Monthly Archives: September 2013

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Yesterday’s breakfast was a great one that completely has me in the holiday spirit now!

photo(83)Let me preface this by saying my posts are about a day delayed right now. Have you ever had one of those weeks where you are so stinkin busy you can barely find time to sleep, let alone get anything extra done? Well this week has been that way for me. I still feel like I’m slightly drowning. But the weekend is near, and I know if I can make it til then, I will finally have time to recup!

Tuesday night, I took about 2 spare minutes to prepare my Wednesday morning breakfast to make the next morning easy peasy.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Into the mix, I added:

  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup pure pumpkin (canned)
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a drizzle of honey
  • a little extra cinnamon
  • Raisins (as topping, optional)

I stirred this all up (minus the raisins) until well blended, and then covered it and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next morning I added a splash more almond milk to soften the mixture up, along with a couple spoonfuls of raisins to add a little sweetness and texture.

photo(84)I loved every bite! I like mine to be extra spicy, so you may not need to add extra cinnamon, etc. I’ve also seen where people will add in 1 tbsp of pure maple syrup to add a nice sweet kick. But that’s the beauty of overnight oats. You can make them match your taste with just a few minutes of playing around in the kitchen.

I also found that this recipe was almost too much for my stomach to handle, so I may try only 1/3 cup of oats next time. The raisins really plumped up the volume here!

Another perk of this recipe? A full can of pure pumpkin is way more than what this recipe calls for, so you’ll have extra pumpkin leftover to make more batches of this yummy stuff throughout the week or to make other Fall recipes!

Long Run + Breakfast

Yesterday started out with a nice 5 mile run – the farthest I’ve ever gone! It’s been rainy each morning, so when I woke up at 5 AM without the sound of rain hitting my window, I slipped on my running shoes and went at it.

The run was a major stepping stone for me since I’m running my first 10K in October. It kept my spirits high knowing that I will probably be able to power through the 10K without walking/dying. I made it to 5.14 miles in 47 minutes. I’m definitely not a power runner, so this was a great time for me. I’m excited to attempt the extra mile this weekend hopefully!

I had to quickly shower and rush off to work after my run, so by the time I sat down at my desk, my stomach was upset with me. Starving! Thankfully my pumpkiny oats were amazing and left me super stuffed.

photo(85)I also grabbed my coffee, vitamins and fruit to tide me over til lunch time. It was a healthy morning! And my post-run tummy was more than happy to enjoy it all. ๐Ÿ™‚

Today has, once again, been a hectic one. I swapped with another instructor and taught the 5:40 AM class in place of my usual 6:45 PM since I have a meeting after work I want to attend. But more on that later.

Have a great Thursday! It’s already noon, which means we are only a day and a half from the weekend. Hooray!

 

Barkbox Arrival

Something exciting happened in the Harkey Household yesterday – Mac’s September BarkBox arrived in the mail!

photo(81)Sometimes I think mommy gets more excited than Mac does for the arrival of his BarkBox each month.

For those of you that aren’t familiar, BarkBox is a once-a-month mailer for your furry friends that helps to benefit rescue groups. I signed up for the first time this summer and we’ve gotten this fun box of treats monthly right on time!

They usually include some treats, toys, and other random dog goodies. I love it because they include things that I wouldn’t typically buy, but Mac ends up loving them!

photo(80)They also always include notes about each product and the vendor (where you can purchase more of each item, etc.). This month’s box included 2 types of treats, a liquid bandage spray, and an awesome toy that is twice the size of Mac! But he still loves it and carries it around the house anyways.

photo(88)See that wagging tail? He was crying the whole time I was opening up his stash of goodies. He could smell those treats from a mile away, I swear!

photo(79)His favorite part was the large Koala toy. It was long and flimsy (no stuffing!) with 2 squeakers and a rope toy inside! Shockingly, he hasn’t pulled out this rope toy yet, but he has a long history of tearing up stuff. I’m sure it’ll happen tonight.

I was completely intrigued by the treats in the green box. They were organic Cheese Pizza flavored doggie biscuits! They smelled just like the pizza-flavored Pringles to me. He thoroughly enjoyed them!

I believe we have 3 more months on the current BarkBox subscription, but it’s something that I feel is well worth the money when you love your furry family members as much as I do! Plus getting packages in the mail is always fun, even if its not for you.

I hope you’ve had a great Hump Day! I’ve had a crazy week at work, and I finally have the night off tonight. Hopefully chat more later while I get some baking done!

Rainy-Gloomy

This morning I awoke before my alarm that was set for 5:15 AM. Seriously, who naturally wakes up at 4:58 AM?! I’m a pro at quickly dressing and making it to my gym by 5:30 with my 5:15 wake up time. So today I had a few spare minutes in the gym, and I even left a few minutes early which felt nice!

When I opened my garage door, I was thankful for my perkier-than-normal mood. It was pouring and cold out there! Rainy-gloomy weather was definitely the forecast for the day. I made it the gym and ran from my car to the door to find a smaller than normal crowd on the machines. I can’t blame them. When it’s pouring and icky outside, getting up at 5 AM is not always doable. Sometimes our bodies just need the extra rest! But I was still cruising along like normal.

Workout

My workout this morning started with 2 miles on the treadmill with some slight interval sprints to help wake up my body and pass the time.

I then completed a lower and upper body workout, which mostly included 3 sets of 12 reps of each move. I started with leg presses and inner/outer thigh presses. Then moved onto my upper torso, which including chest presses, lat presses, bicep curls, and some tricep work. Since I had extra time, I tried to do 2 out of 3 sets super slow with about 5 more lbs of weight. I can definitely feel the extra burn today! I tend to fall into ruts where I don’t push my body as hard, so this was a nice little change of pace for me.

I finished out my workout with another light run on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the Elliptical.

A common theme throughout the morning was the gloomy weather. I always watch the morning news when I’m on the cardio machines, and it seemed like that’s all the reporters could talk about. It looks like we are in for a few more days of rainy-gloomy weather here in Springfield. But I like the rain, so this doesn’t bring my spirits down too much. The real highlight of today’s news-watching?? It’s only 5 days until Fall officially begins!! On Sept. 22, regardless of the warmer temps, my fall decor is going up around the Harkey house without any guilt. I have several small pumpkins and a fall wreath with a scarecrow that are just dying to come out of the spare bedroom closet! ๐Ÿ™‚

Breakfast

Breakfast, once again, was sad and quick once I made it to work. Although I did try a different type of yogurt this morning and really loved it!

photo(76)I had a coupon for the Yoplait Greek yogurt that I used this past weekend. This particular cup was a mixed berry blend with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries! I definitely approved as it was full of real chunks of the fruit.

I followed this up with my Target find – chocolate peanut butter protein bar.

photo(74)Yummy for sure! I also had a banana and 90-cal Fiber One snack midmorning. My tummy has been extra grumbly today! My morning workouts do make me pretty ravenous, but today is extra hard. Trying to drink lots of water and tell my stomach to cool it!

Wanna know one of my fave parts of this time of year? The changing wardrobes…

Scarves are back!
Scarves are back!

Yes this is me today! It is chilly and rainy, so it was a great day to break out one my scarves. They are so easy to pair with different outfits; plus, a good scarf can make a great outfit! My outfit today would be rather plain if it weren’t for my fun polka dots. My next guilty pleasure? Pulling out all my fall/winter boots ๐Ÿ™‚

Hope you’re having a great Tuesday!