Posted on

Recipe: Yogurt Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Both Bobby and I have a major weakness for really good oatmeal raisin cookies. I also happen to have a jar of homemade yogurt in my fridge from my dad’s girlfriend (she makes it from raw milk they buy in PA!) that I wanted to do something with aside from yogurt breakfast bowls.

So I set out to experiment with a yogurt based oatmeal raisin cookie. It came out GREAT. I will warn you – these are not very sweet (on purpose) and could probably be eaten for breakfast or a healthy/hearty snack – but in my mind they are also the perfect dessert.

I haven’t gotten Kurt into these yet (to be honest, he doesn’t like ANY sweets, and thank goodness – have you ever met a 20 month old boy who doesn’t want candy? That’s my son) but that’s ok… more for us.

IMG_0684

Here’s the simple recipe:

Yogurt Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2.5 cups whole oats
  • heaping 1/3 cup raisins
  • 1/3 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Mix together the yogurt, sugar, egg, vanilla.
  3. Separately, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Add the flour mix into the wet mix; mix well.
  5. Add the oats, raisins, and coconut – mix well.
  6. Make large (1/3 cup or so) scoops of the dough into round cookie shapes and bake for 13-15 minutes on a baking pan sprayed with Pam.

This made 8 very large cookies. If you prefer smaller ones, reduce the cooking time by about 2 minutes to accommodate that!

Hope you get a chance to enjoy these yummy healthy yogurty oatmeal raisin cookies!

And Happy New Year if I don’t check in before then!

Posted on

Simple Lunch Stirfry Recipe and Siggi’s Probiotic Breakfast Review

i made this stir-fry for lunch yesterday (Tuesday, 1/24):

I decided to bring my lunch to work this week. We do have a cafeteria at the office, but it’s not that healthy. This stirfry is made up of:

  • broccoli + broccoli stalk (you don’t have to throw that part out – it’s great sauteed)
  • red pepper
  • can of tuna
  • frozen corn
  • fresh cilantro
  • garlic + chili powder
  • cooked in bacon fat (I save this each time I make bacon)

I had a sesame bagel alongside the stirfry.

I also vowed to bring breakfast. I normally shy away from drinking my calories, but I have found several drinks to be quite delicious as of late, in particular:

This is Siggi’s probiotic drinkable non-fat yogurt in plain (it also comes in strawberry). I don’t like siggi’s greek yogurt (too thick) but I did find this drinkable yogurt to have a good consistency (not too thick, not too thin — just right!) and flavor. I added some cinnamon to mine before drinking up. Only 45 calories in this small bottle which leaves plenty of room for other breakfast goodies like no-sugar scones.

What do you put in stirfrys? Do you drink your calories or save them for chewing?

Posted on

A Girly Breakfast – Yogurt and Fruit

You know, I really enjoy my manly breakfasts, but sometimes all a girl wants is some sweet cherries, creamy yogurt, and peanut butter. Loooots of peanut butter.

In this case, loooots of PB2. Yep, I still order PB2 – I try not to use it too often as it’s expensive, but I pull it out at least a few times a week. I’m still plugging away at the shipment I got over a year ago (16 jars, I think).

This breakfast bowl consists of:

  • Fage 2% Greek yogurt (almost a cup?)
  • ~1/2 cup of chopped cherries (I keep typing “cheeries“)
  • 2 tablespoons of PB2, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
  • a few drops of vanilla stevia

I’ve had it every morning this week for breakfast! I wonder when I will get tired of it.

***

In other news, I have slooooowly been going back through my old posts and editing them. I have found some great old recipes if you want to check them out! It’s really interesting to me to see how my taste has evolved (but in some cases not evolved at all) over the years.

Blueberry Muffins (no picture – first post)

Tofu Apple Butter Dip

Vegan Tofu Fruit Dip (great with apples)

Apples and Brussels Sprouts

Apples and Brussels Sprouts

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread Picture

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

These were all baked in a very old, decrepit kitchen in Collegetown in Ithaca, NY. They were tried by roommates and friends. I think I remember the oatmeal bread being a favorite – I’m pretty sure I made it several times.

***

What is your favorite thing to make for people? What is your favorite breakfast? Do you like fruit and yogurt as much as I do?

Posted on

Walking the Happy Walk & the Aisle

I have had a really amazing 6 day streak of happiness. Ever since Wednesday night I’ve been over the moon. Since I’m in such a good mood I wanted to give an update about the thing that makes me the happiest girl in the world: getting married to Bobby, the most amazing man I have ever met! (The engagement post is here.) I am also excited about a product review that I’m going to do for a company that sells bar stools – stay tuned 🙂 Maybe I will get some bar stools for my wedding, hehe.

