After all of you shared some of your favorite ideas for savory hot cereal ideas on this post, I couldn’t wait to get back to Nashville and try some of them. First up was Peanut Butter Boy’s Spicy Hominy and Oats. Thanks Nick!

Look who came back into my life for this very special breakfast..

Early on in my pregnancy, I had a very bad experience with my beloved tahini. I used to drizzle tahini in and on everything, but I got really sick after eating it one night and haven’t really wanted any since. Well, when we arrived home Saturday night, I had a sample of Artisana’s Cashini Butter waiting for me. It’s a blend of raw cashews, raw sesame seeds, and Celtic Sea Salt, and the jar said it would make a great peanut butter replacement. So, I decided to try it in Nick’s recipe this morning, and as far as the wing sauce goes, all I have to say is Emeril, I love you. I’m so glad we’ve been reunited

Now onto my amazing breakfast…

I followed Nick’s recipe, using a combo of oat bran and quick cooking grits. I also subbed water for the skim milk and the Cashini Butter for spicy peanut butter. I didn’t have any PB2 on hand, but I bet some Trader Joe’s peanut flour would have worked just as well, right Sarena? Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of that either. Oh well, my bowl was still delicious…and so filling. I’m stuffed! I loved the taste of the Cashini Butter, but the flavor isn’t as strong as regular PB. I think next time, I would add it on top rather than stir it in, so that I can taste it more with each bite. I also think this would taste amazing topped with a runny egg or perhaps even some crumbled blue cheese? So many possibilities!

So, speaking of Artisana, besides the Cashini Butter, I also received a few more goodies from the company while I was away…

They now sell individual serving size squeeze packets. So exciting!! I also received a jar of Cacao Bliss and raw almond butter. Thanks Artisana! Would you like to share in the wealth? Simply leave a comment below telling me which of the company’s nut butters you would like to try, and I’ll send one lucky winner a squeeze pack…or two.

Good afternoon. It’s weird writing my first post for the day in the afternoon, but I’ve been so busy this morning. I went to a 90-minute yoga class at 8:30 – opted for Gentle Yoga, and it was just what my body needed. It’s been way too long since my last Down Dog, and my hamstrings are soooo tight. I then stopped by Whole Foods (so good to be back!) and then saw a client at 11 (for any new readers, I’m a massage therapist). So, I’m just now getting a chance to sit down in front of the computer. I always forget how much I go go go when we’re in Nashville. It’s great to be back home, but I’m already missing our low-key Michigan lifestyle. I need to remind myself to slow down more often. I also need to eat this morning’s breakfast more often as it was delightful.

In honor of Chocolate Covered Katie’s birthday today (Happy Birthday Katie!), I decided to make one of her oatmeal recipes, but it was too hard to pick just one. So, I recipe morphed and came up with the following bowl of yum…

After narrowing my options down to Snickerdoodle Hot Cereal and Katie’s Better-N-Rice Pudding, I ended up making Snickerdoodle Blended Rice Pudding. Into the rice cooker went one cup of brown Basmati rice and 2 and 1/2 cups water plus a pinch of salt. After it was done cooking (love my rice cooker!), I scooped out one cup, threw it in the Vita-Mix with 1/2 cup HEABified coconut milk (recipe coming soon), and lots of cinnamon. Voila, instant Snickerdoodle Rice Pudding. If you’ve never tried Katie’s blended grains technique, then you need to…like now! I forgot how much I love blending my grains. Toppings included more cinnamon and Justin’s chocolate almond butter…had to get some chocolate in there somewhere! I also threw a pair of chopsticks into the photo, but unlike Katie, I don’t chopstick. I tried, and although Brussels sprouts are very chopstick friendly, bacon is not. Katie, thanks for the breakfast inspiration, and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Again, many thanks to all of you who have sent the HEABlet gifts, and I hope you don’t mind me showcasing the cuteness. I am just so appreciative and overwhelmed by everyone’s thoughtfulness. So, I present to you The HEABlet Gift of the Day…

The Pure2Raw twins sent me a quilt their mom made especially for our baby girl. Lori and Michelle, I can’t thank you both (and your mom) enough. CD and I LOVE the quilt!!!

Just so you know, I have never understood why people pass around the gifts at baby showers…I mean, we all see the girl open it, right? Am I missing something? I guess people like to examine onesies up close?

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Snack Bites packed in the box with the quilt…in fact, they all disappeared the day I opened them…couldn’t help myself as the HEABlet kept kicking for more.

Her favorites were the Cocoa Kremes With A Hint of Cinnamon: organic unsweetened coconut, organic coconut oil, organic dates, organic cacao, organic vanilla, stevia, spirulina, and cinnamon. Delicious! Thanks again Lori and Michelle.

OK, off to celebrate Labor Day with a cookout at my mom’s house. Don’t forget to try blended grains!

We made it back home last night in great time. Surprisingly, despite it being a holiday weekend, we never never saw much traffic on the Interstate. It felt so good to pull into our driveway and walk into our house, especially since we now have all new hardwood floors! While in Michigan, we had our hardwood floors refinished and stained a new color. We also replaced the carpet in the master bedroom with wood floors to match the rest of the downstairs. Oh my gosh, I LOVE it! With two dogs, carpet is almost impossible to keep clean, and we don’t even allow the dogs in the carpeted areas of the house. However, we were always tracking dog hair and dirt onto the carpet with our socks. So gross, and I’m so glad it’s gone. We still have carpet upstairs, but I’d like to keep it that way as we plan on having tiny feet running around up there soon. Many many thanks to Alice, CD’s mom, who flew in to supervise the new floors…and for cleaning our house while you were here. Alice, I can’t thank you enough, it looks beautiful! Many thanks to my family as well for putting our bedroom back together and hauling off our old furniture. Then to top it all off, I walked into to see our dining room table full of baby gifts, including everything from homemade quilts to adorable outfits, from many fellow bloggers and HEAB readers. I had no idea some of you were sending gifts for the HEABlet. Really, I don’t think I have ever felt so loved by so many people in my life. THANK YOU!

OK, so how about some eats?

Unlike our trip to Michigan, CD and I remembered to pack our prepared eats in the car for the drive home. Again, it’s simply too difficult to stop and eat when traveling with 2 dogs, and so we usually prepare whatever food we have left before leaving and eat on the road, stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks.

After a game of Musical Jars, breakfast before we left was chocolate custard oats with Trader Joe’s raw crunchy almond butter. For the oats, I cooked 1/2 cup oat bran with 1 and 1/2 cups water, stirring over low heat until most of the water had been absorbed. I then stirred in one whole egg until it was fully cooked. After removing from the heat, I added 1 TBSP cocoa powder. I didn’t sweeten it with anything as I think the almond butter itself adds the perfect touch of sweet love.

Then on our way home, we snacked on the following…

Hard boiled eggs and leftover burgers made with beef and hummus (so yummy!)

A Nutiva Hemp Chocolate bar and my favorite chocolate squares.

The pups got chunks of leftover baked sweet potato, and around 5 o’clock when we stopped for gas, I was totally craving pizza and came really close to buying pizza flavored Combos. Ha, remember those? However, I settled for a small bag of beef jerky instead.

When we arrived home, I still had pizza on the brain. So, after unloading the Jeep, I found this in our freezer…thank goodness for all those pizza cravings in my first trimester!

Amy’s Single Serve Rice Crust Roasted Vegetable Pizza. Yum – thanks Amy!

Alice was also kind enough to leave us the following goodies from a recent trip she took to Crested Butte, Colorado…

Love Alice!

A little while after my pizza, I poured myself a bowl of the gluten-free cereal (delicious by the way). We didn’t have any almond milk, and so I made myself some HEABified coconut milk, but more about that in another post. Yep, you better I believe I managed to use the Vita-mix before going to bed!

OK, time to go walk the dogs and sort through 5 weeks of mail plus several boxes of product samples…expect some giveaways soon!

Before I go…

If you’re interested in a step-by-step protein ice-cream tutorial, please click here to read my guest post all about it over at Chocolate Covered Katie. By the way, make sure and stop by Katie’s blog tomorrow and wish her Happy Birthday!

Also, YogaDownload is having a Labor Day Weekend sale. Through Monday, use the coupon code LaborDay to get 40% off the site’s entire library of yoga classes, meditations and music!

Enjoy your weekend!

For the past 2 summers, CD and I have spent part of July and all of August in Colorado. However, this year, we chose to come to Michigan as my doctor was a bit worried about me traveling to altitude during my 3rd trimester. I never thought I would love any place more than my beloved Rocky Mountains, but the past 5 weeks have been amazing…

We traded in our yurt for a lakeside cottage…

We swapped mountains for the water…

and mountain trails for sand dunes…

There was deck yoga, but this year with views of the water rather than any Colorado 14ers ..not bad for 7 and 1/2 months preggo, no? Truth be told, I totally toppled over after CD took the photo.

We missed our old friends but made new ones…

All in all, I’d say it was a fair trade, wouldn’t you?

And so our trip ends where it all began…at the Fife Lake Dairy Bar!!! Yesterday was cold and rainy, and CD and I decided to head into town after dinner for one last ice-cream date. I ordered an Oreo flurry with chocolate malt ice-cream, and CD got a large cup of Moose Tracks and Peanut Butter Brownie Crunch. We figured since it was our last night in Michigan, land of all things ice-cream, and we might as well go all out. We then drove down to the lakefront, and enjoyed our dessert in the car with the heat blasting…it was perfect.

