the potatoes

Mashed up white sweet potatoes

You can salt and pepper it if you wish. Now cast-iron is best, but make do with whatever you have. Put that vegetable mix or mashed potatoes into the frying pan. You can put a little oil in if you wish, but really we just want to let it brown and keep scraping it and turning it. So, turn up the heat!

Put on a piece of bread to toast
Once you’ve gotten your mash nice and brown, go ahead and serve right on top of the toast. Drench it with lemon juice (we squeeze lemons on top).
You can cut it in half and eat it like toast or just use a fork and knife

Yum, ready to go!

It is sooooooo good. And it’s such an easy thing to prepare for any meal. The combination of tastes between the lemon and browned mash makes you want more and more. This is something I will continue to use and thank my mum for making it for me during my childhood. This is a sure-fire easy recipe to keep you hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC