I am out of my Nature Valley protein bars, so when I woke up yesterday morning I knew I had time to knock out a batch of granola as a pre/post workout snack. I was going to follow my lemon poppy seed granola recipe, but turns out I was out of poppy seeds, I didn’t have applesauce or agave nectar.
But the great thing about granola is that you can just throw in whatever you have. I loved, loved how this one turned out. It’s sweeter than any other granola I’ve made, but not overly sweet. And I baked the granola with the craisins and it worked out just fine. I always hated adding them in after the fact because they never felt incorporated, just kind of loose.
I will say that once I decided to just bake the granola like a sheet, and cool completely, I’ve finally got the granola clusters I was looking for – don’t stir your granola is my motto if you want clusters. I haven’t figured out the calories for this just yet, but for tracking purposes yesterday, just went with the calories for 1/2 a cup of homemade granola.
Almond Granola
- 3 cups oats (I use quick but either is fine)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened soy milk
- 1/2 cup craisins
- 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
- 3/4 cup of whole almonds
Heat oven to 325. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together, making sure that all of the oats and stuff are wet – this is a wet granola to start out with – no worries! Press down on a baking sheet in one layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes. The trick is to let the granola cool COMPLETELY before trying to get your clusters. If you want chewy granola, only let it cool 30 minutes. I prefer crunchy granola, so after it was almost cool at home, I didn’t think it was cool enough, so I put it in the back seat of my car for the 30 minute ride to work.
So good. I ended up having a half a cup on the way to work (see the corner missing!) and it was delicious.
My actual breakfast was delicious too though – I made an egg white/egg beater spinach and cheese omelet – it was so filling! In a small skillet I put 1 cup of baby spinach. I let that cook over medium low heat for about 3-4 minutes, just until it started to wilt, then added 1/2 cup egg beaters, 1/2 cup of egg whites and 1/2 an ounce of cheese, put a lid on it and let it cook until almost cooked through. Then folded it over, added the other 1/2 ounce of cheese and at work I reheated it and added a touch of hot sauce.
If someone would have told me that I’d eat a spinach omelet 10 years ago I would have thought they were crazy – now I kind of freak out when I run out!
So I talked about going down the slide at the pool in yesterdays post. The weather was hot, but beautiful!
I was afraid to take my flip flops off the ground was so hot! (hello mismatched feet!)
I did my 30 minute swim – the kids were very cooperative of the lap lane which I appreciated. At the end I just asked a life guard “can adults go down the slide?” Up to that point I had never seen anyone other than kids go down the slide.
And . . . I did it! It was so much fun. I just laid back and let the water take me to the bottom – I truly did feel like a kid again and think I’ll end every swim with a slide.
When I got back to work I was really hungry. I ended up making a boboli crust pizza – I was only going to make half of one because half of the crust alone was 190 calories, but I decided I could afford the calories knowing that I was doing an extra hard Insanity last night.
My pizza: boboli crust, 1/2 cup of my homemade sauce, an ounce of leftover grilled chicken, 1 roasted red pepper chopped, baby spinach and mozzarella cheese – the whole thing comes in at 532 calories.
Our gas grill sits off of our deck off our living room that gets all the sun around dinner time. I would have sweated my balls off if I tried to light the grill, so I let my indoor cast iron grill step in. Simple sirloin steak – I roasted a bunch of red potatoes over the weekend, so sliced them, added a bit of cheese and put them under the broiler in the toaster oven, and for me I diced up a zucchini and sautéed it for a few minutes.
So last night was not only Max Cardio Conditioning, but also Cardio Abs – 60 minutes in total. I have to say that while I have to modify 10% of the moves, I was able to kick ass on the other 90% – I just kept telling myself stopping was not an option. And I like when I am able to continue on and some of the people on the screen have to stop and catch their breath.
That was my Instagram picture last night (find me! biz319). Day 47 is in the books! I recovered with a grape Gatorade G2 low calorie drink and some farmers market string cheese.
Stats for the Day:
- 1428 calories, 41 fat, 150 carbs, 10 fiber, 107 protein
- 42% of calories from carbs, 26% from fat and 32% from protein
- 30 minute swim at lunch – and a trip down the slide!
- 60 minute Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning and Cardio Abs
When I got home from work yesterday, Lyle the Squirrel stopped by to say hi! I knew he was just stopping by to hit me up for some of my fantastic granola. He was sitting on our table and I just threw the granola on the table and he ran right after it. He knows a good thing!
And here are a few more pictures from my Lake vacation in Virginia. This one was a dragon fly caught in a spiders web by the dock.
This one a fly was drinking the rain drops off of the flower.
My brother – I like to call this WARRIOR POSE!
And the women at the Lake (except my SIL Laura and Rachel who came the next day). I always like to be front and center – ha!
And everyone (except my cousins wife Lori, who had already left)!
Alright, its time to get this show on the road. Turns out I actually have a day job to get to! I still have time though to put together Jacky’s Oatmeal Lemon Ricotta pancakes for breakfast. Although I am subbing in cottage cheese for the ricotta and I am adding blueberries. Hers look delicious so I have no doubt these will be great!
Make it a great day – and if you have an opportunity to go down a slide – go for it!!
Made the Almond Granola – it is most excellent. Even the picky eater loves it – WHAT?!??! Thanks so much for posting the recipe!
I’m so proud of you for going down that slide!
I can’t believe I eat spinach either. We go through the gigantic Costco bag in a week sometimes. If it shows signs of getting soggy I freeze it for smoothies. I put spinach in everything!
I have said it before but I cannot keep crackola in my house. I just have no self-control around it.
Those are such nice family photos . Looks like such a fun trip. I wish my family did more things together even if only once or twice a year.
Yay for the slide – you should start and end each swim with the slide 😀
I’m sure Tyler and Becky enjoyed your crack granola and I am SO glad you went down that slide, so fun!
Thanks Courtney! I’ve got blueberry lemon struessel muffins in the oven right now – we are finally celebrating Tyler and another attorneys birthdays today!
Reading about you going down the slide brought back childhood memories. I began to think that I need to get to the pool again, because the more active we can be and the more free that we feel in our activities, the more joy we experience in our lives. You are doing such good things for yourself and your family! BTW, your granola looks yummy, as does all of your food.
Even though I am not the best swimmer, it is a lot of fun – just to be outside away from my desk every day is such a great break! Happy Friday!
Almond Granola is my FAVE!! I’ve just been buying “Bare Naked” vanilla almond granola. And I’ve never attempted to make the crunchy stuff before, so I’ll definitely be trying your recipe. Thanks for posting it! And feelin’ like a kid again on the slide – that’s what I’m talkin’ about – YES!!! So, did the life guard look at you funny when you asked? Or was he/she all cool about it? Maybe you’ll start a new trend!
Nope, the lifeguard did not look at me funny, in fact she was smiling when I got done! 😀
I am so glad you went down the slide. We all need those kid moments more often to keep the rush going. You look so happy, Biz.
Thanks Abbe – it was fun! 😀