Recipe: Baked Oatmeal Cups

I've made two batches of these incredibly yummy Baked Oatmeal Cups for my co-workers this week. My picky 14 year-old liked them, too!  So I had to take a minute to share this easy recipe with you.

Baked Oatmeal Cup with Cranberries

Baked Oatmeal Cups
Makes 16

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-1/2 cups milk (I used 1%)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 T ground cinnamon
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
Toppings of your choice - fruit (fresh or dried), chocolate chips, nuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line muffin tins with liners (don't skip this step!)
3.  Combine the eggs, oil and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved
4. Add the applesauce, milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon.  Stir till combined.
5. Stir in the oats and baking powder.
6. Fill each muffin tin with 1/4 cup of oat mixture.
7. Top with your favorite toppings.  Lightly press the topping into the mixture with a spoon.  (I used dried cranberries, chocolate chips, fresh banana and left some plain.)
8. Bake for 30 minutes.
9. Serve warm or store in an air tight container.  These can also be frozen to grab on busy mornings!

Besides this great recipe, I have to share why I made them.  My AWESOME team at Community LIFE (an adult day health center in Pittsburgh, PA serving low-income frail elderly who are medically eligible to be in a nursing home, but desire to live in the community - www.commlife.org) recently received the Inaugural Quality Leaders' Award for Excellence in Quality Improvement for our UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) Prevention Project.  Part of our Project includes serving cranberry juice to our Participants every morning, so when I brought in some breakfast treats to celebrate I wanted them to have cranberries.  I enjoy cooking for my Team and especially like to share healthy dishes for them to try.

Community LIFE's Loving Hearts Team with our
Award and Cranberry Juice!

These are easy to bake, easy to grab for a breakfast on the go and easy to share with others!  ENJOY!

Recipe adapted from www.thewholesomedish.com's To Go Baked Oatmeal

Balance is a Big Picture Word

"Mom, are you going to the gym tonight?" my son asked me one day last week.

"No.  I'm going to hang out with your dad.  It's only my second day back at work since his surgery," I answered

"What's happened to you?  You haven't gone in a couple of weeks!"

What happened?  Today has happened.  Life has happened.

I have spent a lot of time over the past several years agonizing over finding balance in my life. Finding balance in how I spend my time so that I am able to fit everything in that needs to be there. The list of responsibilities and activities that are classified as "needing to be there" goes on and on and on and on . . .

I have driven myself crazy trying to fit everything in to my day.  I have gotten up early and I've stayed up late.  I have created and edited To Do List after To Do List.  I have asked friends to hold me accountable so that I am not tempted to miss something,  I have called ahead to my family so that as I slow down in front of my house they are ready to sprint out the door and hurl their bodies into the car. I have written out schedules and then re-arranged them ten times in one day.

I wear a bracelet that signifies balance in the hopes of having a visual reminder of my quest to find balance.  I have re-listened to a sermon about Elizabeth's journey of finding balance (http://communityumchurch.com/portfolio/current-service-3-13-16-influential-balance/gallery/sermons/).  I have cried.  I have felt guilty.  I have driven myself crazy.

The list of ways that I tried to find balance is longer than the list of activities that I'm attempting to balance!

Over the next couple of nights as I laid on the couch drifting in and out of a light sleep waiting for the alarm to prompt my husband to take his medication (He got his tonsils out.  Sounds like a simple procedure, but at 42 - not so much!), my mind raced.  Was there a problem?  I hadn't exercised consistently in a few weeks.  There were several things that I hadn't done recently.  Everything had been focused on prepping for my husband's surgery and then his recovery.  Before that we were wrapping up the school year and prior to that was Tennis Season.  Life has been a little hectic.  There was zero balance! I was quickly returning to the mess that had been my life six years ago.

At some point in the midst of my mind's exhausted haze I had a moment of clarity.  Yes - life is hectic.  But NO - I am NOT a mess.

How is that possible?

It's possible because my focus has not changed.  I am still focused on making healthy choices when it comes to handling my stress, eating, time management and my family.  My plan has not changed - I still want to be healthy.  I still want my family to be healthy.

When life is hectic, my stress level sky rockets.  So I'm pretty stressed out right now.  But I'm handling it in a healthy way.  I'm making wise choices.

The lessons I've learned: 

1) I will never be able to find balance every single day.  It will even be difficult to maintain perfect balance in a week's time.  That's because balance is a big picture word.  With all of the roles that I fill right now in this stage of my life, there are always going to be people or activities or responsibilities that require more of my attention.  That doesn't mean that I'm giving up on the other roles.  One of them will come back to the forefront in a few days or next week.

BALANCE IS A

BIG PICTURE WORD.

For these past couple of weeks, my husband has been my main concern.  Our children stayed with my parents.  I took several days off of work.  All of the meals that I planned were bland and soft so that he could swallow them.  My roles of wife and caregiving spouse were in that #1 spot.  Yet, I maintained my focus on being healthy.  I reached out to my support system when I found myself eating more chocolate pudding than my husband.  Their series of funny texts kept me out of the fridge!

This weekend, my role of Tennis Booster President was in that #1 spot as the Team volunteered at our community's summer festival.  I spent the entire weekend at the park operating the Crazy Colors Game Booth.  I stayed on track by packing my meals and treating myself to a small bag of Kettle corn.

Starting Monday life calms down for a little bit.  My meals are planned and prepped.  I'll be back in the gym.

In two weeks when we start three weeks of various camps for the kids a touch of chaos will return.

But overall - Balance.

2) Balance requires maintaining my focus.

My niece maintaining her focus on the balance beam.

I picture my 8 year-old niece on the balance beam.  She focuses on a spot on the beam to keep her balanced.  At times she may lean over to the right.  And then she may lean far to the left causing her one foot to come off the beam.  But by maintaining her focus she is able to re-gain her balance.  She may fall off now and then, but she jumps right back up on that balance beam!

Life may pull me to the right and then pull me to the left, but by maintaining my focus of making healthy choices even amongst life's most stressful or busiest moments, I can stay on that balance beam of life.

BALANCE REQUIRES MAINTAINING

MY FOCUS.

In a nutshell: Instead of worrying about fitting everything in TODAY (work, the healthiest of meals, exercise, my kids' getting to exercise, spending time with my husband, volunteer responsibilities and on and on . . .) I will take a step back and look at life through a wider lens.  How have the past few weeks looked?  Have I maintained my focus amidst life's chaos?  I will look at the big picture.

Recipe: Spaghetti Squash Italian Pie

I am so excited to share with you this amazing recipe that I made last night adapting it from a recipe found on Pinterest.  It is healthy and incredibly yummy!  Even my husband was raving about it.  I had it for lunch today and it was just as good re-heated in the microwave.  So without further ado . . . .

SPAGHETTI SQUASH ITALIAN PIE

Ingredients

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 lb ground turkey

1 small onion, chopped

2 gloves of garlic, minced

1-1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes, partially drained

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds. Place cut side down in a baking dish.  Poke all over with a fork.  Cook until tender, 30 - 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook turkey, chopped onion and minced garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender.  Drain and return to skillet.  Add the diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta and egg stirring until smooth.

Remove squash from the oven.  Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.

Using a fork, rake squash pulp until it looks like spaghetti removing it from the shell.  Place on a paper towel and gently dab with a second paper towel to remove some of the moisture from the squash.  

Arrange the spaghetti squash in the bottom and up the side of the pie plate like a crust.  Gently spread the ricotta cheese mixture over the squash.  Using a slotted spoon, put the turkey and tomato mixture over the cheese.  Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.  Cut into six slices.  

Serving size: 1 slice
Servings per pie: 6
Calories per serving: 316 (I entered all the ingredients into the calculator tool on My Fitness Pal)

I served this delicious pie with a side salad and a piece of garlic toast.  

Spaghetti Squash Italian Pie is a must try!!

Talking Myself Into It

Talk yourself into it, not out of it.     ~Dolvett Quince

I’m laying in bed – my soft warm bed with the Memory Foam mattress and heavy denim comforter.  I should get up.  My bed is so warm.  I need to get up.  The sheets are so soft.  It’s January 31^st.  The last day of the month.  It has to be now 

My goal for myself is to participate in an organized 5k every month.  January is a hard month.  There are not many 5ks in my area (It’s cold in Pittsburgh this time of year!).  My schedule did not match with the few that were out there so I was forced to go with a Virtual Race.  A Virtual Race is one where you register for the event, but then you can run it anytime and anywhere that you want within the given time frame. 

I registered for the Cutch’s Crew 5k in support of Pittsburgh Pirate Andrew McCutcheon’s Foundation.  You can run the race anytime between January 1^st and May.  For me this would serve as my January 5k (check out this great event at https://www.facebook.com/cutchsvirtual5k/?fref=ts).

Before I knew it, it was January 31^st.  How did that happen?  It was a beautiful day and my plan was to run after church. 

Off to church we went!  We were all happy.  My kids were getting along.  It was a great worship service.  What a great morning!

“Hey – Let’s stop for lunch at Moe’s!”  someone asked on our drive home.

We all responded in unison, “Welcome to Moe’s!”  My husband pulled into the parking lot.

As I sat in Moe’s eating an insanely large burrito, I remembered that I was supposed to be running a 5k when I got home.  There was no way that I was going to be able to run after ingesting the deliciously overstuffed lunch I was shoving in my face.

