I have been having tons of wild dreams! I hear that’s a pregnancy hormone symptom : ) But this morning they kept me sound asleep. I turned off my alarm and dozed. A mistake since I have to be at the gym early on Wednesdays for my cycle class!!

I’m just barely on schedule. Thankfully breakfast cooked itself! Part of the reason why I am obsessed with my rice cooker making oats to be ready when I get out of bed, or a bowl of cereal, or overnight oats instead of the more elaborate breakfasts I used to create is because I wake up so groggy and thirsty that I can’t function well and don’t have the energy to stand in front of the stove. But thankfully there are great quick options for breakfast.

And orange juice to shoot into my veins first thing! (I down a full glass of water first to help with hydration)

I could barely stand to photograph it I wanted to drink it so badly!

Overnight oats were good but cold!! I had to eat them under a blanket.

Filled with Holly’s Oats – Cranberry Almond (loved them!), greek yogurt, milk, blueberries, salt, half a banana and Cookie Butter.

Fit for the Queen of the Bed!

Bye guys!

Whenever the phone rings in the middle of the night my heart jumps out of my chest and I panic just a little on the inside. Less so since the bakery opened since Matt occasionally gets calls that the mixer is stuck or so-and-so slept through their alarm.

Around 6 this morning he gets a call from a different zip code. He answered it and quickly left the room. I, of course, started to worry.

Then I hear the following words coming from the spare room:

CHOCOLATE……BROWNIE……SUGAR.

I knew things had to be OK and smiled. As it turns out, he was talking to another bakery owner who was inquiring about the Chocolate Bliss Cookie recipe!

Ah the life of a baker

Oatmeal was ready for me just as I woke up this morning. I had about 5 pages left in Catching Fire and took it back to bed to finish reading! Our basement can be so dark and our bedroom is SO bright in the AM, that I’m enjoying this ritual for its cheerful start.

I’ve been out of rolled oats and keep forgetting to pick up more, so when this duo of oatmeal mix came yesterday as an OpenSky product, I dumped some into the rice cooker and set the timer.

These get an RDs thumbs up for ingredients and nutrition:

Real food, and no added sugar! High in protein and fiber from the grains, chia and flax too.

Into the rice cooker went: 1/2 cup Holly’s multigrain oatmeal and 1.5 cups water. Porridge setting – go!

I stirred in a third a cup of milk when it was done. This always turns it into soup! That’s OK with me and I like the protein and calcium milk adds, but I have to think of other alternatives to keep the oats thicker and myself in my bed until it’s ready.

Topped with Mexican Hot Chocolate Nuts About Granola (was on sale at OpenSky last week – has a great spicy kick to it!) and Whole Foods peanut butter drizzle.

I have tons of things to do for the new blog (I forgot how difficult setting one up is!), a lunch date and bakery work to do today. Have a great one!

Today was so fun! It felt like a field trip from my regular blog schedule! Thank you all again for all of your sweet words.

So here’s what was going on behind the scenes all day –

Breakfast

Cereal in da house!

A big base of greek yogurt topped with Morning O’s, grapes, blueberries, chia seeds, Cville Cluster crumbs and WF peanut butter.

And tea on the side. Did you notice all of my dessert teas disappeared? I didn’t run out – tea has just not been appealing. Or at least the kind I was so into before pregnancy. Now I’m into Earl Gray and Lipton and the occasional peppermint – like today. But that’s it. I don’t really have a taste for coffee either, but I’ve had a few (mostly decaf – except when I forgot to declare decaf to the barista!]

After breakfast I worked on post #2 and then headed to Pump Challenge.

Two exciting things happened there:

#1 my friend Lindsey, who happens to be 34 weeks pregnant, said she said me walking around the track before class started and noticed a pregnant belly and then looked at my face and saw it was me! Showing – bloat or not – indeed.

#2 I made a new friend. Hi Lara! She congratulated me on the news – had just read before class!

We did NOT get to hear Rihanna today, but I did do a killer set of chest flies that I imagine will have me sore tomorrow. I’ve been skipping out on abs since my 7.5 week cramping scare, so I left swiftly and came home.

Lunch

Breakfast kept me full for hours (and I was so busy reading comments!) that I didn’t eat lunch until about 1:30.

