INGREDIENT OF THE WEEK: Peanut butter

Good morning! I'm writing this at my kitchen table as I eat my new favorite breakfast. Don't worry the recipe is coming.... Let's just say I found a new way (as if I needed to) to incorporate peanut butter into my meal.

Im a bit of a peanut butter fiend, but I have to be careful how much I keep in the house because I can eat myself under the table with the stuff! I've been playing around with peanut butter in the kitchen trying to find a portion-controlled, but still overwhelmingly peanut buttery treat. Today, I did....PBJ oatmeal. A super satisfying breakfast for under 300 calories.

Here's what you need:


-Old fashioned oatmeal (this is better for you and better tasting than instant-just trust me!)
-Simply Jif (or you favorite peanut butter - just might alter calorie content)
-Berries of choice (I did it with raspberries this morning, but cut up strawberries are actually my rave)

You can stop here, but I actually add honey and vanilla too.

The directions are simple:
1) combine 1/4 cup oatmeal and 1/2 cup water in a microwaveable bowl
HINT: make sure this bowl can hold at least twice as much as you are putting in it - oatmeal tends to party like a rockstar in the microwave and leave an overflowing mess to clean up
2) heat 1 minute in microwave
3)add about 1/2 cup berries and 1 tblsp peanut butter



4) heat 1 minute
5) OPTIONAL: add 1 tblsp honey and a drop vanilla extract
6) stir, let sit a minute and it is ready to eat!



The best news? This is only 265 calories (less if you nix the honey, but I like it for reducing allergies) and keeps you going strong all morning.

Here's my calorie counter for proof:


This is definitely a breakfast to try this week!


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Location:N Bryan Ave,Bryan,United States

All you can eat sunscreeen!

While I'm feeling a little under the weather today, I'm super excited to see the sun peeking out from behind the clouds...rain rain we love you but I miss my sunshine!


Ill be honest, I love nothing more than the feel of sun on my skin. I spent the day at the pool on Saturday with one of my friends enjoying the sun, but we couldn't have fun for fear of getting a sunburn so early in the season. We smeared tons of sunscreen on,but I still walked away with a little redness on my chest.......grrrr........

Thanks to pinterest (anyone else obsessed??!!) I ran into a few articles by WellnessMama (great blog...check it out) about eating your sunscreen. Obviously, I would never recommend downing a bottle of coppertone so, please, let me explain.

The idea of eating your sunscreen is all about including foods in your diet that have the potential to help you avoid sunburn. In fact, the lady writing the article claimed to have spent her week beach vacation without using sunscreen and without burning. I'm not ready to give it all up yet, but I'm definitely ready to pay more attention to what I do/do not eat during the summer.

It is important that we are able to spend some time sans sunscreen outside for vitamin D production. Vitamin D is important for bone growth and repair (important in the battle against osteoporosis), liver and kidney health and immune/thyroid function. There is also some speculation about toxic chemicals in our sunscreen. There are TONS of recipes online for making your own from natural ingredients. Actually, coconut oil by itself has an SPF of 4 and zinc oxide can be bought just about anywhere for an SPF of around 70!



Have i peaked your interest yet?
Here is a basic diet list that was recommended on WellnessMama.com


As you can see it is mainly eating a healthy and grain-free diet, but I did notice that avoiding vegetable oils and adding in tomato paste is something I can easily strive for during the warm months. I have already been adding extra tomato paste to everything I can think of!

What do you think? Crazy?!?

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