Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal

Only 13 more days until I'm in my new apartment! I can't wait to make myself an entire meal. I'm falling waaaaay out of my healthy eating habits. I blame the dining hall for offering like 4 options for every meal. And I don't mean each meal is 4 new options, I mean it's the same every single time. I'm so sick of the same mushy veggies that I have started doing the whole "Nothing sounds good...pasta with alfredo and chicken strips it is." Which is exactly what caused me to put on all of my college weight when I was living on campus.

I have managed to find a couple of go-to options that I actually like, and this is one of them. I don't have a picture, because I've been making it in the dining hall, but I did want to share the recipe! It's super easy, and you could use any time of plain oatmeal...instant, quick cooking, steel cut, or anything else really.

Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cooked oatmeal (follow directions for whatever type of oatmeal you're using)
1 1/2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 small banana, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp honey

Add peanut butter and honey to cooked oatmeal and stir well to combine. Fold in banana.

Taste Rating: 7

Easy Rating: 9
Other than cutting up the banana, this is a breeze. Especially since the dining hall has ready-to-eat oatmeal. It still wouldn't be difficult if I had to make the oatmeal myself, though!

Overall Rating: 8
Given that this is a well-balanced meal on its own, I'm gonna say this is pretty awesome. Whole grains, fruit, healthy fats, protein...talk about a power breakfast!

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal

I'm officially out of my apartment and into the dorms! I'm SUPER excited about my job this summer. For those of you who don't know, I'm a teaching assistant for Duke TIP. The program gives gifted students a chance to take a class during the summer. There are some pretty cool classes being offered, like mock trial, creative writing, modern medicine, and more. My class is called mathematical problem solving. So far, it seems like I'm really going to enjoy this. I can't wait for the TIP-sters to get here tomorrow!

Training has been crazy busy, but I finally have a chance to cook! This recipe was inspired by one from "Hicky's Healthy Handbook." I got this cookbook as a gift from Spurs PC 11, and it's packed full of so many healthy recipes! The very first recipe in this book is for Cherry-Hazelnut Oatmeal. I'm not using the exact recipe, but it served as an inspiration for the one below.

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal


Ingredients:
1 package instant oatmeal, original (unflavored)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp dried cranberries
1 1/2 tbsp chopped walnuts
Dash of ground cinnamon


Directions:
Cook the oatmeal according to package instructions, replacing water with skim milk. Once it is cooked completely, add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Taste Rating: 6
Not too bad. It's oatmeal, so you're not going to get an "ooooh my gosh this is amazing" from it unless somebody sprinkled fairy dust in it or something. I will say this is waaay better than those pre-flavored things you get at the store. The walnuts add a really nice crunch to it.

Easy Rating: 9
Microwave and mix. What could be easier? I am not giving this a 10, because I'm dishwasher-less, meaning I have to wash my bowl and spoon by hand in a bathroom sink. If I had a dishwasher, the easy cleanup would justify giving this a 10.

Overall Rating: 7
Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day (not only to give you fuel, but it can actually help you lose weight). This one dish has whole grains, antioxidants, good fats, protein, calcium, etc. All of that in 5 minutes? Win.