Everyday Oats, Bridges, and My Most Favorite Dinner...

So yesterday's post was pretty lame. I was just so tired though. I love blogging, but sometimes I just want to go to bed. However, it was my New Year's Resolution to blog daily, and I'm almost two months in. I'm not going to stop now!

So I've blogged about eating my everyday oats often, but never posted the recipes. To make up for yesterday's lame post, I have decided to give out a bonus oatmeal recipe! I was going to save this for October's Oats of the Month, but oh well! I'll have to think of something new!

I also got a new bag of Fair Trade Coffee last week, the Hope & Justice blend. It's a shade-grown blend of coffees from Cooperatives in Mexico and Colombia. It's pretty dark, and very delicious! It's only sold in the ground form (I prefer whole bean), but I take what I can get!

Pumpkin Spice Oats

Makes 6 servings

5 cups water

1 1/2 cups steel cut oats

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 15 oz. can organic pumpkin puree

3 tbsp. brown sugar or organic cane sugar

1 1/2 cups soy/skim milk, divided

Bring water to a boil in a large pot, whisk in oats.

Bring to a simmer, turn heat to medium-low, continue to whisk and cook for 30 minutes.

Turn heat off, whisk in cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, pumpkin and sugar.

Pour into a large dish, refrigerate.

To serve, portion out 1/6 of the oats, microwave for 2 minutes, covered.

Stir in 1/4 cup milk and enjoy!

Below is an example of how I score my oatmeal with a knife so I know what the correct portion to scoop out is each morning!

There are about 230 calories per serving in this oatmeal.

So today, Lou and I actually did go on a very successful bridges run! We did each bridge 2 times, it was really hard. I was wheezing when we finished. My legs feel GREAT though, which makes me really happy. I'm planning on doing 11 miles Saturday, so I was really happy that my legs were in great shape after the 4 miles of bridges! Lilly, his chocolate lab, ran with us, so the big drop was when she had to take a bathroom break :)

After dinner, I came home and made my most favorite dinner ever, Spaghetti and Meatballs! Except this is the super healthy version. I add a box of frozen spinach to the ground turkey breast to bulk it up and make it healthier, plus I make my own sauce, so I know that's healthy, and I add a head of broccoli florets. And of course, whole wheat pasta. YUM! If you eat pasta the right way, it's very healthy, and something you can have often and enjoy! This is a perfect example of that.

And because I know you'll ask...

Spaghetti and Meatballs 

6 oz. Barilla plus spaghetti

Marinara:
1 yellow onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 cup dry red or white wine
1 5 oz. can Italian style tomato paste (minus 2 tbsp. for meatballs)
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
Grated Parmesan cheese

Meatballs:
8 oz. 99%  lean ground turkey breast
1/2 small yellow onion, grated
1 egg white
2 tbsp. breadcrumbs (or more)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
8 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Preheat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, onions and garlic. Soften for about 5 minutes. Add seasonings, wine, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes. Fill crushed tomatoes can half way with water, swirl the can to collect all of the tomato bits, and pour into the pan. Turn to low, cover and simmer.
Add all the meatball ingredients to a bowl, gently toss to combine. Shape into 8 balls and place on a baking sheet. Put into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove meatballs from the oven, drop the into the simmering sauce to finish cooking.
Drop pasta in the boiling water and cook 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain, and add to the sauce. Toss to combine all ingredients. Plate, add parmesan and toss to combine.


Ok, I had a few questions about quinoa in the post from Tuesday. It's SO easy to make, and so healthy.
All you have to do is remember 2:1, water/stock to quinoa.
Measure your quinoa, place in a mesh strainer, and rinse for about a minute under running water.
Bring stock or water to a boil in a pot, add quinoa, bring to a simmer, turn to low.
Cook for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid is gone.
Turn heat off, cover and let quinoa sit for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff with a fork. It should be similar to cous cous in texture and the way it fluffs.
I am going to be making many more recipes in the future, so I'll be sure to link them here from my cooking blog.  All about quinoa...

So happy tomorrow's FRIDAY!!!
I'm so excited for this weekend.... can't believe a week from now I'll be packing for DISNEY!