Burger time!

It wasn’t until after I finished my No Bull burger that I realized they are lentil based and I liked it! I guess I just can’t have lentil soup right now.

I topped the burger with some leftover pimento cheese from the super bowl and greens – more for photography than for appetite, but I ate them all! Served on a Great Harvest Virginia Potato Bun : )

On the side – fruit! My latest lunch side item. Fruit is delicious.

Grapes + grapefruit. So different, yet so alike.

This afternoon Karen came over with a surprise – two maternity outfits!! She said she got excited after reading my post this morning They are both stylish and cute – a tunic, leggings, a flowy shirt and some cropped khakis. For our San Diego trip in a few weeks! I don’t really need maternity clothes yet, but the pants are sure comfy and the shirts flattering.

Snack

I only did this because I can now Ice cream for a snack!

In all seriousness, there are much worse snack options than Breyers All Natural. With a simple ingredient list, 120 calories per half cup, and protein, fat and sugar amounts that are not unreasonable, I can think of much worse things to eat. Of course I can think of much better too, but that’s not my point Mix this with some milk to up the protein and “dilute” the density of the sugar + cream, and you have yourself a delicious calcium + protein rich snack.

Dinner

Dinner was both tasty and delicious!

I think I’ve mentioned before that I am just not a pasta person. I mean, it’s good, but I have much stronger emotions towards bread and oatmeal than I do pasta. But things have changed! Pasta almost always sounds good to me now – even with veggies involved. And of course with goat cheese!

I found this goat cheese pasta next to the goat cheese in Whole Foods. It had a big “local” tag on it and I found that it is from Silver Spring, Maryland. 6 minutes in a pot and dinner is served!

I added a cup of frozen edamame for more protein in the last 2 minutes of cooking, a nice side of herb salad for greenery (which I ate!) and of course a sprinkling of goat cheese, which melted nicely on top. Black pepper to taste!

The raviolis were great! Very pesto-y!

Note the giant bottle of sparkling water!! And the Izze-esque I had for cocktail hour.

I asked Matt to share his emotions of fatherhood with you all and this was the face he chose. I think there are elements of joy, pride and fear in there!

Or maybe he was just really excited to watch a few episodes of LOST after dinner!!

Because that’s where we’re headed now!

I woke up to SMELLS this morning. Luckily they were good smells. Cinnamon and oats, bubbling away.

Giant bowl of rice cooker Coach’s Oats with chia, banana, raisins and stirred in cottage cheese. Topped with a graham cracker and Whole Foods peanut butter. I had a craving for the old fashioned kind and boy is it good. Love the texture of the Whole Foods too because it’s drippy for spreading! I have GOT to make my own nut butter again – just have to remember to put almonds and/or peanuts on the grocery list!

Consumed in bed with my book. And drowsy husband waking up beside me. Another great thing about rice cooker oats: one can take a single portion out and keep the sleeping partner’s portion warm!

As much as I’d like to, Matt and I have decided NOT to spend the entire day watching LOST. We’re obsessed with the series (clearly) but we are sick of sitting in front of the TV. Our weather isn’t that great, but I think we’re going to go for a run and then figure out some shopping to do.*

*I say figure out because we don’t really need anything so we shouldn’t spend too much $!

Super Bowl at Sara’s tonight! Despite my Giant title, I think I’m going for the Patriots. Because I was born in New England and all!

I woke up to breakfast cooked for me in the rice cooker: a steaming bowl of porridge. After dressing it up (and taking it out for its morning photoshoot) we got back in bed and read Catching Fire for a good hour. I’m nearing the end of the book – so good!!

Rice cooker base:

• 1/3 cup Coach’s Oats
• 1.33 cups water
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• pinch salt
• cinnamon
• half banana

Porridge setting with 7:30 timer

1/3 cup milk stirred in at end and rested for 1 minute to heat

Toppings included Nuts About Granola Minty Chocolate, Cacao bliss and Nuttzo.

I haven’t had breakfast in bed in years and it was pretty fun indeed!

Alas, I have peeled myself from the down comforter and am ready to start this Saturday. We have two events to attend and a grocery store to visit.

Wishful thinking:

Another jar bites the dust!