Again, we’ve had a wonderful Babymoon here in Northern Michigan. Thanks for joining us on our trip, and I hope you’ll be back next year! Come on…you know you can’t wait to see photos of the HEABlet on the beach.

CD and I leave for Nashville tomorrow, and our food supply is quickly dwindling down to nothing. We’re out of Brussels sprouts, blueberries, almond milk, and there is not even 1 slice of bacon to be found in our fridge. However, one thing we have plenty of is butternut squash. Remember this guy from our trip to the farmer’s market?

On Wednesday morning, I cut up the squash and roasted batch after batch of fries along with several butternut butts, and we’ve been enjoying our bounty ever since.

For fries, slice butternut squash into thin strips. (I never bother peeling. Yes, I eat the skin. Yes, I like it, and no, I’ve never died from eating squash skin.) Next, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat the foil with coconut oil or butter. Then place your squash strips in a single layer on the foil. At home, I actually place the fries on baking racks which makes for a much crispier fry as it allows the air to circulate underneath while cooking. Then roast in a 425° oven for 35 to 45 minutes.

Some examples of our squash lovin’ over the past couple of days…

2 butts with Naturally Nutty White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter and Trader Joe’s raw crunchy almond butter

Spinach topped with a Garden Herb Sunshine Burger, chopped avocado, butternut squash, and Hummy Mustard dressing (minus the stevia)

CD’s Almond Butter Chili with chunks of butternut squash stirred in after cooking. So good!

Butternut squash protein smoothie (water, cooked butternut, & Jay Robb’s vanilla rice protein powder) topped with Honey Rice Puffins

Warmed brown rice tortilla stuffed with mashed butternut squash + avocado and Naturally Nutty White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter

Are you ready for fall now?

A savory and a sweet bowl to share with you…

Southern style grits with a Middle Eastern twist.

For the bowl pictured above, I made 2 servings of Quaker grits cooked in water and salt with 1/2 TBSP butter stirred in after cooking and topped with 1 strip of bacon, pepper, and hummus.

Next up, we have chocolate protein custard grits…

Recipe: Cook 2 servings grits with water and 1 whole egg (add egg towards end and continue stirring over low heat until egg is cooked through). Remove from heat and stir in 1 scoop protein powder of choice (I used Jay Robb’s chocolate rice). Finish off with toppings, mine being Naturally Nutty Trail Mix and White Chocolate Coconut peanut butter.

After this morning’s post, I can’t wait to get back home to Nashville and try some of your suggestions, especially for polenta. I’ve eaten polenta but never made it myself, and many thanks to reader Ellen for explaining the difference. Grits are ground hominy while polenta is made from whole corn.

Do you think all these bowls of grits will help me run as fast as Ryan Hall?

What’s your favorite recipe for savory hot cereal?

Grits, according to Wikipedia:  

A food of Native American origin that is common in the Southern United States; it mainly consists of coarsely ground hominy. It is sometimes called sofkee or sofkey from the Creek word. The name ‘grits’ likely derives from the Northern European grit gruels.

Grits is similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta. It also resembles farina, a thinner porridge.

Grits can also be fried in a pan or mold to create a firm block. The resulting block can be cut with a knife or wire, and the slices are fried in a fat such as vegetable oil, butter, or bacon grease.

Honestly, growing up in Nashville, I was never a huge fan of grits. My parents aren’t from the South and never made them for us very often. I tried grits a few times but usually opted for eggs or pancakes instead. However, now that I’m older, my taste buds have broadened their horizons, and I love me some grits! Truth be told, I can’t get them out of mind ever since CD and I went to lunch at Soul Hole in Traverse City. I order the shrimp and grits, and it was just so good!

Mmmm, grits with butter with cornbread on the side. YUM!

After that delicious lunch, I went out and bought myself a canister of this…and I’m in love.

Now, I know some people think that corn is the devil. However, I like it, especially now that I’m trying to switch up my grain intake and eat less wheat. I’m not a fan of high fructose corn syrup (we’ll just ignore my obsession with Pop-Tarts during my first trimester, okay? Thanks!). Nor am I a big fan of corn oil. However, there are some corn products that I really like, grits being one of them…

2 servings of Quaker grits cooked in water and mixed with Jay Robb’s vanilla rice protein powder. Topped with Naturally Nutty Pepita Sun Seed Butter and White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter.

Other corn products I enjoy?

I love raw corn straight from the cob in my salads. The kernels add such a nice sweet crunchy flavor. Try it!

