Instant Oatmeal Packets

Not all of Fly guy's hotels serve breakfast.  With his cooler already packed to the max, muffins and the like are not an option for his long trips.  The last few weeks I've been tossing in homemade 'instant oatmeal' packets.

These are so customizable. Just add some hot water from the hotel coffee pot and you are set.  Apparently he said hot tap water worked fine also.  I don't know, maybe sleep deprivation makes tap water oatmeal seem tasty? 

We like the texture of whole rolled oats, but if you like a finer texture you may try instant oats.  My kids ate this exact recipe for breakfast leaving them begging for seconds.  Begging for oatmeal?  Oh yes, super mom moment. 

Instant Oatmeal Packets
serves 1

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup mix ins (I chose dates and pecans)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
optional: 1-2 tsp brown sugar

Right before serving add in approximately 2/3 cups almost boiling water.  Let sit a few moments to allow the water to absorb.

Oven Baked Apple Chips

So I was out in the rain doing a little photoshoot when Fly Guy wandered off and came back eating a large shiny red apple.  "Hey, where did that come from?  I thought you were just peeing in the bushes!"  Apparently several feet from a pecan tree we discovered there is also a tree loaded with delicious apples.  This is the best Fall ever!

Now what to do with all our apples?  And how to incorporate them in brown bag lunches?

Apple chips!  Crunchy, sweet, crinkly chips.  As a bonus they make your house smell like Christmas while baking.

Now there are several recipes for these chips but you just have to play with cooking times.  Different apples have different amounts of moisture.  I discovered this when I baked two kinds at once and one variety burned.  My final chips are almost identical to the Italian Dish's Apple Chips.  Check out how she gifted hers instead of just stuffing her face when she was done.

You don't have to add any flavor.  My apples were not sweet or tart when I baked them plain but still tasty.  The unflavored ones also seem to cook faster (or it could be my imagination).  My kids like the sugar spice variety best. 

Several cooks claim to cut these apples by hand.  Eh, not for me.  I use a mandoline slicer very similiar to this.  Easy peasy.
 

Oven Baked Apple Chips 

A few thinly sliced apples  (5 for me)
A handful of brown or white sugar (1/3 cup brown)
A few teaspoons of spices  (1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves)

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper (I baked 3 pans at once).  Mix you sugar and spices in a small bowl then lightly dip one side of each apple slice before laying then on prepared baking sheets.  You can lay them close, but don't overlap.

Bake between 200 and 225 for 2 to 2.5 hours flipping once after the first hour.  The chips will be a little crunchy when done and further harden as they cool.  If they do not seem to be crisping up as desired you can turn off the oven after the initial 2 hours and leave the pans in for the slices to dry out.

Healing Turmeric Yogurt Bowl with Ginger Granola

Ever cook with turmeric?  You should.  You really really should. 

The Huffington Post states that turmeric "has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities."

So your like "Whaa? How do I get some of THAT"  At least that's what I said.

My favorite current recipes with turmeric are

Cashew Corn Chowder by My New Roots
Spinach and Mung Bean Soup by K. Orahsoi
Chickpea Spinach Turmeric Curry by Fugal Cook
Calming Creamy Turmeric Tea by Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Dr. Gupta's tea is also known as Golden Milk and can be found on various food blogs that extoll it's healing properties and remissness about their mothers giving it to them when they had colds.

I love golden milk in the same way I love hot cocoa.  A late night way to top off the sleepiness and send you into dreamland.  Yet it does have a little grittiness.  The spices never quite meld with the milk.  Not to mention it's hard to pack in a lunch.

So I present Healing Turmeric Yogurt Bowls!  Which include all the other things I seek out when I don't feel good.  Coconut oil, ginger,cinnamon,  honey...  The sweet ingredients balance out the slight bitterness of the turmeric.  This would be good with fruit also.  Berries maybe?

 

Healing Turmeric Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients
(per person)

2/3 cup full fat unsweetened yogurt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric*
honey for drizzling
ginger granola for sprinkling (recipe below)

* try 1/4 tsp if you are unsure of this new flavor and work your way up.

Stir the spices and honey into the yogurt in a circular pattern and pack the granola separate until time to serve.

Ginger Granola
makes 1 1/4 cups

1 cup regular rolled oats
2 TB ground flax seed
1 TB unsweetened applesauce
1 TB honey
1 TB molasses
1 TB coconut oil, melted
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Granola Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix all ingredient with a fork or hands.  Bake in the oven, stirring occasionally, for around 20 minutes or until it's starting to brown and crisp. It will continue to crisp as it cools.  Let cool completely then store in an airtight container.

No Bake Nuggets

Because you can't bring a jar of peanut butter on an airplane.

No Bake Nuggets
Makes 15-20 one inch balls

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/6 cup honey
1/6 cup molasses*
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1 cup regular rolled oats
1 cup crushed peanuts

*I pour both the molasses and honey together in a 1/3 measuring cup.  It doesn't have to be super exact.

Directions

Mix the peanut butter, sweeteners, cocoa, and vanilla in a bowl until well incorporated.  Add in the oats and stir well.  The mixture will be tough to stir but still sticky.

Form 1 inch balls and roll in crushed peanuts.  Eat at room temperature or chilled.

Fair warning.  These are sweet!  It won't take more than a couple to knock out that sweet tooth.

Fruit in the Bottom Yogurt Cup

In the fight against sugar I have outlawed pre-sweetened yogurt in our house.  Nothing against sweet, I just want more control over it.  So this week I made up some fruity yogurt cups that are so good they just became my new dessert.

For the Fruit

It's summer and fruit is dirt cheap in the stores right now.  Make up this sauce and put the extra in the freezer for later.

2 cups berries
Juice and zest from one half lemon
A few squirts of honey

Puree half your berries in a blender and roughly chop the other half with a knife (if using large berries).  Toss all the ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat then simmer for 5 minutes.  If the sauce is to runny just keep simmering until it thickens.  Add a few spoonfuls of water or juice if it's too thick.  The honey and lemon are really adjustable to taste.  Just depends on the ripeness of berry.  This sauce is also divine over pancakes...

Yogurt

I'm picky.  Currently Trader Joe's Organic Full Fat PlainYogurt is my obsession of choice.  Worth all 299 pennies it costs me.

Topping

One more karate chop to sugar!  I'm trading out granola for toasted oats.  Just pack them separately and sprinkle on right before eating.  How to Toast Oats.