Breakfast Time - Beet Acai Overnight Oatmeal

Overnight mason jar breakfasts - hopefully you are as into them as I am because I am sure you will be seeing them appear over and over here. They are so ridiculously convenient and diverse not to mention that I am a complete sucker for the aesthetic appeal of having my breakfast in a mason jar. Last time I shared a version with matcha and blueberries (check it out HERE). The bright green was fun and I loved the earthy flavor. This time I am sharing something that is completely different but equally delicious. A bright purple Beet Acai Overnight Oatmeal. Isn't it a stunning color?

Here's the recipe as I made it. I split it between two jars to share with my husband. You can see it makes a pretty wimpy serving when split so feel free to put the whole thing in one jar and eat it all up yourself if you are hungry. I'm pretty sure I had a hard boiled egg or two later to tide me over until lunch. Do what works for you!

1 c Old Fashioned Oats

2/3 c Greek Yogurt (I use plain)

2/3 c cashew milk (any milk would do)

1/3 c roasted beet puree*

1 Tbsp Acai powder

1 Tbsp Chia seeds

Mix the above in a bowl and put in a mason jar (or two depending on how much you want in 1 serving). Store in the fridge overnight. In the morning it will be thickened up and ready to eat. I topped mine with 1 Tbsp goji berries and 1 Tbsp chopped walnuts. You may also want honey if you prefer something sweet. My husband was taken aback at it's bright purple color and was expecting something extremely sweet which this is definitely not. You could also use a vanilla flavored yogurt to sweeten it up a bit if you want.

*Want to know how to make beet puree? I don't buy beets all that often but I did receive some in my Bountiful Basket and when they start popping up at the farmer's markets I will buy them from time to time. This is pretty much the only way I use beets because I have found way more uses for it in puree form than whole. Here's what I do:

1) Trim the top and bottom off the beet (save those greens, they are great for throwing into green smoothies!) and give it a rinse. 

2) Wrap the beets in foil and place on a roasting tray.

3) Roast at 425 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or when you can pierce through the biggest beet easily with a fork.

4) Let cool and then puree in a food processor until smooth. You may have to add a little water to help it along, just do it in small amounts so it doesn't get to runny.

5) Portion it out and store in freezer. Great in smoothies, oatmeal, brownies, pancakes, etc.

Here's what it looks like all blended up:

Do you like beets? How do you use them?

Roasted Veggie Pasta Sauce

In the last post I showed you all the awesome fruits and vegetables I scored from Bountiful Baskets recently. And even though there are 7 of us it takes a little work to intentionally use through that big of a bounty before it goes bad. Some of the ways I remedied that was by cutting up fruit that would be good in our smoothies and putting it into the freezer. Not only do I have it on hand for future use but I don't have to bother with ice in my smoothie....double duty! I wanted to be able to freeze up something with a portion of the vegetables that were still hanging around so I decided to roast them up and turn them into a big batch of pasta sauce.

I sliced up two containers of heirloom tomatoes, some green pepper, yellow squash, and zucchini and put them on a roasting pan. In a mixing bowl I put chopped onion and garlic, fresh rosemary and basil, salt and pepper to taste, a touch of roasted red peppers for heat and about 1/3 cup of olive oil. I whisked all of that together and poured it over the veggies, tossing to makes sure and cover them all.

I then popped them in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. Once done I let them cool before sliding them into my blender. I also threw in some pureed butternut squash I had in the freezer (after letting it defrost) just for a little more vegetable, not to mention I like the added sweetness it brings. Gave it all a whirl until it was well blended. After that I separated it into mason jars. The two on the left went in the freezer once they cooled. Make sure that when freezing in mason jars you get the straight ones with no neck because they are less likely to crack when the food expands. And because it expands when it freezes, don't fill it all the way to the top. The jar on the right went in the fridge and I poured it over baked chicken parmesan that night.

You can play with this recipe depending on whatever you have on hand. The recipe I loosely followed only used tomatoes but I didn't have enough to make a sufficient amount of sauce and I like the different flavor that comes from using a variety of vegetables. If you don't have fresh herbs on hand, dried work just fine and you can adjust depending on what you like. If you are going to use some of the sauce right away it will be cooled down from blending so just warm it back up in a sauce pan. Same goes for using the frozen stuff, defrost in the fridge the day you are using it and then warm it up to put on top of pasta or chicken or dump it right in with something that is going to bake in the oven. I can't wait to use the other two jars - what recipe would you incorporate them into?

Matcha and Mason Jar Overnight Oatmeal

This last week I stumbled upon something on Pinterest that caught my eye. A bright green superfood with awesome nutritional benefits called Matcha. Here's what Encha (the company I chose to buy from) says about it, "Matcha is super green tea in the whole powder form, after shade-growing for 3 weeks and removal of stems. It is more effective in offering mental energy and antioxidant benefits than regular teas, and longer-lasting mental focus than coffee." You can read more HERE.

I decided to order some and try it out. Sounded like a great thing to mix into my green smoothies as a start and I have pinned a few other fun recipes that call for Matcha that I am looking forward to trying. Here's my first package:

I don't know if I have experienced the Zenergy that Encha raves about, but I haven't felt the need for coffee. That's big considering I'm a coffee-aholic. My husband was also a willing participant and tried this in his green smoothie this week. He works 12 hour days and said the combination carried him through until lunch. Either way, I am happy to get the boost of antioxidants that Matcha offers. We probably won't purchase this all the time as it's on the spendy side, but it will be a great addition to our arsenal as we continue on this healthier journey.

I have also been dying to try an overnight oatmeal. I love mason jars, I love convenience, and I am pretty fond of oatmeal so this growing trend has caught my eye for sometime. I decided to play around with a recipe I found online and add in some Matcha. My kids were completely enthralled when they saw me eating my breakfast the next morning. Just look at this color!

Here's what is in it:

2/3 c almond milk (you can use any milk, just depends on your preference)
1/2 c old fashioned oats
1/2 c Greek yogurt (again, any yogurt will work)
1 pinch cinnamon
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Matcha green tea powder

I mixed all of these ingredients in a separate bowl and then poured it into a pint sized mason jar and topped with 1/2 cup frozen blueberries and 2 Tbsp raw almonds. Put the top on and pop it in the fridge overnight and you have a delicious, filling, convenient, and healthy breakfast to start your next day. I found myself making 3 the following night because my husband and two of my kids (they split one since it's pretty hefty) wanted to try it too. Good stuff!

You can read about the other great super foods we are trying HERE.