I’ve also been known to top vanilla protein oats with raw corn.

Surprisingly good!

There there are papusas. Love a good papusa made with corn flour.

Tomato, goat cheese, and pesto filled papusa.

Let’s not forget popcorn…

And everyone knows I love corn tortilla chips!

Trader Joe’s Veggie Tortilla chips with Purple Cauliflower Monster-Mash

Favorite way to eat corn?

P.S. If you get a chance, please visit Feed Me, I’m Cranky to check out Annabel’s Healthy Lifestyle Blogger Series. Thanks for including me Annabel!

Many of you told me a visit to Moomers is a must when visiting Northern Michigan.

Moomers, named America’s Best Scoops by Good Morning America, is a dairy bar, serving some of the country’s best ice-cream. The ice-cream shop is located on the Plummer family farm outside of Traverse City, and you can click here to check out their amazing menu. The dairy produces over 100 different flavors of ice-cream, with over 20 available daily.

After our yummy dinner at Joe’s Friendly Tavern, CD and I drove a few miles out of the way on our way back to Fife Lake for some Moomers, and I’m so glad we did! Cherries Moobilee is their most popular flavor: black cherry flavored ice cream with chunks of black sweet cherries, red tart cherries, chocolate fudge swirl and chunks of homemade brownie pieces. So, of course, I wanted to try a scoop. After all, Northern Michigan is the Cherry Capital of the World. However, I’m really more of a chocolate girl at heart. What was I to do? Get 2 scoops!

Notice the cows in the background?

I ordered a scoop of Cherries Moobilee (recommended by reader Amy) and a scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk (recommended by Sarah): chocolate ice cream with pieces of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and creamy peanut butter swirl. Moomers, you score big points for chunkage factor! So much for eating less dairy and peanut butter, huh? Oh well, I plan to do better when we get back to Nashville. Anyway, the ice-cream was amazing and many thanks to everyone who tipped us off to Moomers. I really wanted to get the HEABlet a Moomers’ T-shirt before we left, but after we finished our cones, the line of customers was out the door. Oh well, next year little HEABlet, I promise!

Have you ever been to a dairy farm for ice-cream? In my opinion, there’s nothing like it!

Yesterday, CD and I spent the afternoon with our friends, Travis and Jessica, at Empire Beach on Lake Michigan.

A lake? Again, I think not.

I mean, check out those waves…people were surfing!

Being from the South, going to the beach involved an 8-hour drive down to the Gulf of Mexico, and as much as I love the Grayton and Rosemary beach areas of Florida, I have to say I think I might like Lake Michigan a little more. The water is beautiful, it’s not so hot, and there are no jellyfish. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stung by jellyfish!

After some beach time, we went to Joe’s Friendly Tavern for an early dinner.

Empire is a tee-tiny town with a bit of a hippy/surfer vibe, and I got the impression that an eclectic mix of people live there based on the restaurant’s menu. For instance, CD ordered the following:

A 1/2 pound burger with bacon and Bleu cheese dressing. It was huge! He ended up scraping off the dressing and just eating the meat sans bun.

Meanwhile, I ordered the grilled vegetarian cake on a wheat roll with sweet potato fries. The homemade veggie burger contained dried cherries and was held together with hummus.

Delicious!

After dinner, we walked down the street for one last glimpse at the beach.

Lake Michigan, I’m going to miss you!

There was of course dessert, but you’ll have to stay tuned for that.

In other news, beginning today, Mara from I Made Dinner is donating all of her blog proceeds for the month of September to the A to Z Literacy Project. A to Z is a charity spearheaded by a coworker that sends thousands of books annually to needy children in Zambia. So, if you get a chance, please stop by I Made Dinner and click around a few times.

Also, I was interviewed by Trenia from Plus Sizeology, and the interview went live today. If you’d like, you can click here to read it. Thanks so much, and I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

More Naturally Nutty White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter lovin…

Breakfast from a few days ago: Vanilla protein grits (my new love, but more about that in another post) with Naturally Nutty White Chocolate Peanut Butter and Naturally Nutty Pepita Sun Seed Butter.

Shortly after opening the jar, I stared longingly at it, dreaming of White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter Oats In A Jar. Readers often tell me they can’t wait to get to the end of the nut butter jar so they can fill it with oats, smoothies, pureed squash, etc. Friends, you do not have to wait until that jar is empty…you simply play musical jars and transfer nut butter from jar to jar. So, my Naturally Nutty PB went into a clean glass jar…

and I enjoyed myself a little White Chocolate Coconut PB drenched oat action with a square of unsweetened chocolate…no waiting necessary. P.S. Make sure to leave plenty of nut butter smeared on the sides of the jar…love that.

Have you ever played musical jars?