Quick and healthy: uncooked oatmeal

This blog is a testament that I went through an uber-healthy phase. The dates of the last few entries are a testament that I've been going through a 'quick and easy by necessity' phase. Now is time to combine the two! I discovered a new fav breakfast the other day: Uncooked oatmeal. I don't love the sugar content of instant oatmeal packets, and because I avoid my microwave if I can, cooking oatmeal, though not terribly time consuming, doesn't always fit into our busy school morning. So when I read an article about oatmeal the other day, my first thought was, "How did I go all this time not knowing I didn't have to cook it??" Second thought: I wonder if it's any good? Answer, yes. (It was pretty easy to figure out.)

I've tried it a few ways and I love them all.
Recipe 1:
1 cup uncooked (non instant) oats
about 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
about 2 tbsp honey
about 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix em together and let sit for about a minute. It's that simple!

Recipe 2:

1 cup uncooked (non instant) oats
about 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
about 2 tbsp honey
about 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Same instructions.

You get the idea- fix it how you like. I've tried rice milk, real maple syrup, chopped up fresh fruit- apples, berries, mango...

It's awesome! Try it!!

Seasons

Once upon a time (2 years ago) I was rock hard, awesomely ripped, fit. I did P90X, I ran for miles barefoot, I ate an almost pristinely healthy diet. I was not planning on having another baby. But I did. She is marvelous. Our life is fantastic and crazy all at once. And my not-so-ripped abs are very stretched out. Almost 9 months after her birth and I have lost all but 7 or 8 pounds, I'm back in my jeans (slightly tighter perhaps) and I look pretty good. My diet is healthy, but certainly not perfect. I have found other areas of wellness not known to me before, and I have let some lapse. I don't have time to work out heavily for 2 hours a day. I don't sleep enough to fuel that sort of thing (though I certainly wish so)! So what do I do? For a while I did nothing. But I also didn't heal, didn't feel good, didn't function well. Then I decided every day after dropping my boys off at their 2 different schools, I'd put my 2 year old in the stroller, strap the baby in a wrap and walk to a park- one that wasn't so nearby. Sometimes it was 1 mile, sometimes it was 3. Then I got even busier, and the weather got colder, and I gave up on that and did nothing again. (Nothing except for running around like a mad woman trying to keep all my plates in the air and spinning.) Today, this is my fitness regimen. I have an alarm set on my phone for 10:00. It tells me to do 25 twist lunges NOW! And I do. I picked a time when I would generally be home and doing things that could pause for 3 minutes, and I picked an exercise that was fairly total body and that didn't take any special equipment or clothing. I do 50 alternating lunges- so 25 on each side. I twist my torso in the direction of the forward leg, as far as is comfortable, then switch sides. It takes less than 3 minutes. Sometimes that is all I get in the way of purposeful exercise. Sometimes I hit the floor and do 25 pushups afterward. Sometimes I do ab flexes or belly dance moves or squats while I brush my teeth at night! What counts is doing SOMETHING. I don't have to be an athlete right now. I'll have time for that.... when I have time for that. :P- Someday when I'm not covered in tiny ones that want to either "help" me with everything or eat me alive. For now, I am covered in those mommy-eating helpers. I can't do a lot of organized exercise without driving us all mad. And that's okay. It's just a season.

Failure

Rock me some doTERRA

I swore i would never fall prey to MLM. Yet here I am a doTERRA Independent Product Consultant. Mostly because I can seriously get behind a solid, amazing product like their Essential Oils. I love them so much! Besides that, their business model is solid and no pressure. It can be as little as a Costco-like membership to buy wholesale myself, or as much as I want it to be- teaching classes, advertising, sending out samples and information. It's hard not to share when a product is this good. Hop on over to my Barefoot doTERRA blog for my doTERRA discoveries, recipes, home remedies and more!

Coconut Curry Veggie Noodle Soup

Coconut Curry Veggie Noodle Soup

2 tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
1/2 sweet onion, diced
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
about 2 tsp cinnamon
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
3-4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock (add a little more if you like it really brothy)
about 3-4 cups kirkland signature frozen stir fry vegetable mix
about 1/2 package thai rice noodles
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft. Add curry powder, cayenne and cinnamon. Sitr in and cook for about a minute. Add tomatoes, coconut milk, and stock and bump heat up to medium-high until things start to simmer. Add frozen veggies and stir occasionally until soup is almost to a boil. Add rice noodles (stir them in so that they are covered), remove from heat and cover. Let sit for about 10 minutes, stir. Salt and Pepper to taste and serve! So yummy!
I wish I'd had time to make naan to go with it. I can only imagine the culinary bliss!

Homemade Deo!

I am loving my Homemade Laundry Detergent. We've used it for over 2 years now. It is saving us money and I love that my laundry smells like nothing (as long as I don't forget about it and leave it in the washing machine overnight- oops!). And so for my next adventure- Homemade deodorant! I'm excited to try it! I am loving the Little House in The Suburbs Blog. Those ladies crack me up!

Simplify

My life is insane. Raising 4 young children is hard, especially while trying to singlehandedly get a house ready for market and prepare photos and videos for my brothers upcoming wedding. I find myself constantly praying for peace. I ran across this quote the other day and it has been quite helpful in helping me to alleviate some of my own stress.

“Tension is who you think you should be.

Relaxation is who you are.”

I am trying to be who I am and afford others (people and inanimate objects alike) the same privilege. For when I allow things to be what they are, I release myself from tension that, in reality, I created in the first place with my silly illusions of control and the mistaken notion that I know better that anyone else how things should be. We all do it. And when you think about it, it's just ridiculous.

Ahead of me (in the next year) I have at least 2 moves- residency changes. They are a good thing. We'll be getting out of debt and staying that way. We get to co-habitate in the castle on the hill at some point (I'm quite pleased about that). They do, however necessitate some serious simplification. I am forced to look at my belongings and consider very seriously why I keep them, and if I should continue doing so. I am buying simplicity with my belongings... and I am kind of loving it. The less I own, the less I am responsible for. Maintenance, storage, protection of such things, it's all just more worries skittering about in my already crowded head. Clutter is leaving, the DI is getting hefty donations, yard sales are being contributed to. Best of all, my home is becoming more spacious, and though not audibly quieter due to the small people running about, it is in many ways more still- more peaceful. I have less to worry about. I'd say that sounds like a fair arrangement.

My brave cohort has dreams of whisking us away to far off lands in the nearish future. And because yes, we will be out of debt, but no, we will not be wealthy as of yet, that will require further simplification. As in 'what you can fit in a suitcase' kind of simplification. I find myself intrigued and enamoured with the idea of taking only basic needs and starting fresh. (My spellcheck says the 'u' is not welcome in 'enamoured', but I say U is always welcome in my house. I can always go for more of U.) Simplification is becoming a way of life- for survival sake. Our meals are more simple- often a salad and roasted potatoes, a yam and some steamed broccoli, or fish and a veg or two. Because if I don't simplify- we get to bed late, I don't notice my children except to brush them out of the way, and my cohort and I are far too befuddled and exhausted by the end of day to do anything but sit around and feel downtrodden and resentful at every one and everything (including each other). It is truly amazing. I am slowly getting the hang of letting go of my weights... and I feel lighter. Imagine that.