Fall Flavors – 4 Simple Recipes

There’s something about the crispness of the air and the sight of golden-red colored trees as far as the eye can see that brings me a sense of calm. Perhaps it is from growing up in New England, which does autumn better than anywhere else in the country, but I love the fall season. Here are some of my current go-to recipes starring my favorite fall flavors. Naturally, 3 of the 4 involve oatmeal with a seasonal twist!

 

Apple Pie Overnight Oats

Overnight oats are AMAZING for those of us who get an early start, are eating on the run, and need something that is delicious, nutritious, and portable!

Ingredients and Recipe:

1/2 cup dry oats, 1/4 cup coffee*, 6 oz. yogurt of choice (I used Yoplait Greek Apple Pie flavor), 1 scoop DeNovoNutrition Cinnamon Roll Whey protein (you could omit that and use powdered peanut butter to help it thicken).

Mix all and let sit overnight in fridge. In the morning add some peanut butter and apple slices!

*I NEED my caffeine in the morning, so I use coffee as my liquid of choice, but feel free to use water, milk, or perhaps apple cider(!) instead.

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

Ingredients and Recipe:

1/2 c oats, 1/2 c brewed pumpkin spice tea, 1/4 c. pumpkin puree, 1 container Chobani Pumpkin Spice blend Greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop DeNovoNutrition Cinnamon roll whey protein, pumpkin pie spice to taste and a few tbsp of crunchy peanut butter. (As you know by now, my personal peanut butter choice is Krema brand!)

Mix all ingredients together, let sit in fridge overnight…and eat at 5:30 am on the way to run stadiums! 🙂

Pumpkin Spiced Peanut Butter:

I have been anxious to try out some of the specialty pumpkin-spice flavored nut butters I have seen those I follow on social media channels posting. However, I just haven’t brought myself to actually order some. They are quite pricey, and generally have sugar added. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own. All you need is 3 ingredients, plus water and a spoon!

Ingredients and Recipe:

2 Tbsp powdered peanut butter (I prefer Pure PB by Crazy Richard’s as it does not contain any added sugar like most powdered peanut butters), Pumpkin pie spice to taste, 1 Tbsp pureed pumpkin.

Mix first two ingredients with water until desired consistency is reached. Mix in pumpkin puree and enjoy!

Chai Tea Latte Oatmeal

This final recipe is the perfect marriage of my love for oatmeal and chai tea/chai lattes. It came about on a whim one afternoon when I realized I had forgot to pack the fruit and protein powder I usually mix into my afternoon oatmeal. Not wanting to just eat it plain, I decided to add a chai tea bag into the bowl with oats and water before microwaving. It turned out AMAZING. Since then, I have refined the recipe a bit and now prefer to make it with vanilla-flavored almond or soy milk instead of water, to give it more of a latte feel!

Ingredients and Recipe:

1/2 cup oats, 3/4 cup vanilla-flavored milk of choice, 1 chai tea bag.

Microwave as normal, add some sweetener if that’s your thing, and dig in. I am willing to bet you will wonder why in the world this isn’t a more common practice!

I’d love to know – what are your favorite fall-inspired recipes?

-Tanya

Pure PB Winners!

There were some seriously GREAT recipe ideas shared by readers in response to the Pure PB giveaway which made choosing my 2  favorites a challenge. However, I decided to choose recipes from 2 different ends of my personal recipe spectrum. One needed to meet my “rules” of a) less than 5 ingredients, b) all the ingredients needed to be items currently in my house and c) ridiculously easy. That narrowed down the field to winning recipe #1 from Patrick:

The other recipe needed to be one of those “wish list” recipes. You know – the ones I always have intentions of trying out, but rarely get around to simply because the ingredient list gets above my “tolerance” level, it takes “too long”, or I just never have the motivation to actually make it. The winning recipe for this category came from Adrian! While I want to make it myself…if someone could just follow his instructions below and mail it to me, that would be MUCH appreciated! 🙂

For my next post, I have started compiling answers to the most frequently asked questions I have been getting about my decision to diet down for a bodybuilding contest – and ultimately end up competing in the Figure division. If you have a question you would like to see answered, leave it in the comments section and I may include it! 🙂

Until next time – stay active and eat some peanut butter!