We have picked a place for the ceremony – the meetinghouse I grew up going to in Yardley, PA. Here is a nice picture (this is in the winter):

They are so sweet – when my dad told them I was getting married they blocked off every weekend in July for us (we still haven’t picked the exact date).

Now for the reception! We have a few options. We may be able to have it at the meetinghouse, if we can get them to let us have wine and beer (Quakers typically do not drink, myself included). If that doesn’t work out, we will likely have it at my parents’ house in New Jersey. My really sweet Auntie Jo and Uncle Morris (remember our gingerbread houses?) offered their house (in Flushing) for the reception as well – they have a great backyard. I think we will have a party there this summer anyway even if we don’t hold the reception there.

Speaking of Auntie Jo, we took a really awesome cooking class last week… I must update about that. Soon, I promise. It was called “Eat Local, Drink Global” and the focus was fish. The very talented Peter Berley was the teacher. I think Bobby is jealous of my celebrity crush on him.

Onto the food! Here are some yummy things I have eaten recently: frozen yogurt from Berrywild – The Art of Yogurt.

Berrywild has two kinds of yogurt – “berry smooth” and “kinda icy”. Bobby and I both got “kinda icy”. So good! I will definitely go back. Bobby always gets toppings but I am too cheap for them.

I like to switch up my morning breakfast grains (when I go for grains). This is grits with lots of cinnamon (that’s why it’s kind of brown and looks like oat bran). I topped it with agave nectar and coconut oil.

I don’t understand what the difference is between coconut oil and coconut butter. The oil is solid at room temperature, so it’s kind of buttery. The butter melts really easily just like the oil. Are they the same?

I went through a phase once where I did not eat much oil or any fats in general, and I was miserable. I couldn’t get full not matter how much I ate, I was cold, my skin was dry, and I was cranky as hell. Healthy fats can be revitalizing for your skin, hair, hormones, etc… Fats are so necessary in a healthy diet! I would even go so far as to say that eating more fat will help you lose weight, provided that you don’t overdo it. When I eat more carbs and less fats, I gain weight; when I do the opposite, I lose (or maintain, if I want to).

What’s your favorite healthy fat? I think mine is coconut oil or butter. Love them both.

Posted on

Back to the grind!

Yoga

This morning I woke up to do a quickie yoga routine.  I found this new site by an instructor named Eion Finn.  Cool name right?  That link has a bunch of free podcasts ranging from 25 minutes to 1.5 hours.  I have done one 25-minute and I liked it a lot.  It’s not as vigorous as some of the yogadownload.com sessions, but it is still a decent workout.  It’s perfect for gently waking up or a nighttime practice.

Breakfast

  • 1 cup of raspberry lowfat yogurt
  • 1 hot vitabrownie
  • (mashed together)
  • 1 apple

After breakfast I went for a walk (1 hour, first finishing my book – Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin – and then on the phone with momma then dada).

Lunch

  • 2 large plates of Greek salad (with feta): sliced tomatoes, romaine, hot peppers, onions, and other typical Greek salad toppings.
  • No dressing (feta was enough)
  • Apple on the side

Snack

  • Another apple (3 for the day…)
  • Warmed Chocolate Brownie Zbar (I think I have Zbars every day.  They are too good.)

Yoga

After work I did a 1.5 hour Ashtanga yoga class!  I took the same class on Wednesday after work as well.  The teacher is fantastic and I love it.  I might buy a membership to this studio.  For now I just bought 10 classes that expire in a year.  The studio is Yoga is Youthfulness in downtown Mountain View.  My teacher is Mojdeh.  Her main critique of my self-taught yoga was that I need to learn to tame my flexibility.

Dinner

For dinner I had to cook up a squash that was starting to mold. I cut off the small part that had the mold and baked it up into squash fries.  I made a meal of it, topped with organic ketchup. Bobby had food that I brought home from work today – Greek stuff.

Dessert

  • 2 apples (is this seriously 5 apples in a day)
  • A couple T of peanut butter.  I think peanut butter will always be my favorite nut butter.  I do enjoy almond butter and I have a gigantic jar in my fridge, but in the end – every time I have PB I reconfirm it as the best.

Like my spoon?  I got it at Crate&Barrel.  I also got a cute blue appetizer spoon.  The bowl is from there too.

Bobby and I are watching Amelie now.  It’s one of our favorites.  I adore French, Italian, and German movies because I speak those languages (at diff levels).

What’s your favorite movie?