When I saw Chocolate Covered Katie post a recipe for baked pumpkin oatmeal for one, I immediately jotted down the recipe and tucked it away.
As with most recipes I randomly write down or rip out of magazines, I totally forgot about it until I was sorting through a small stack of papers last night.
There it was! And my breakfast for this morning was born.
I followed Katie’s recipe exactly and prepared my baked oatmeal last night in a mini loaf pan.
I let it cool overnight in the fridge and this morning I served my individual portion along with a sliced nectarine, dusted with nutmeg.
I loved every last bite of this breakfast. The baked oatmeal tasted fantastic nice and cold, though I’m sure it would be amazing hot as well. The texture was dense and the flavor reminded me of oatmeal pumpkin spice cookies.
I cannot wait to make this recipe again! I have a bunch of different ideas for add-ins including coconut, protein powder, nuts and berries… and butterscotch chips once Lent is over.
I inhaled this breakfast while Sadie chewed on a ginormous stick.
I think she got the short end of the stick on that one, eh? 😉
Workout
Breakfast was enjoyed after a good workout! Today’s gym session included 10 minutes of incline walking with Ryan followed by BodyPump (killer lunge track!) and 15 minutes on the elliptical.
So Long, Sweets: The Action Plan
As you know, last night I said I am giving up sweets for Lent. I want to make sure to clarify this a bit to avoid any confusion!
My definition of “sweets” is anything I consider to be a “dessert-type food.”
For example:
- Cake = Sweets
- Brownies = Sweets
- Ice cream = Sweets
- Chocolate and Candy = Sweets
- Yogurt = Not Sweets
- Granola Bar = Not Sweets
See? I am not giving up sugar, only foods I consider sweets… or “desserts.” Hopefully that answers any lingering questions. I’m not going sugar free for lent… only dessert free! 😀
So how do I plan to succeed?
- I will not be buying any sweets. None. I cannot have them in my house. Fortunately, I’ve been planning to so this for a while, so the only sweets we have in our apartment at the moment are a couple of pieces of dark chocolate and fudgesicles. I’ve already placed the dark chocolate in the back of the freezer because I’m very much an “out of sight, out of mind” girl. Luckily Ryan is 100 percent supporting me in this endeavor and has agreed to make our apartment a sweets-free zone. Thank goodness.
- I plan to really focus on eating regularly… especially on the weekends. Though I already eat five to six mini-meals a day, on the weekends I may let this slip because we’re running around a lot and that’s always when I find myself craving sweets. A missed snack will often lead to me eating 5+ cookies. Fo’ real! I’m going to make a serious effort to keep my blood sugar levels more stable by eating very regularly to hopefully ward off any hankerings I may have for sweet treats.
- I will not go within one mile of a frozen yogurt place. Seriously. No fro yo will be my biggest challenge and I plan to stay as far away from frozen yogurt joints as possible.
Honestly, I think I can handle it. Boo-ya! (Please remind me that I said this when I want to sprinkle sugar on my arm and eat it.)
The only event I see in my future that will really tempt me is a wedding that Ryan and I will be attending at the end of the month. I love wedding cake, so that will be a tough one to resist!
Before signing off, I want to let you all know how much I enjoyed reading about your personal goals during Lent. From personal sacrifice to self improvement, I think your goals are amazing and I wish you all the very best of luck! We got this! 😀
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