Upon arriving home I figured that an hour long nap would be the perfect way to digest.  I turned on my alarm and crawled into bed.  One hour passed.  My alarm jolted me out a deep sleep.  I’ll just lay here for a few minutes I thought as I pressed the “off” button.  That one hour turned into two hours.  The sun was beginning to set.  My bed was so soft and warm.

No one will know if I don’t run this race today.  No one will know if I don’t meet my goal of one 5k a month.  What difference does it truly make?  Eleven out of twelve months.  No big deal.  I was very quickly talking myself out of going for a run. 

Then I thought about my sister who gets up at 4:30AM every weekday to fit in her workout.  I thought about my running friends on facebook who were also striving to complete a 5k a month.  I thought about the example that I was setting for my kids.  In the car on the way to church I had talked about needing to get this 5k done today.  They would know if I didn't go for a run.

Motivation - My sister gets up at
4:30AM to get her miles in! 

I threw the warm soft covers off half of my body allowing one foot to drop to the floor.  Slowly I peeled the covers off the rest of me and stood up.  Brrrr!  I shivered.  My body longing to crawl back under the covers.  Nope!  I was going to do this.

Looking at the clock, I realized how late it had gotten.  I wanted to enjoy the beautiful day!  Scrambling, I threw on my workout clothes and headed out the door. 

My lungs were instantly filled with the invigorating  air.  My feet pounded on the pavement in time to the music filling my ears.  The bright sun hit my face filling my heart with joy.

It would have been so easy to talk myself out of this run.  My tired body.  The warm bed.  The lazy Sunday afternoon.  I have done that many many times.  But what I have learned is that I feel so much better when I talk myself into exercising.  I feel better physically, mentally and emotionally.  It amazed me how easy it is to forget that.  

When I was watching the Biggest Loser a few weeks ago, Dolvett was talking to his Team as they worked out.  He was pushing them to their physical limit.  Team members began to waiver wanting to quit.  Dolvett continued to push repeating louder and louder - Talk yourself into it, not out of it.  Talk yourself into it, not out of it.  TALK YOURSELF INTO IT, NOT OUT OF IT!  What wise words.  But how do I do that when all of the reasons to not do "it" are screaming so loud in my head?  The answer, I have found, is to start listing all of the reasons I should.  Though quiet at first, that voice of confidence and enthusiasm will rise above the voice of negativity and push me into motion.  My kids.  My health.  My happiness.  My family,  My friends.  

Wise words from Dolvett!  

Self-talk plays a HUGE role in our health.  What are you telling yourself?  Are you putting yourself down or filling your head with excuses?  Be a cheerleader!  Cheer yourself on.  Tell yourself that you can do it.  You're a super star. A stud!  You can do this.  Tell yourself you can and you WILL!

The Snack Battle: 10 Smart Choices for After-School Snacks

After school snacks have long been a battle in our house.  Both of my teenagers eat lunch very early at school and I rarely have dinner ready before 6PM.  When they arrive home, they want to stuff their face to satisfy their deep hunger.  I want them to eat something small yet satisfying and healthy so that they are not full when I finally get dinner on the table.

I tried having minimal options in the house.  Then I tried leaving out one specific snack for the kids to eat after school.  This left me with two hungry and grouchy kids.  I tried talking with my kids about making smart choices and then leaving them on their own to decide what to eat with all options open (including the Doritos and ice cream that my husband loves).  While my kids took full advantage of all options, I was left grouchy at what I deemed their lack of self-control and poor choices.

When I thought about it, there are two main goals that I have for my kids when it comes to their after-school snacks:
1) That they eat something healthy.
2) That they learn to make their own smart choices when it comes to snacking.

I spent an evening researching healthy snack options.  While I read about a lot of great snacks, I had to be realistic.  My kids are not going to eat veggies dipped in hummus.  A handful of almonds is not going to satisfy their hunger.   Keeping that in mind, I came up with a new idea that gives my kids the freedom to make their own choices while making sure that the options available to them are ones that they will like and are healthy.

We've been following this plan for two weeks now and have found success!  I'm no longer greeted at the door with hungry whiners.  I'm no longer finding piles of wrappers next to the couch and empty bowls stacked on the end table.

There is a list of these ten snacks posted in our kitchen.  With seven of the items, they can pick two. If they choose one of the remaining three, they can only have one item.  I know that I will have to begin to change a few of the items week to week so that my kids don't get bored, but for now things have stayed the same.

Here is our list of 10 Smart After-School Snacks for this week!

