Kitch Blitz
The weather here has been outta control gorgeous lately, so yesterday morning, Livi and I met up with Meara and her kiddos at La Encantada.
Since weโre in between seasons โTucson canโt decide if it wants to stay spring until spring, or randomly turn into winter- no major purchases, but lots of walking and window shopping.
When we got home, Liv snacked then napped, and during her nap, I grabbed something to eat
(apple and turkey, avocado, mustard, mayo and lettuce sandwich)
and did a little kitchen blitz.
I had demolished the oaties that Heaby sent me, so I made a double batch to have in the freezer. Theyโre absolutely perfect for snacks- especially in the middle of the night and I go downstairs to refill my water.
The only changes I made were using 1 stick of butter and the rest goatโs milk yogurt โthe only butter I had was salted, bought by mistake, so I nixed the salt and prayed to the cooking gods it would work out. It did!
And half coconut nectar, a gift from Lizzie, since I only had about 1/4 C maple syrup:
The texture is more similar to brown rice syrup โsuper sticky!- and it has a warm flavor, similar to maple syrup. It will be amazing on protein pancakes.
Some of the finished oaties:
(two were sacrificed for taste testing purposes)
and I also got some dinner in the slow cooker.
Turkey meatballs!
Super easy:
-Chopped an onion and red bell pepper, added them to the slow cooker
-In a bowl, mixed 1 lb ground organic turkey, 1/8 C oats, 1/2 C almond flour, 1 egg, 1 t oregano, 3 cloves of minced garlic, sea salt and pepper
-Rolled the mixture into to balls and poured a jar of marinara sauce on top
-Set it and forget it- high for 4 hours, low for 2
Not too shabby for an on-the-fly meal:
With brown rice pasta and salad.
This morning weโre off to the doc and then to my brotherโs bday brunch!
Happy Birthday, Kyle ๐
Hope everyone enjoys their humpday!
xoxo
Gina
Something to read:
Something to do: Winter Shape Up! Hope youโre enjoying this weekโs workout so far ๐ Keep up the amazing work <3
Happy birthday to your bro! Looks like fun times in your kitchen. My kitchen blitzes usually happen on the weekends (and are followed by a much-needed kitchen cleaning!) Have a fantastic day Gina!
Ha! Are they smurfs or from blue man group?! Glad to see you feel like getting out and about. Your meals look yummy.
I could NOT figure out why those oat balls went from looking delicious in the oven to looking like raw meat afterwards.
Oops.
How super productive are you?! Pretty impressive given the fact that you have a newborn at home! I’ve been wanting to try that oatie recipe – I might have to get busy in the kitchen myself tonight!
Love that you were out and about and the first pic you snapped is awesome. Motherhood is agreeing with you ๐
Those oaties look fabulous. Keep those oats coming, they’re great for boosting milk production as I’m sure you already know.
YUM!
Hah, I scrolled quickly from the dough balls to the meatballs, and I had a moment of “ew…I don’t think I could eat those!” Glad they got cooked before going into your mouth ๐
(SO many TWSS moments)
I never thought to add oats to homemade meatballs. I’ll try that next time. Thanks for the tip!
Way to go Mama! She must have taken a long nap for you to be able to get all that done! My son never slept more than 20 minutes at that age. =/
Those meatballs look great Gina!! And one thing I wish I could like, but just don’t know how to is goat milk! hehe…not sure why, since I love goat cheese! ๐ I hope you have a beautiful day Gina~!
Happy birthday Kyle aka Brother Smurf
Glad you’re getting back into cooking; it’s amazing how it’s the everyday things but this must make you feel so much more back in your groove! I love oaties, I make my own without nut butter so I think I have to try Heather’s! I have never tried coconut nectar, so that’s on my to-try list!
ok i gotta make those meatballs, i love easy recipes that i can’t mess up.. do you think regular flour or breadcrumbs would work instead of almond flour (which i dont have)?
ps you are such a beautiful momma!
I bet it feels good to be back in the kitchen. There is something really therapuetic about cooking! I am curious – do you use Trader Joes Gluten Free oats for your oaties…?
