I was very excited to wake up to something a little more inspiring.
I had some Photoshop fun with this one and made some desaturated frostyness.
While I am sad to see winter creeping in it was a fun photography moment! I love frost, I think it is so beautiful in an eerie way.
On to my breakfast. Oats of course. These were some what a mega salad version of oats.
In the Oats Mix:
-1/2 cup groats
-2-3 tbsp Plain Stonyfield Non-Fat Yogurt
-Banana
-Butternut Squash
-Clusterey Granola (recipe below!)
-Cinnamon + Nutmeg
These were super super creamy- I loved it.
If you look at the lower right hand picture in the collage you can see the nice smooth consistency of my oats.
I decided to make a little collage because I craved a lil' more Photoshop fun after editing the frosty flower picture. (What Spanish test on Tuesday are you talking about? I don't need to make a study guide or study today...)
Let's go back in time to last night when my pants looked like this after spending hours drawing with charcoal:
Yes I was wearing cropped pink sweatpants, covered in charcoal, with high flower printed Smart Wool socks. Hey, my house has tile floors my feets got real cold!
Since drawing isn't really my thing I was feeling a little defeated, uncreative, and well frumpy. It was time to create a delicious trendy snack. Yes yes last night was the time to conquer the cluster.
I gathered ingredients.
I concocted a mysterious sauce.
Scooter begged for a taste test.
I came up with something that I thought would work...I popped it in the oven and anxiously watched it cook with Scooter at my side....
Success!
Clustery Granola
Ingredients:
Dry:
-2 cups Old Fashioned oats
-1/2 cup coconut shavings (optional)*
-1/4 cup halved cashews
-1/4 cup almond slivers
-2 Tbsp Flax Seeds
-1/2-1 cup craisins or raisins.
Clustering Mix:
-2 Tbsp Brown Rice Syrup (or less if you want less calories/less clusters)
-1-2 Tbsp peanut butter (optional)*
-2 tsp Blackstrap Molasses (optional)*
Glaze:
~2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together all dry ingredients, besides craisins or raisins, in large mixing bowl. In small bowl stir together clustering mix. Stir clustering mix into dry ingredients. No need to stir it all in evenly, the mix should create little clusters of the dry ingredients. Mix in until you get desired clusteryness. (I like smaller more frequent clusters so I mixed mine in pretty well) Then add the coconut oil to create a glaze on the mix, make sure the coconut oil is liquified. You can microwave it in a small microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds if it is hard.
Spread the mix on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes checking frequently to make sure it's not burning and stirring 2-3 times.
*These add a nice subtle flavor but if you are calorie counting they hike up the calorie count quite a bit. Some good variations would be to cut out the PB/coconuts and add a Tbsp of blackstrap molasses (here I explain some of it's many health benefits). Molasses has a stronger flavor than PB when baked(although different and somewhat spicy) but one Tbsp is only 42 calories vs. 100 in PB!
Delicious just plain or with chocolate chips, or in oats...
I thought this turned out perfectly but both my parents said I burnt it a little bit. Oops! Just remember to check that oven frequently!
Aren't you glad I waited to take some pictures of it outside in natural light in the morning?
Ok well now I must face my Spanish book...or maybe I will try to master the chewy granola bar...
I made one! But it doesn't quite hold together enough...and I accidentally made it a little high in sugar...hmm tempting. Hopefully there will be a recipe soon.
I hope you are enjoying a frosty Sunday as well!
Or if frost isn't your thing a frost-free Sunday :)
Do you like waking up to see Mr.Frost has made a visit?
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