My kids can pick two of the following:
1) YoCrunch Yogurt Cup - Chips Ahoy is their favorite flavor
2) Pretzels - pre-portioned baggies (28 sticks = 110 calories)
3) String Cheese - 1 stick
4) Microwave Popcorn - Orville Redenbacher 100 calorie bag
5) Hard-boiled egg
6) A piece of fruit - We usually have apples, bananas and oranges on hand.
7) Bowl of Cornflakes - (1 cup = 100 calories) I recently got rid of the HUGE cereal bowls we had and bought smaller bowls that perfectly hold the appropriate serving size.

Or one of these:
8) Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
9) Easy Mac & Cheese
10) Mug of Hot Chocolate

Some of the snacks my kids can choose from when they get home from school.

JJ and Ellie like having the freedom to choose their snack.  I am confident that they are making wise choices because there is no other options but healthy.  Surprisingly, no one has complained that the chips and ice cream have disappeared (not even my husband!).

I think that one of the keys to the success of this snacking strategy is that they can have two things in some cases.  Pretzels with string cheese.  Yogurt and a banana.  Popcorn and pretzels.  Cereal with fruit.  One small item doesn't seem like enough.  Getting two feels like a lot more food.

My husband and I often debate about if I am babying our kids by making things so simple for them. His point is that our son is going to be heading off to college in two-and-a-half years and I am not going to be with him making him lists of healthy food choices.  My point is that our children obviously do not know how to make healthy snack choices because they are not doing it.  I view this as a method of teaching them how to make smart choices.  Eventually the lists will disappear.  Eventually they will automatically reach for the fruit or pretzels over ice cream or Doritos.  Just like they now grab water and don't even ask if they can order pop in restaurants.

The snack battle appears to have come to an end in our household.  The kids are happy with the choices that are available to them.  I'm happy that they aren't complaining and aren't full when it comes time for dinner.  We all came out of this battle victorious!

Two Quick Family-Friendly Healthier Desserts

Yikes!  Just realized that you forgot you said you'd bring dessert or need one more snack for your holiday party?  Here are two quick family-friendly, healthier dishes that can be a dessert, side or snack made with ingredients you probably have in your kitchen.

Apple Nachos & Christmas Fluff

Christmas Fluff
1 32-oz tub vanilla yogurt (I used Greek non-fat)
1 packet instant vanilla pudding
1 tub cool whip, thawed
1 bag frozen berries (I used raspberries)

Mix the yogurt and vanilla pudding mix until combined.  Fold in cool whip until combined.  Fold in frozen berries.  Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Apple Nachos
Four apples
2 heaping Tablespoons Peanut Butter (creamy or crunchy)
Topping you have on hand (chopped nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, etc)

Slice the apples.  Arrange on a plate.  Melt the peanut butter in the microwave.  Pour over the apple slices.  Sprinkle with additional toppings if desired.

Easy!  I made both of these for our Christmas Eve after church snacks tonight.  My family gave them two thumbs up!

Merry Christmas from Mom Went Running!!

Award-Winning Healthier Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Last week I entered my very first cooking contest.  I LOVE contests!  Not the kind where you simply sign-up and hope that your name is drawn.  I like the contests where I have to write something or create something or . . . bake something!  So when our YMCA (The Sampson Family YMCA in Plum, PA) announced their Healthy Cookie Contest I was in from the start!

The rules of the contest stated that entrants should take a current recipe and change at least one item to make it healthier.  I took a classic Oatmeal Cookie recipe and changed three ingredients.  Half of the butter was replaced with unsweetened applesauce.  The egg was replaced by 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with water.  Finally, I increased the flour from 1-1/2 to 2 cups.  Three changes turned out to be the key because I PLACED THIRD!!

Third Place!!

Without further ado . . .

          Here is my award-winning healthy cookie recipe:

OATrageously Yummy Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup  unsweetened applesauce

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 Tablespoon flaxseed. ground

3 Tablespoons water

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash nutmeg

1-1/2 cup oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter, applesauce and sugars together until light and fluffy.  In a small bowl, combine flaxseed and water.  Add flaxseed mixture to butter mixture and beat until smooth.  Add vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Stir into butter mixture.  Add oats.  Drop spoonful (T or tsp depending on desired size) of cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are golden.  Cookies should not get brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen small or 1-1/2 dozen larger cookies

Serves 18
175 Calories per serving

I'm normally a follow-the-recipe-exactly kind of cook, but it turned out to be a lot of fun to play with the ingredients.  The fact that my family loved the cookies was a huge bonus!  For the contest, cookies were judged on taste, appearance and nutritional profile.  Making a few simple changes to a classic Oatmeal cookie recipe lowered the calories from 210 in the original recipe to 175 per serving. The saturated fat decreased from 7 grams to 3 grams per serving.  Fiber content increased.  I'm already thinking about what changes I make to other recipes!

I hope you'll give these OATrageously Yummy Cookies a try this holiday season!
Merry Christmas!