Happy Birthday to your bro! Today is my sons 6th birthday…they grow up sooo fast savor every moment you can get with your precious baby girl. Those meatballs look yummy ๐
La Encantada looks like such a gorgeous shopping area. And I love the picture of you with Livi in the stroller! Too cute!
Why haven’t I heard of these oaties? Totally making a batch.
Happy Birthday to your brother! I hope he wears that fuzzy blue suit to his bday brunch! ๐
I can’t wait to try those oaties and those meatballs! Both great ideas! Look at you – a new mom and still giving us great food ideas! Thanks!
That meatball recipe looks perfect! Love how you just throw it in and then forget about it!
Happy Birthday to your brother!
Everything tastes better when its slow cooked! The flavors are just ten times more intense and robust! Love it!
Sounds like you had a lovely day and how great that you have other mom’s to hang out with! That must be so fun! And mmm oaties and meatballs? YUM! I’m not really that into meatballs but I think I would like these ones crumbled up on pasta!
You were a cooking beast this week! Those oaties look delicious. I’ll have to try them out soon!
Ooh, love the meat ball idea. I made meatloaf for us yesterday. Prepped before work (20 min) and then we just had to turn on the oven, make the glaze and cook. Yum!
Can you give us the recipe for the oaties?
Those meatballs look amazing!!! Thanks for the super easy idea! I also have been eyeing the oaties you’ve been talking about. Which recipe do you use?
I bet it feels so good to get back in the kitchen. It looks like you’re doing a good job of making sure you have healthy treats on hand. That’s always a priority of mine ๐
Yum– those oaties look great! I love how big they are!
Coconut nectar – how curious! I kindasorta want to try some now – oh shucks, guess I’ll just have to make pancakes for dinner ๐
I really had to laugh at the pic of you and Livi- you can totally tell you are a dancer ๐
The pic with you and the stroller is adorable! ๐ I’m going to have to make those meatballs! They sound delish! And… I’m always so jealous of the weather there! Looks so warm compared to here (Chicago) nost days.
Mmmm, the oaties and the meatballs both look delicious!
Happy Hump Day!
Looks like you are right back into the swing of things. I LOVE coconut sugar, I am sure that coconut nectar is just as good or better. Haha, happy birthday to your brother!
Coconut nectar is new to me…Where can you get that?
I am making turkey meatballs for dinner too!!
i’m pretty sure whole foods has it
The weather is gorgeous up here in Phoenix too. I’m loving this winter, although it’s making me nervous as to how hot it may get this summer. Yikes
Your dinner looks fabulous! And of course, the oats: drool. P.S. I did the winter shape up workout yesterday and adored it! Planning on doing another round first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks so keep these going, you rock!
Um, don’t you mean 4 hours on LOW or 2 on HIGH? You have it the other way around… ๐
No I had it on high first, then switched it to low after 4 hours
Ah, I thought it was an either/or situation. Forgive me!
np ๐
Can I come over for meatball leftovers? I really need to embrace my slow cooker once again – so many great recipes out there, and it just sits neglected in my cabinet. Love your version of the Oaties. Must try the yogurt in my next batch – bet it adds a really nice flavor. Yum – oaties. ๐
The weather here in NYC can’t decide if it wants to be winter or spring either ๐ It was so amazing today, 62 degrees!!! So much better than a few weeks ago when it was 15 degrees! Those cookies looked yummy too!
The oaties and uncooked meatballs look strikingly similar here – don’t mistake one for the other — that’d be a big surprise!! ๐
The oaties look amazingggg! Yummm, I wish it wasn’t so late at night, I might have attempted the ha. And to Amelia who commented above me.. I thought the EXACT same thing when I saw the meatballs, I was like wait what is she doing with them? ha.. glad I wasn’t alone!
Aw, yesterday was my birthday too (: ! Woohoo ! I could go for some oaties right about now .. lol.
I went on a date with my husband for lunch today and with all the choices in front of me I totally had a “What would the Fitnessista do?” moment. Ha ha! THANKS Gina for all your posts and inspiration for all to see!
I’m going to try that meatball slowcooker recipe – looks majorly yummy. PS. You and Livi are ADORABLE.