Epic Baked Oatmeal

Oh my goodness, summer is slipping away way too fast! This is Ben’s last week of break before he goes back to school (WHAT!) so we’re trying to cram in the last of our summer bucket list activities, plus watching about 5 hours/day of Olympics, of course. 

Last week we took an incredible trip to Tennessee and North Carolina for my second annual Beachbody Coach Summit in Nashville, and then to visit Ben's mom. We visited Asheville (ADORABLE), hiked the Appalachian Trail, ate tons of delicious food, and had a wonderful trip.

I love traveling but it always throws me out of my routine, so this week has been a little busy getting back to work! I have so many projects and ideas I want to put into place this summer and fall now that I've officially graduated from my life coaching course!

Last Saturday I hosted a brunch and vision board workshop for the Chicago area coaches on my team Inspire Joy, and I made a delicious baked oatmeal casserole to share. It was so good, I decided to make another one to eat this week.

This recipe is PERFECT for those weeks you're super busy and want to have a yummy healthy breakfast all ready to go in the morning. It would be great to pack up and take to work too, with way less mess than cooking traditional oatmeal!

It makes around six servings and stores well in the fridge for a few days. You can either re-heat it in the microwave or eat it cold, it's great both ways. You'll feel like you're eating cake for breakfast!

Epic Baked Oatmeal

Inspired by Cookie and Kate
Serves 6
21 Day Fix containers: 1 yellow, ½ purple per serving

Dry Ingredients

• 2 c old fashioned oats
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

• 1 ¾ c milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 T pure maple syrup (optional -- add more or less depending on your sweetness preference!)

Fruit

• 1 apple, chopped
• 2 c frozen or fresh berries (I used blueberries and strawberries, no need to defrost)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375* F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.

Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray. I used a 9-in round Pyrex, you could also use an 8x8 in glass or ceramic dish.

Place a layer of mixed fruit (about half the fruit, or 1.5 cups) in the bottom of the dish. Layer the dry ingredients over the fruit, and pour the wet ingredients on top. Gently press the top of the dry ingredients with the back of a spoon and tilt the dish back and forth to make sure everything is saturated with the egg and milk mixture.

Layer the remaining fruit on top, pop it in the oven, and bake for 45-55 degrees, until the edges look brown and everything is solid!

Serve warm or cool, great with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top. This will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days!

You can have fun and mix it up with any fruit that's in season, or add chopped nuts!

Some possible suggestions:

+ Banana Walnut
+ Pear Almond
+ Strawberry Rhubarb (add extra maple syrup for sweetness)

I'm already thinking about a pumpkin spice version this fall ...

Let me know if you try this recipe, I'd love to hear what you think! 

xo Anna

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Tahini Dressing

Back in January I had one of the biggest "OMG PINCH ME" moments in life and was interviewed by one of my favorite mentors Jess Lively for her podcast The Lively Show. It was a huge honor to share my story and be featured on the show that has inspired me so much over the past 3 years, but the best part of that experience that I couldn't have predicted has been the fall-out!

I've been able to connect with so many inspiring women who are also fangirls of Jess' "life with intention" message, and some of them have even become friends over the past few months. One of those friends, Alex, also lives in Chicago, and a couple weeks ago we met up in person for a lunch date at Thrive360, a new healthy food fast-casual restaurant downtown. I'm obsessed with all the fast-casual places popping up around the city, because giant salads and epic veggie bowls actually bring me joy (yup I'm a healthy freak and I shall wave my flag proudly!)

It took us probably a solid 15 minutes to absorb the extensive menu at Thrive360 (anyone else struggle with menu decisions??) and one of the super friendly staff members gave us samples of their roasted sweet potato salad while we were making up our minds.

I'm not a huge potato salad fan, but I looooove sweet potatoes, and this version was SO GOOD I immediately decided to recreate it at home.

Here's my version -- it turned out delicious! The mint is a surprisingly delicious addition, and tahini is good on anything. You can find it in the middle eastern or Mediterannean section of most grocery stores.

This recipe is perfect to bring to a summer potluck, 4th of July party, or serve alongside anything grilled. It would also be tasty dish as we move into fall or winter! I'm definitely putting it into my rotation.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Tahini Dressing

inspired by Thrive360
Serves 6-8
[1 yellow, 1 tsp on the 21 Day Fix]

Ingredients

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 1/4 c fresh mint

Directions

Preheat oven to 400*F. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into bite size chunks, spray with cooking oil, and bake for 45 minutes, flipping once or twice. 

While the potatoes are baking, chop the red onion into tiny pieces and chop the mint.

Let the potatoes cool, then combine with the onion and mint in a big bowl, and gently toss with the tahini dressing. Serve at room temperature.

Tahini Dressing

• 1/4 c tahini
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c water
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine tahini and vinegar in a jar or shaker bottle, and shake or whisk to combine. Add water (1T at a time) until the consistency is pourable, a little thinner than a typical ranch dressing. If you add too much water, just stir in another T of tahini to thicken it back up. Making dressing is more of an art than science! Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Let me know if you give this a try this! I topped it with some dill to make it prettier for the pictures ... and that was a tasty addition too. Any summer herbs would be good!

xo Anna

Simple Healthy Chili Recipe!

As you probably know, healthy comfort food is my OBSESSION, and chili and cornbread has to be of my top 5 all time favorites.

I've shared a couple of chili recipes already, (Chicken and White Bean Chili, Chicken and Chipotle Chili) but not my go-to classic recipe! I probably make this simple healthy chili at least 4 times between September and April. 

You can find almost all the ingredients at Aldi for less than $10 and it makes a huge pot. Chili is one of those things that gets even better the longer it marinates, so this recipe is perfect to make on Sunday evening and you're all set for lunches or dinner all week!

This classic chili is inspired by my mom's original recipe. She makes the best chili, and in grad school I finally asked her for her secrets! The secret ingredient is CURRY POWDER! It makes a huge difference and adds an extra layer of flavor to the simple combo of ingredients. If you're a fellow chili lover, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try.

ANNA'S SIMPLE HEALTHY CHILI

Serves 6-8
(1 green, 1 red, 1/2 yellow on the 21 Day Fix)

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 package ground turkey (or beef)
• 1 large (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 or 2 cans (14 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 or 2 cans (14 oz) beans...black beans or kidney beans work best
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 heaping T chili powder (add more to taste)
• 1 heaping teaspoon curry powder

OPTIONAL

• Extra veggies like celery, bell pepper, whatever you have in the fridge!
• Your fave toppings: cilantro, lime, cheese, tortilla crispies (I like to bake my own chips), plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, etc.

Directions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and cook the onion and garlic (and any additional veggies) until soft. Add the turkey and cook through. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer until everything is hot! The longer you simmer, the better it will taste.

This is also a great recipe for the crockpot! Just dump all the ingredients into your slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

xo Anna