-Tanya

Pure PB: Powdered Peanut Butter Recipe and Giveaway

It’s no secret – I LOVE me some peanut butter. Specifically, I love the Krema/Crazy Richard’s brand of peanut butter. The reason: 1 ingredient. PEANUTS. No added sugar and salt like most other peanut butters you will see on the supermarket shelf. Need proof of my love? Well, check out what happens when Krema coupons are loaded to my Kroger card and there is also a double whammy of a sale…

I. Buy. ALL. The. Krema.

That’s 3 rows deep of natural peanut butter folks. Not pictured: the opened jar in my fridge. It’s an obsession I am perfectly fine with.

Shortly after the last giveaway I had for Krema/Crazy Richard’s natural peanut butters, the great folks at Krema products informed me of an exciting NEW product they are set to release – Pure PB. What is Pure PB? I’m so glad you asked. Pure PB is powdered peanut butter – but in true Crazy Richard’s/Krema fashion does not have any ingredients besides peanuts!

The Label Comparison (per 12 gram serving):

Pure PB = 1.5 g fat, 3 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein, and 0 mg sodium vs. “Popular Powdered Peanut Butter” = 1.5 g fat, 5 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein and 94 mg sodium

Powdered peanut butters have essentially had the oil pressed out of them, making them much lower in fat than their conventional counterparts.

I will always prefer the taste of actual peanut butter over the powdered ones when consumed alone, but the powdered ones are great to use in a variety of recipes – especially when trying to lower the fat content of a meal! In the past I have used powdered peanut butters in my morning oatmeal, smoothies, mixed and melted with chocolate chips and in stir-fry dishes. When my shipment of Pure PB arrived, I quickly put it to use in those capacities and was NOT disappointed!

However, new product means it is time for a new recipe! With a surplus of zucchini needing to be put to use, I went with Raw Zucchini and Carrot “Pad Thai” with Spicy Pure PB Sauce.

Sauce:

• 24 g (about 4 Tablespoons) Pure PB
• 15 g (about 1 Tablespoon) Soy Sauce
• 5 g (about 1 teaspoon) Rice Vinegar
• Water to make sauce to desired thickness
• Red pepper flakes to taste/spice preference!

Combine with ~ 2 cups each, zucchini  and carrots, peeled into noodle strips. Microwave and enjoy!

The sauce was so good I may have actually drank the left overs at the bottom of my Tupperware….yah, guilty! This recipe has already been put into the regular rotation. Twice last week and in the line up for this coming week as well!

Up next on my “to make” list with Pure PB:

• Peanut butter frozen yogurt. Mix with greek yogurt and freeze for a bit?
• Flavored peanut butters. I love plain peanut butter, but sometimes the flavored versions call out to me. However, the ingredient list on those leaves much to be desired. Using Pure PB as my base would allow for easier incorporation of various flavors: Cinnamon-Raisin, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Cranberry-Almond…the possibilities are endless!
• High protein peanut butter. I keep seeing different versions of these for sale from different companies. Basically they seem to just be a mixture of peanut butter and whey protein. Seems like something I could easily create on my own, but at a much lower fat level with Pure PB.

Enough of me blabbing – how can you get your hands on some Pure PB? Well, starting in September you should see Pure PB on store shelves as well as being available on-line at both the Krema/Crazy Richard’s website and on Amazon. If your store isn’t carrying it, just ask a manager to get it on the shelves for you! 🙂 Don’t want to wait until September? Understandable! So up for grabs to TWO Dine, Dash, Deadlift readers is the chance to WIN two jars of Pure PB before it hits the shelves.

To be entered: leave a comment with a recipe for using Pure PB. I want to know how you would use it…because essentially I want to steal your idea and put it to use myself! If you have a recipe already that you think Pure PB could be substituted in for another ingredient, help a girl out and post the link for all to see!

I will choose my 2 favorite recipe ideas* and Crazy Richard’s/Krema will send you your Pure PB gift pack! So put your creative hats on and start brainstorming some Pure PB recipes. Contest closes Saturday, August 23rd and winners will be contacted and announced Monday, August 25th.

*Contest only open to those 18 years of age or older and living in the continental United States.

-Tanya

Disclosure: Although I did receive Pure PB powdered peanut butter samples for free, all views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely and entirely my own and based on my taste preferences, education, and own unique experiences. I was not compensated for writing this post. Additionally, Krema/Crazy Richard’s peanut butter is a product I regularly purchase on my own, truly enjoy and I am happy to have the opportunity to team up with this company 🙂