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Sunday, September 1, 2013

Heart Healthy / Oaty oaty oatmeal

So let's talk about running. One of my most loathed forms of exercise since as long as I can remember. Let's face it, when starting from scratch it is just plain boring. It takes no time at all for your breathing to become heavy to the point that your head screams STOP IMMEDIATELY! I will admit that up until this past year I have hated it with every fiber of my being. Sure up until then I could enjoy a good endorphin high but only when it came from some other form of activity. But let me tell ya something, when you are broke and live too far away from your school gym and you have a pretty decent set of trails hidden behind your house and you just need to do something it isn't half bad. It also is pretty cool when the trail that originally took every ounce of your will power to get through suddenly wasn't so bad and then even cooler when you did that trail to and from your house in record time questioning if you should do it again. ( But let's not get carried away with ourselves.) Anyways for me that is how I tricked myself into actually enjoying running. I have since moved from my little forest oasis and was faced again with the oh crap what do I do now mindset. Luckily I am now living in a community with a 24 hour gym. Let's talk about no excuses. I am too tired right now, I don't have time, it's too late; all of these are no longer acceptable. I can now go any time of day any day of the week and it is no more than a five minute walk from my house. Perfect. Now on to the next battle. Da Da Dooooon the treadmill. I have heard some pretty awful stuff about the treadmill but as someone who has fought with running and wanting to do it for the sake of fighting off the string of heart disease that resides in my family it is PERFECT! Since running is 85% mental 15% ability if you can set a goal and stick to it you are GOLDEN! Whether it is running one mile or two or three or whatever. Or running 20 or 30 or 40 minutes straight. The treadmill doesn't allow you to stop like being outdoors does. Especially when in a crowded gym, with people around the stop and go is not a good look to the hard bodies doing weights behind you. Anyways that is a little tid bit of how I am training myself to be a runner. Every soaking wet endeavor behind me the better I feel about myself and my heart's ability to beat a little stronger.

Why do I give you this long story about running on a food blog? Well because it ties in well with my ticker friendly breakfast that I whipped up the other morning before a good ole sweaty sesh at the gym.

We all have em in our houses but how often do these babies go forgotten in your cabinet?


Feel free to call me old fashioned, but I care about what I put into my body ( well most days, not today today included indulging in the newest Cheesecake Factory Toasted Marshmellow S'mores Galore Cheesecake, but we aren't talking about today we are talking about yesterday when sanity was with me. )

Anyways no longer let busy mornings stand between you and a delicious breakfast or perhaps a guilt free dessert. I made this in under five minutes with inspiration from one of my favorite food blogs Iowagirleats.com 

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal
 1/3 c. oats
1/3 c. lowfat milk 
1/2 banana ( okay don't waste half a banana eat it while you are cooking, or that is what I did anyhow)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
dash pumpkin pie spice
1 T. chunk low sodium natural peanut butter.

Okay combine the oats and the milk in a small sauce pan and cook uncovered for about 2 minutes. Stirring constantly. Add in chunks of banana, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice.
Let it cook for about 2 more minutes, still stirring ( the milk likes to let the oats stick to the pan.) Remove from pan and scoop peanut butter on top. Then eat!


I like my oats a little chunky, feel free to add more milk or cook them longer for a softer creamier texture, you could even stir in the peanut butter while you cook but I prefer mine to be on top so I can choose which bites have that decadent peanut butter taste!

So even if you aren't as enthusiastic about running as I hype myself up to being these days perhaps you will do your heart a little favor and indulge in this once in a while. Seriously it is so good you won't even feel like you are eating a 'healthy' breakfast! As always ENJOY! :) 

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