Last night I prepped some overnight oats for an in-flight breakfast. This was before it dawned on me that overnight oats might be considered a liquid and may or may not make it through security… dun dun dun

I was up for taking the risk, but I’m pretty sure I dreamed about whether or not it was going to make it through. Visions of me having to quickly devour the full container while in the TSA line danced in my head. Pretty comical, no?

Thank goodness TSA didn’t have any issues with the small tubberware container I had stashed in my Bee Healthy lunch bag this morning and I was able to enjoy the protein packed oats while comfortably seated on my flight.

Here’s what went into the mix:

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 cup + 2 T water
• 1/2 scoop sun warrior vanilla protein powder
• 2 T honey-nana Chobani Champions Greek yogurt
• dash of cinnamon

This mixture was combined and placed in the fridge overnight. In the morning I added 1 T of chopped walnuts. (The picture above is from a different batch that was topped with ‘nola.)

I’ve landed in San Diego and there’s work to be done. See ya’ later alligator.

PS- This is only my personal experience and I’m still not 100% sure overnight oats will always make it through airport security.

The yogurt and kefir making class was awesome! I wasn’t able to take any photos but I learned quite a bit and plan to do a post on making homemade yogurt as soon as I perfect the process. I made a batch yesterday evening that didn’t turn out but I know what I did wrong so I’m trying again tonight. If it’s a success, I’ll definitely share the details.

So yogurt was a no-go but I did have one fortunate venture in the kitchen this weekend…

You might remember that Jesse made some healthy fruit and nut bars last week at the Whole Food’s cooking demo and jokingly said they were “Bird Food” bars. I agreed and knew right away I wanted to make a batch of my own. This weekend I had some free time to bake so I grabbed the ingredients and got to work.

I love that these bars are oil free and contain no added sweeteners yet still taste incredible! Isaac said they were the best bars I’ve ever made! I’ll take that as a compliment because I think my chewy oat squares were quite good!

If you decide to try out the recipe, remember that they aren’t super sweet but they are super versatile – I’m sure different dried fruits like cranberries, figs, dates, currants, cherries or blueberries would work great if you wanted to substitute ingredients. And, I liked the cacao nib addition, but I bet they were would be spectacular with a few chocolate chips in the mix.

That’s all I have for you tonight. Time to get ready for the work week!

I love Christmas Eve – the anticipation, candle light service, friends and family… it all makes me smile!

This morning I got in a good workout with my gym buddy and then came home for breakfast.

It’s pretty chilly out so oats were calling my name. This bowl had the usual suspects but was topped Gingerbread granola, a little present from miss Lauren over at Vegology. Her gift was waiting on my front porch when I got home from the beach and it not only included homemade granola (which is delicious) but two adorable hand towels.

I’m in love!

Isaac and I cleaned the house pretty much all morning and around noon I broke for lunch – a salad with a Dr. Praeger’s veggie burger.

Along with the salad I had some “new to me” baked lentil chips and a raspberry-lime Hint water.

I picked up the lentil chips at the Harry & David outlet while in Myrtle Beach. The sales associate let Isaac’s mom and I sample them and we were hooked- their baked, low fat, higher in protein than regular chips, crispy and crunchy. I bought the sea salt and cucumber dill flavors. I think these are my new favorite chips! Word on the street is that Trader Joe’s has lentil chips as well, so I’ll have to get those and compare.

The Hint water was sent to me for review. I really liked the subtle flavor of the fruit and the fact that it’s not overly sweet. I love water on it’s own, even plain hot water, but sometimes it fun to have a little flavor or carbonation added to water without any sugar or calories. I could see hint being great for someone who doesn’t really enjoy drinking plain water and needs a little bit of flavor.

Alright, time to get pretty for church tonight. Unfortunately my dad is sick and isn’t going to be able to come down to celebrate Christmas eve with me, but I’m still excited because Isaac and I are going to church and then visiting with some of our good friends and their families in the area. It should be fun night.

Happy Christmas Eve! What are your plans?

Happy weekend friends. I hope you all enjoyed your two days of freedom as much as I did. Yesterday (after struggling with ecto all morning) Isaac and I went to the farmers market for some flowers, salad greens, and chicken feet (a treat for Olive – I’ll spare you the photo). I went to the gym for a quick sweat sess and then prepped for a little road trip to Charlottesville for Kath’s birthday celebration.

I made Kale Waldorf Salad for the potluck.

I used this Whole Food’s recipe with a few modifications – I used Asian pears rather than apples, my favorite white mustard instead of dijon and 4 tablespoons of water.

Kale Waldorf Salad with Asian Pears

Ingredients

• 4 cups packed finely chopped raw kale, preferably dinosaur kale
• 2 medium Asian pears
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped, divided
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raisins, divided
• 2 tablespoons white mustard
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Method
Wash, dry and chop kale – then place it in a large bowl. Chop one pear and add to kale along with celery, 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup raisins. Chop remaining pear and put in a blender along with remaining 1/4 cup walnuts, remaining 2 tablespoons raisins, mustard, water, vinegar and salt. Purée until well combined and slightly thick. Pour dressing over kale salad and toss to combine.

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I’m not a fan of traditional waldorf salad, but this version used kale and didn’t include mayo so I thought I’d give it a try. Turns out it’s quite delicious and I’d definitely make it again.

