My Guilty Obsession

Chocolate. I love it...I yearn for it...apparently I think I need it. No, I know I need it (hehe). I came across these great raw natural food bars, LARABAR. I love this product because each and every product has only 2 to 8 ingredients. LARABAR has a flavored bar, Cocoa Mole, that is amazing. The ingredients include dates, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, cinammon and chili. The flavor combination and my desire for chocolate, make this one satisfying bar. The plus side...it is good for me! You seriously CAN'T beat that!

Oatmeal...Best Breakfast Ever

My newest addiction...oatmeal. I love it. It keeps me full and satisfied all morning and can taste great if you dress it up the right way. So this morning, my oatmeal consisted of this. And I must say, it was super tasty.

Oatmeal with Banana and Pecans

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of old fashioned oats
2 tbs. of flax seeds
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup of water
1 tsp. of vanilla
1 tsp. of honey
1 tsp. of cinnamon
1 banana sliced
2 tbs. of pecans

I found a great way to prepare oatmeal overnight at a the blog site, katheats.com. She lets the oatmeal absorb the liquids overnight and I must say I am loving it!

Directions:

Add the oatmeal, flax seeds, milk, water, honey, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl and mix. Stick in the refrigerator and let it sit over night, covered. In the morning stir the mixture and add the sliced banana and top with pecans.

Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Feta

So last night for dinner I made a great pasta dish. I brought the leftovers for lunch today. It was really great. Actually, for lunch I did not heat it up and decided to go for a cold pasta dish and it was fabulous, especially on a hot day like today...80 degrees here in Ohio! Wahoo! So, to this dish you could add some shrimp if you wanted some protein. Shrimp would be a really great addition.


Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Feta
Serves 4

Ingredients:

3/4 box Barilla Whole Grain Pasta
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 small yellow onions chopped
1 container of all natural pureed tomatoes
1 tbs. of honey
1 tbs. of Italian seasoning
4 sprigs of fresh parsley
4 tbs. of feta cheese
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Bring about 6 cups of water to a boil. Add the whole wheat pasta and cook for about 6-8 minutes. Strain once the pasta is fully cooked. Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic and add into a saute pan drizzled with olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat. Slowly add the all natural tomatoes and reduce the heat to low-medium. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the honey, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Let cook an additional 5 minutes. Before you serve, sprinkle with some fresh parsley and feta cheese.


This dish is really good and I love the honey that I put in it because it adds a sweet taste to the tomatoes and binds together nicely. The feta melts easily on this dish and really adds a nice flavor to it!