I have been making my oats a little differently lately. I got the idea to add in banana, while cooking the oats, from Kath’s blog awhile back. I used to put the banana/milk/oats all in at once and let them cook away.

Now, here is what I do:

Spray the pot with a little olive oil from my Misto can
Cook the bananer for ~2min over medium heat ~sizzzzle~
Then I mash it up with a wooden spoon.
Then add the oats + liquid and cook until liquid is absorbed ~5min

I have found there is a HUGE difference cooking oats in stainless steel pots compared to non-stick. I definitely prefer the stainless steel and believe it or not, cleanup is a breeze. The oats stick a bit, but scrub right off. You just have to hit it with a little hot water + soap. No biggee!

Trying out a new coffee creamer.

I’m liking it so far! You can smell the coconut flavor but I haven’t really tasted it yet. However, I have been drinking Peppermint Creme coffee, so that is probably why!

Guess what day it is???????? Oatmeal in a Jar day…the best days are oatmeal in a jar days!!

Full of banana/cinnamon oats + chia seeds + yogi cereal + almond butter glob + cacao bliss = pure bliss

Literally, scraped clean!

Lunch was crunchy + full of veggies. mmm

Samich – WF bread + cuc + spinach + parmesan peppercorn cheese + avocado = crunchy bliss

Red Kale – Round 2 – I cooked the rest of my red kale in a pan and tried cooking it longer this time to get rid of the bitterness. It worked, but I over-salted it a tad. oooops! Not sure I’ll be buying red kale again.

Hello wide angle lens. How are you today??? We must play more often!!! A few shots of my organized + clean pantry room!

You can normally see the mountains out of these windows, but not today! I’m standing in the kitchen taking this photo. It is SO nice to finally have all of my appliances out within easy reach.

I still have yet to use my Cuisinart stand mixer. I got it 2yrs ago at my shower and didn’t have any room to keep it out in Charlotte. I need to start baking more again and utilizing this awesome mixer. I am a fan of Cuisinart over Kitchenaid. The far left square-ish looking thing is my ice cream maker, mmmm :)

Don’t you love this light fixture? I mean, how could you not!? hahahaha

A little more pantry action. I inherited the VitaMix from my grandfather and have yet to use it :( I’m intimidated, which is so so silly! I will use it within the next few days!

To the right of the VitaMix you will see one of my new favorite things. It’s a pan cover rack holder!! I know it seems sort of dumb, but if you have to stack your pots + pans at all, it is quite annoying to stack the covers inside or on top of each other. They always fall everywhere and get disorganized. I LOVE this!! I found it at Target for under $10.

Another new favorite thing is that little basket attached to the wire shelves. I just found that at Target as well. It is perfect for holding all of my bulk, bagged ingredients. They always get lost with all of my other ingredients, but this way they’re all right there! Ahhh the little things :)