I’m not even going to lie to you guys; I did not cook nearly as much as I would have liked this past semester. I went into it completely unprepared and that was a big no no! One of my 2017 resolutions [here] is to cook more and to be healthier. At Carolina, one of my favorite things that the student instructors will say is: Take care of your body because you love it, not because you want to change it. For me, this quote is everything.
Your body is your soul’s sanctuary and lovin’ it should be a priority. I blame a lot of unhealthy behavior on school and lack of time, but I also realized my time management can be kind of shifty at times and I really need to work on building a schedule that makes healthiness integral to my life. From working out to cooking healthy meals and getting plenty of sleep, it’s all super important!
One thing I hope to bring to the blog in the new year is my health journey. From learning new meals to cook {aka this post} and work out goals and results to how I get more ~great~ sleep and drink more water: these are all things that I want to incorporate into the blog because it is all about lifestyle. If you too are looking for more blogs to read in order to help you along a health journey whether it’s getting more sleep or eating cleaner, you can check out my faves Cristina and Abigail!
I’ve had a blast making some new tasty meals that are all pinterest or Mom inspired. These are easy, low ingredient and low cost options because as a college student I need things are quick and easy and harmless. If I use any appliances or fancier items to cook with I will let you know for each recipe. These are going to be varying from breakfast to lunch to snacks. I want to do posts in the future that focus simply on each meal and I’m actually extremely excited for this new segment on the blog!
Pecan Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
When I was a kid, I loved oatmeal {yes it had dinosaurs in it, but it was still oatmeal}. In high school, I was too cool for the “granny” meal and didn’t eat it for years. WHAT A MISTAKE. The capital letters sum up everything about the stupidity I went through, but I am so happy to have it back in my life. So, I wanted to have a go to oatmeal recipe that I won’t get tired of for a couple of months! I loved pecans, apples, and cinnamon so mixing those three whole and healthy ingredients seemed like a great idea! Also, oatmeal can be made in the microwave super quick which makes my 8am T/Th sound a little less horrendous when I need to plan in breakfast time.
I *was* a big fan of the Quaker Instant Oatmeal cups, but I technically eat a ton of oatmeal especially when I’m at home so I figured it would be cheaper to buy a big thing of oats. I needed to sacrifice convenience to save money, but I also shaved off a ton of sugar that I didn’t need anyway #winning.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup {Vanilla} Almond Milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 medium apple, diced
- Handful of Pecans
- Optional: Chia seeds
Directions
- Microwave the oats, almond milk, water, and spices together on HIGH for 3 minutes. Halfway through, mix that all up.
- Mix in pecans and apples.
- Top with more cinnamon, brown sugar, and/or almond milk if needed.
My Notes
- Why are assorted nuts so dang expensive? I’m not sure, but pecans fall under that category and in order to keep this as affordable as possible I used pecan chips that cost around $2. You can also purchase plain pecan halves in the baking section for around the same price. These aren’t sweetened or salted so keep that in mind. Pecans are really great for improving skin and hair, so 10/10 would recommend adding them in.
- I used a Honey Crisp Apple and it was delicious, but really anything will taste great!
- Add a hot cup of green tea, and you have the perfect wintry breakfast!
I hope you enjoyed this fun little cooking post and that you have a new idea for your breakfast needs! Also, can we take a moment to talk about the new blog photography! Killing it. Have any post ideas/requests? Leave them down below in the comments! Have a great day.
xo,
