Overnight Steel Cut Oats: apples, cinnamon, dates and almond milk

I kept seeing overnight oats all over Pinterest and I kept telling myself I would make them. Well, I finally did. I created my own recipe using ingredients I love. I used steel cut oats instead of rolled oats and a Medjool dates instead of honey. The results were awesome. The best part is having something healthy waiting for you in the fridge when you wake up in the AM! 

*I chose to use steel cut oats instead of rolled oats because steel cut oats are less processed. Just be mindful the texture is different than rolled oats, as steel cut oats are a little more chewy and absorb less liquid. 

Ingredients:

Serving size 2 (I separated these into two mason jars)

• 1 cup steel cut oats- rinsed and strained

• 1 cup homemade almond milk (you can use any kind of milk) here is my homemade cashew milk recipe

• half of an apple diced

• 1 Medjool date pitted and cut into small pieces

• cinnamon to taste

• slivered almonds for crunch to add on top

Directions:

• rinse the steel cut oats

• Cut up half of an apple and 1 date.

• Grab two mason jars (or any kind of container with a lid) put 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of milk in each jar. If you want a little more milk feel free to add. You want to make sure all of the oats are covered by the milk.

• Separate apples and dates into each jar.

• Add cinnamon.

Cover the jar and shake. Place the jars in the fridge and wait for your overnight oats to be created. I shook my jars, every now and then, to get it all mixed.

Take out the next day and top with fresh apples and slivered almonds for some crunch! 

The only sugar in this recipe comes from the dates and apples... SCORE! The oats are so YUMMY, so tasty, and good for you (great source of fiber!)

How do you make YOUR oats?

Raw mango pie - using only 4 foods

I had Jody over, from JoJo's Raw Kitchen and she introduced me to the most delicious and easy to make RAW pie.  When I think of dessert I think of chocolate. I am not much of a fruit and nut dessert girl. So when Jody mentioned mango pie, it was not my first choice, but now I have become officially obsessed! This is something that I could eat every day as a sweet treat and not feel bad about it. Seriously awesome.

​Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup dates (take out the pits)
• 1 mango
• 1 banana

Directions:

In a food processor place almonds and chop until almost a powder. Add in dates and blend together until they form a paste. This will be your raw crust. Take out and place in a pie dish to make a crust. Press the paste down hard and form a base to your pie.

Cut up 1 mango and 1 banana. Place in food processor and and blend. This is going to be your "cream" part of the pie!

Pour the mango and banana mixture on top of your raw crust and place in the fridge for 10 minutes then serve. The pie stays good for 4-5 days. It might lose its bright yellow color, but it is still good to eat.

Some tips:

• If your dates are hard soak them in water for about 30 minutes to soften
• Your pie may crumble when you serve it. WHO CARES. Because it just tastes so good.
• Make sure your crust is really stuck together and there are no holes.
• If the almond/date crust is not sticking together add more dates to the mixture.

YUM! Enjoy! Do you have any raw, quick and easy recipes that you would like to share??

100 calorie Lara Bar inspired snack!

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I love Lara Bars, not only because of their sweet goodness, but also because they are made from about 4 ingredients. I thought, if Lara can make these bars... so can I (and so can you!)

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For my "Lauren bars" I used:

4 dates

1/2 C figs

1/4 C walnuts

1/4 C almonds

1 tbsp chia seeds

In a blender (I used a mini food processor by Proctor Silex) throw in all the nuts. Make sure not to turn the nuts into a powder. You want to have some chunks in there to add texture to your bar. Set the nuts aside.

Next: Throw the dried fruit into your blender. Blend until they form a paste like this:

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I used a vegetable cutting board and laid out my dried fruit paste. I took the chia seeds and added it to the top.

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After mixing the chia seeds and paste by hand, I threw in my nuts.

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Mix nuts and paste together. I always loved playing with my food. You can make a mohawk if you would like.

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Divide mixture into 8 snack balls. Throw the balls in a plastic bag and store in your fridge.

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Each ball will contain a little over 100 calories  (~108) and provide you with a sweet  and nutritious filled snack that will give you your afternoon boost, or that pre workout lift. You can get creative with the mixtures and add different dried fruit for the paste, or nuts for the filler. Let me know if you try it, and how it comes out! Did you add something different?