Chia Charger, you were so good to me.

I filled this bad boy with:

• 1/3 cup Coach’s oats (I love these cooked, but not overnight. I need more rolled oats!)
• 1/3 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup frozen berries
• Peanut butter residue

Hot diggity tea

It may be colder outside, but the cheerfulness of this week’s warm weather is still in the air. A sweet Robin is dancing around my desk window!

Sounds like rain.

Eyeballs confirmed: rain.

With spring weather comes April Showers, so it’s a trade off I will take.

Long time, no pancake!

I made one big fat Kodiak cake this morning (add less water to the batter to make it thick enough for a tall, fat pancake). I added some coconut and a few granola crumbs to the cake before flipping and then topped it with a tsp of cookie butter, seared banana, a scant tbsp of chia charger and some of my Ellwood Thompson granola (love that stuff Elly!)

It was a crunchy, creamy mess that was gone in 5 minutes!

Served with a teacup of tea

And a dash of rain splatter

I could use some yoga today. Good timing rain! But it already looks to be clearing out….

Rice cooker oats came out perfect today!!! Although they were brown and I’m not really sure why. Either I added a ton of cinnamon or the bananas caramelized on the bottom. Both are delicious options!

Check out the volume on this bowl!! HUGE! Texture was great too.

Ingredients: 1/3 cup coach’s oats, 1.33 cups water, half banana, pinch salt, sprinkle cinnamon, 1 tbsp currants, 1 tbsp chia seeds. [I think the chias helped absorb some water and keep the texture thicker]

Setting: porridge + timer

Mix ins: Stirred in 1/3 cup cottage cheese at end and allowed to warm

Toppings: Nuts About Granola Lover’s Blend + almond butter

Delicate eaters would have said “oh dear, this bowl was so much I couldn’t finish it all” but I had no problem

HELP! HELP! She is saying.

Made me feel so guilty for chowing down

An overnight oats delight made with 1/3 cup Coach’s Oats (I prefer rolled oats for overnight versions but I am out and CO work ok – just chewier), 1/3 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup milk, pinch salt, cinnamon, 1/3 cup frozen mixed berries, half banana, Morning O’s on top and Wild Squirrel PB swirl.

Hot cup of COFFEE to warm me back up!!

GOSSIP GIRL – omg. The first ending really surprised me. The second ending surprised me more, but made sense. The third ending, however, I’ve been guessing for a loooong time. Is is true!?!? [PS. Don’t spoil anything in the comments!] It was a good episode!!

It’s a beautiful day!!

Rice cooker oatmeal experiment #3? #4?

This time with a little guidance from Tracy last night in the comments, I set the timer to porridge  setting and crossed my fingers all would work well.

Ingredients: 1/3 cup Coach’s Oats, 1.33 cups water (A LOT!), cinnamon, pinch salt, dried currants.

Setting: Porridge

Timer: 8:20 am

I woke up before it was time and snuck out to take a peek. I think I heard it turn on around 7:40, which would mean a 40 minute cooking time.

While I waited, I did some chores, got dressed for the gym and made tea. Making oats on the stove top takes 5 focused minutes. This takes longer, but it forces me to do little chores that I would save for after. I’m loving the efficiency!

When it finally sung that it was complete at 8:20, I crossed my fingers and opened the lid. And in fact, it was perfectly cooked! A little dry on the bottom, but liquidy on the top and stirred them together was great. I added 1/3 cup of milk at this point (for protein!) along with half a banana and blueberries (I was afraid to add these the night before for food safety reasons). I closed the lid and gave it 2 minutes of heat before portioning into my bowl.

Toppings included Nuts About Granola Lovers Blend (PB + Chocolate Chip minis!!) and Yum Butter.

PROS: Hands off, HUGE VOLUME from all the liquid

CONS: Souper soupy and also very bland

Note the texture – this was a true porridge! But as a result of all the water and lack of banana and milk, it was really really bland. Not really worth the pros. But definitely fun to add to the breakfast rotation because it was so different than my usual oatmeal.

Bland oatmeal is not my cup of tea.

But I will still make it again because the toppings made up for that.

Have a Happy Monday! I don’t know about you, but our forecast is something to get really, really excited about: