moo milk
/I’m currently experimenting with breakfast. I need my huge breakfasts to hold me over longer than 2hrs. The buckwheat bakes definitely do this, but overnight oats and hot oats, do not. It’s weird how foods with similar nutritional profiles can act so differently in your body. The other day I mentioned that my overnight oats only held me over for 2-3hrs, even though it was a 500cal+ bowl. Angela commented that she is now using soy milk with 12g protein per serving, instead of almond milk, to help hold her over longer. This was a great point. Almond milk is full of vitamins, but lacking in the protein department. l try to keep a low-soy diet, so with eating tempeh or tofu about twice a week, I don’t really want to add soy milk in the mix. I checked out oat milk and hemp milk, but they are only 2-4g protein, max.
During my detox, one thing I found out, was that dairy doesn’t seem to bother my digestion at all. I occasionally buy local cow’s dairy, but haven’t in quite some time. However, I’m thinking this might be one option to try for adding more protein to my morning routine. The milk comes from Morning Fresh Dairy, and is free of hormones, antibiotics, etc. The milk is organic as well, but doesn’t have the official label yet. It takes a full 7 years to become certified organic, for this type of product, and they are 3 years into the process. The only negative point I can find about the milk is that the cow’s are fed a partial corn diet. Ideally, I would love if the cows were fully grass-fed. This is the same dairy that supplies the yogurt I have raved about, Noosa. Yumm.
So my new plan is to try using 2% milk in my breakfasts and see if that helps curb my hunger. My next test will be using almond milk with a scoop of protein powder.
Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats
- 2T rolled oats
- 2T raw buckwheat flour [ground in a blender from raw buckwheat groats]
- 2T raw buckwheat groats
- 3/4c 2% milk
- 2T chia seeds
- 1t cinnamon
- 1.5T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2T raw honey
- 3/4c frozen cherries
- In a plastic container combine all ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Stir in the morning and add more liquid if necessary.
- Eat cold or heat in the microwave. I enjoy mine cold!
*You can sub ground flax meal for chia seeds.
*You can sub any nut/seed-milk instead of 2% cow’s milk.
So how did this bowl compare to Monday’s breakfast? I felt hunger creeping up about 2-3hrs later again, but instead of grabbing a snack, I chugged some h2o instead. I always try to do this when I feel hungry, because a lot of times the feeling of hunger can mean you need more water!
Well, the water worked, and this held me over for a good 5hrs, as it should have. This bowl is over 600 calories of creamy deliciousness! I love the addition of buckwheat groats, as they add a nice crunch.
I also go back and forth between eating 3 larger meals with 2 small snacks, as opposed to 6 medium sized meals in a 24hr period. Right now, I’m on the 3 larger meal track. I sometimes find with the 6 medium meal plan, that I’m just slightly hungry all of the time. Such a process figuring out what works the best. I definitely haven’t mastered it yet!
Despite what I just said, I made a medium sized meal for lunch. ;)
It started with dinosaur kale [aka - lacinato] and was inspired by Mama Pea!
I have been dying to try this recipe since she posted it a few weeks ago. I just replenished my kale + nutritional yeast stock, so it was time to check it out. I don’t know why, but I never make raw kale salads. That is definitely going to change, as I couldn’t get enough of this salad.
This was also the perfect salad to make while having no oven. No cooking involved!
All of the spices + oils were whisked together.
And then mixed into the kale. I loved that every piece had a nice thick coating of the dressing.
If you want, you can also mix in other veggies. I used cucumbers, carrots + mushrooms.
DEE-vine! I seriously love salads. I have no problem whatsoever getting in enough greens. I don’t eat them because I think I should. I eat them because they are freaking delicious when properly made.
Topped with sunflower seeds for healthy fats + protein!
Creamy Smoked Kale Salad [serves 1 full salad or 2 side salads] adapted from Mama Pea
- 1/2 head dinosaur/lacinato kale ~4c chopped
- 1/2T hemp oil [flax oil/almond oil/olive oil]
- 1t creamy peanut butter
- 1T water
- 1T apple cider vinegar
- 1T + 1t nutritional yeast
- 1/2 rounded teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 large garlic clove, minced ~2-3t
- 1/8t fine grain sea salt
- ground black pepper
- sprinkle cayenne pepper
- 2T sunflower seeds
- Wash kale thoroughly and pat dry.
- Tear from stems and chop or rip into small pieces and put in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl add hemp oil, peanut butter, water, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Whisk until well combined and pour onto kale.
- Mix with a fork or your hands until very well coated.
*Sub lemon juice for apple cider vinegar if needed.
*Sub flax/almond/olive/etc. oil for hemp oil if desired.
*If you can’t find smoked paprika but still want a smokey flavor, try a mild chipotle seasoning.
*If you aren’t digging the raw kale taste, you can always bake these at 325* on a pan for about 25-30min, turning a few times until toasty, to end up with delicious smoky kale chips.
Check out these nutrition facts!!! I entered the ingredients in using caloriecount.com. I wanted to see how much protein this salad had and was blown away by the final count. Check out the iron, calcium + Vit A and C as well!! And, holy fiber! Seriously impressive!
[nutrition facts include 2T sunflower seeds, 4c kale + dressing but does not include extra veggies mixed in]
I can’t even describe how delicious this salad was. The dressing was creamy and extremely flavorful. The kale was crunchy and fresh, and much easier to chew than curly kale. This salad was also gigantic! If you want to make this a full meal, try adding cooked + cubed sweet potato or red potatoes, tempeh, or chickpeas to the mix.
I ate this salad solo and held off on the rest of lunch. I wanted to eat part of lunch [cottage cheese + pineapple] a little later because I was planning an early evening gym session and didn’t want to feel famished while working out. It worked!
New obsession right here!!!
And in true Pea fashion, my lunch ended with a pickle.
I have a new breakfast idea for the morning that I can’t wait to try!! Tonight’s dinner was pretty stellar as well. More on that tomorrow! So far Monday-Wednesday we’ve eaten every breakfast-lunch-dinner in house. Chris’s breakfast + lunches have even been packed for work. Pretty good for no real kitchen!
Man was this a chatty post!
Catch you tomorrow :)
Ashley