The drive to c-ville was amazing – the leaves are all changing colors and I was surrounded by pretty views the entire ride. Once I got into the town things got a little hairy- first, I got lost finding Cara’s house, then I realized my phone was dead. FAIL. Thank goodness for Panera – I was able to charge my phone and have Cara meet me there.

Once I was settled at Cara’s she and I headed to Kath’s for the potluck and soon enough it was time to EAT.

The curried butternut squash soup was once again so delicious, as were Andrea’s empanadas.

Here’s my plate minus a boatload of Matt Cracks and pumpkin goat cheese.

This cheese was so good it quickly became my dessert of choice. Had I been at home I probably would have licked the container clean.

Post dinner the real fun started. We pushed aside all the food and started an impromptu pumpkin beer tasting.

Remember when I asked if anyone wanted to do a pumpkin beer tasting with me? Well, my dream came true!

From left to right Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, Cottonwood’s Pumpkin, Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale. I didn’t care for Buffalo Bill’s at all. It’s way too light and there’s not enough pumpkin flavor. The Cottonwood and Schafly’s were both good in different ways, but I preferred the sweetness of Schafly’s the most. Although, Southern Tier’s Pumking holds a special spot in my heart as the best pumpkin beer. I have two in the pantry for a special occasion – maybe Halloween.

Post party I headed back to my host’s home! Thanks again Cara for letting Heather and I take over your living room. And major thanks to Joe for traveling late at night to get the air mattress pump – otherwise I would have been sleeping on the floor!

This morning we went back to Kath and Matt’s for breakfast and were greeted by Kath, in the kitchen over a big pot of whipped banana oats.

Her specialty.

Choosing a bowl was hard.

But, choosing toppings was even harder.

.

Kath has quite the stash….

AllieBars, Heather’s carmel filled cookies and gingersnap cookies were also set out. I’ve heard plenty of bloggers talk up AllieBars but now I know for myself that they are delicious! Her recipe is top secret, but she did give me one to take home. If I were smart I would have saved it for a treat this week, but it’s already been devoured.

Meghann was the first in line for the oatmeal!

My bowl started with whipped banana chia oats (with pumpkin) and was topped with crumbled AllieBar, buckwheat granola, coconut, NuttZo PF and a blob of pumpkin butter right in the middle. I was so super excited to use Kath’s little spoon for my oats. It’s the small things in life right?

Knowing that Kath is the queen of oatmeal I was pretty pumped to try her oats for myself and they totally lived up to my grand expectations. They were super creamy and tasted perfect. If I could have her cook me oats every morning, I’d be one happy camper.

Sadly, the one topping I was pretty psyched to try, the NuttZo nut butter, didn’t really wow me. I’m actually happy about that because now I won’t be tempted to spend $20 for a jar of nut butter.

All and all, the KERF b-day celebration was a total blast and I spent all weekend with a huge smile on my face!

It was so much getting to catch up with friends and meet bloggers and blog readers I hadn’t had the chance to meet before. Sadly, I didn’t get a group shot of everyone. :/ Happy birthday Kath – enjoy the rest of your festivities!

In other news, EBF was down all day because of a plugin issue and I spend most of my evening getting that little mishap fixed… now it’s time to hang out with Isaac and get ready for the work week. Oh yes and the recipe I posted a photo for yesterday is definitely coming soon – get excited!!

And last but not least, how was YOUR weekend?

There’s been no messing around in the kitchen here lately. The cold front has me craving warm, creamy deliciousness. Check it out:

Nothing says cold weather like a big bowl of oats! This bowl was extra creamy because instead of water I used Whole Food’s refrigerated almond milk. (I was provided the almond milk for free to review on the blog, however as usual I only accepted this because it’s something I would actually purchase with my own money and I always provide my honest option.)

I fell in love with almond milk a while ago when I was trying out some different dairy free milk alternatives. I soon became sweet on the Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla variety due to it’s low calorie and sugar content. I haven’t really strayed from it since so this is actually my first time trying refrigerated almond milk. I like the half gallon size because it will last longer (the liter containers go way too fast around here). I also liked the flavor of this variety, it’s super creamy, has the same calories as my normal almond milk and I didn’t even miss the vanilla flavor. Although, it may have been due to the fact that I added ground vanilla bean in the oats.

In the pot – 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 banana (sliced), 1 cup almond milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Cooked on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes (stirring occasionally).

Served with a spoonful of almond butter and a sprinkle of chia seeds = perfection.

More hot, comfort foods were calling my name come lunch time so I made a quick grilled cheese on ww bread with smart balance butter for grilling. On the inside I stuffed garlic hummus, feta, kale, and red pepper.

And of course, there’s been some FOOD & WINE inspired meals going on. The first this week was a remake of the Fall Harvest Salad.

Basically I just took the idea using roasted butternut squash as a salad topping and went with it. It’s delicious and quite similar to the Falldorf salad I started making last year around this time. Butternut squash is good on anything so why not salad?

Last but not least – I realized it’s been a while since this little lady was featured. For your viewing pleasure, here’s Miss Olive.

Happy Friday!

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As part of my participation in the FOOD & WINE Blogger Correspondent program, FOOD & WINE is giving away a year-long subscription to a lucky reader from Eating Bird Food. Click here to enter and read official rules here.

This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD & WINE archive. As a FOOD & WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD & WINE. I received a subscription to FOOD & WINE for my participation.