Perfect Fall Crockpot Oats

I really don't do a lot of food posts - food is so subjective to taste - but I love reading other people's food blogs and getting new ideas even if I don't follow the recipe exactly.

This morning I tweeted to the #mamavation #breakfastclub that I was eating Crockpot oats after my run for breakfast. A couple people asked me what my secret was.

Come a little closer, I'll whisper it to you....

Sweet potato. Seriously, mashed sweet potato. I know, I was amazed too. I mean, who would think a little potato would make such a huge difference?

My other secret is milk. Anytime I try to make the oats with water they turn out bland and tasteless.

So here is the recipe for Pumpkin ./ Sweet potato Crockpot oats

Ingredients

• 1C steel cut oats - not rolled, not quick, MUST be steel cut
• 4C Milk - I use 1%
• 1/2C pumpkin puree
• 1/2C mashed sweet potato - I baked about 10 sweet potatoes in the Crockpot, they slid right out of their skins and I have been adding them to all kinds of baked goods. Gave me about a quart of mashed sweet potato
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, ginger, cloves, to taste - I add about 2tsp cinnamon and a few good dashes of everything else
• 1tsp vanilla - best quality you can get

Pour everything in the pot, stir, cover, if your pot has a timer that will turn to warm set it on for 4-5 hours and leave it on warm until ready to eat. If you don't have a slow cooker with a timer set it to low, and check it in the middle of the night, switch it to warm after about 4-5 hours.

I make these before bed and breakfast is warm and ready in the morning. Depending on how much you scoop out there are easily 6-8 servings, and it makes a very hearty  breakfast.

You can reheat this in the microwave, on the stove top with a little more milk, or in the over at 500* for 5-10 minutes. I use the oven method because it is easier to clean and I don't have a microwave :)

And next time I make this, I will take pictures of all the steps and stages.

Do you have a go-to recipe you have perfected? 

Are you a breakfast eater? What is your normal breakfast fare?

429 days

It is 429 days until I turn 35 (and 63 days until 34, for those of you who are counting :)). I am sitting here, thinking about that and trying to plot out what I want to achieve for myself before I hit that birthday. I want to have goals, to have a list I can cross off to see the things I have accomplished before I hit 35. So what do I want

1. I want to lose 100lbs
2. I want to run the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon or the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon (preferably both)
3. I want to graduate college
4. I want to get a job teaching
5. I want  to get better at housekeeping

What do I need to do to accomplish these goals?
1. I want to lose 100lbs

• I need to eat clean
• I need to watch my portion sizes
• I need to eat when I am hungry, not just by the clock
• I need to get out and move everyday
• I need to plan my meals, and not just eat whatever because I am tired and bored

2. I want to run the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon or the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon (preferably both)

• I need to train seriously for a race of this distance
• I need to come up with the money for the registration fee, transportation, lodging, and park passes for Jacques, the boys, and me
• I need a job that I can work around school, pay my bills AND save money for this (or friends and family that want to help me by all going in together giving me the trip for my birthday and Christmas hint hint!)

3. I want to graduate college

• study, study, study
• check with the registrar to make sure there are no other classes I need besides the ones I am planning for next semester

4. I want to get a job teaching

• I need to graduate college
• take my last 2 certification exams and the Praxis so I can teach out of state if necessary
• get my name and face out to area school districts by applying to substitute teach

5. I want to get better at housekeeping

• stop procrastinating
• devote an hour every day to keeping things picked up and organized
• get up early on Saturdays to power clean 1 room of the house before everyone else is out of bed

Sorry for the wordy post, but I needed to get my wants/needs/goals down in black and white so I could plan them out and really take a look at what I need to do to have the life I want.

Why do I ever doubt clean eating?

I keep hoping that something else will make me lose weight fast. Really fast. If I could wake up tomorrow 118lbs lighter than I am right now I would think it a miracle. And then I would go shopping. So I flit from program to program and eating fad to eating fad. I know what works for me:

• Carbs late in the day make me tired and hungry. 
• Denying myself chocolate all the time makes me cranky. 
• Peanut butter makes me want to binge.
• I cannot eat 1oz of cheese unless 1oz is all I have.
• If I don't eat breakfast when I get up it will take me about four hours to eat. And then I eat a lot.
• Steaming broccoli when I am still hungry at the end of a meal
• As tired as I am when I get up at 4:30 and workout I feel better the rest of the day.
• And when I don't eat clean nothing goes right.

So I know what I need to do. I need to eat clean. Whole grains, lean proteins, lots of fruits and vegetables. Planning my meals - for the whole week, not just the next day. Make sure dinner will be quick to cook when I get home or in the Crockpot before I leave (I hate eating dinner after 8PM all the time!). Use the advice, recipes, support and insight I get from my online friends, my blogger friends, my clean eating friends, my magazines, and my smart wonderful hubby - the hubby that just bought me a new George Foreman grill/waffle maker/baking dish/slider maker! Should be here Monday night and I cannot weight!

I am going to go snuggle up with the hubster. I am excited for my plan for tomorrow - for my plan for my life. I feel good. 

Groovin' & Movin'

258.8
ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Circuit 2

Okay, so the weekend of being in the car, eating crap and not working out have certainly caught up with me. I've had virtually no water in the last 5 days - a by-product of the dogs eating all of my good water bottles (planning on hitting Walgreens this afternoon and getting an aluminum one) and not carrying my water with me. I took action this morning though and even though I overslept - and dropped the boys of at daycare almost an hour late - I did get my workout done! Yay me!

I am also proud of my grocery shopping prowess earlier this month. When I go shopping again next Friday (when we can afford it) we will still have some supplies left from my earlier trip! Actually using the Crockpot Lady Site and planning my meals has helped so much. Tonight is going to be burgers, fries (for the boys) and veggies, tomorrow chili, Wednesday lemon chicken, Thursday Baked Penne, Friday left overs, Saturday "Brinner" with whole wheat buttermilk pancakes and apple cider syrup (from the Apple Farm) and Sunday beef stew or Pot roast. I love the feeling of having my whole week planned out already. After the stress of the weekend I feel much better overall.