Good morning! No, great morning!

I am feeling super jazzed today for two reasons…

First, because I have gorgeous and creamy steel-cut oats that I made with my rice cooker.

Seriously, these rice-cooker oats are life-changing levels of good!

I just put 1/4 cup of steel-cut oats, a spoonful of ground flax, a spoonful of chia seeds, half a banana torn up, and 1 cup of almond milk into the rice cooker and put it on the porridge setting. It took about an hour and 20 minutes, but it was so worth the wait! Next time I’ll prep everything the night before and set a timer so I can wake up to a hot delicious oatmeal morning!

And second, because my body feels so relaxed and stress-free from attending my first ever hot yoga class last night!

I attended a 90 minute class at Atlanta Hot Yoga with 3 lovely ladies: Lee from In My Tummy, Kristy from Kristy Runs, and Laura from Laura Dishes.

I was interested to try it, but not sure if it was going to be right for me. Turns out, I love hot yoga! I think I may have stumbled on to something that I’m going to really enjoy.

I have always had some balance issues because of my scoliosis offsetting my spinal alignment, and I could tell that I had more issues with holding poses when on my left leg, but as the class went on I got better at maintaining my balance, and I think that with regular practice it could really help me. I expected to wake up sore all over, but actually it’s just the opposite. A lot of tension I’ve been holding in my upper back is nearly gone, I find it easier to sit up straight, I don’t have a neckache like I often do in the mornings, and I just feel so light and stress-free. Jackpot!

I think taking up a regular yoga practice, not only just for fun but also as a supplement to my chiropractic care, could be beneficial for me in maintaining flexibility and overall good health.

Thanks girls, for a fun exercise date and for turning me on to a new hobby! If anyone is interested in trying out Decatur Hot Yoga with me, I’m there!

January 25, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Fitness 4 comments

Good morning!

I got to enjoy my oatmeal today with a humongous dollop of gingery pear and apple sauce!

And it’s a great opportunity for me to share with you my latest oatmeal hack! Remember when I was yapping about how I like to take plain instant oatmeal and jazz it up rather than going through the trouble of making oatmeal from scratch? Well, I’ve discovered that I can make instant oatmeal with real whole oats!

I just fill my bowl with these few things:

• 1 banana torn into pieces
• 2 spoonfuls whole rolled oats
• 1 spoonful oat bran
• 1 spoonful flax meal
• 1 spoonful chia seeds
• almond milk to desired thickness

I mix it up and microwave for about 1 minute and 15 seconds, stirring once halfway through. It really does cook completely and thicken up with the help from the flax, chia, and oat bran.

I had it with a mug of Peachy Oolong tea, a sample we got from Adagio a while back.

Very nice, it doesn’t have that fake syrupy flavor that some fruit teas have.

That’s not all for today though, I’ve got another recipe to share later!

November 13, 2010 Alayna Discussion 1 comment

I’m nearing the end of my beloved jar of apple butter.  Sigh…  I know I can always buy more, but for some reason it still gives me heartache to see those last dredges lying listless at the bottom of the jar.

So in the wake of this obvious tragedy, I decided to take the last pie pumpkin sitting proudly and patiently atop my fridge and grant him with a most noble calling… that of becoming pumpkin butter.

Ok. That was way too dramatic.

But seriously, I almost bought some overpriced pumpkin butter at Whole Foods the other day and snapped myself out of it when I realized that I had a whole pumpkin at home and that I could totally make it myself.

I started by making pumpkin puree and transferring it to a heavy-bottomed pot.

I added about 1/4 cup of apple cider, a hunk of Earth Balance (1-2 tbsp.), 4 heaping tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg.

I turned the heat on to medium-low and stirred until everything was melted and incorporated.

After about 25 minutes of cooking, having stirred often throughout, it turned into this luscious creamy spread…

I turned off the heat and stirred in about half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.  I covered it and let it cool on a windowsill for a few hours.

And this was my marvelous breakfast this morning!…

Homemade oatmeal topped with a bit of crumbled vegan pumpkin bread and a generous dollop of the rich autumn-scented pumpkin buttah!

Yes, it was awesome.  Thank you for noticing.

So the verdict is that yes it was worth it to make it myself.  Mine was just as rich and decadent as store-bought pumpkin butter and not terribly labor-intensive.

What if I made oatmeal with pumpkin butter and apple butter!?!?  I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow.

October 28, 2010 Alayna Recipes 2 comments