Monday, July 7, 2014

AIM Food: It's All in a Day

This month, your intrepid AIMers decided to do a progressive post - sort of like a progressive dinner, where you'd go to one person's house for an appetizer, than another's for a salad, and another's for the main course - but we are going with an entire day's worth of meals (because honestly none of us eat that much for dinner).  Breakfast starts with me, followed by lunch with Cammy, appetizer/vegetarian meal with Lynn, dinner with Lori, and dessert with Debby.  You can follow our posts in meal order, or just skip around...it's all for fun, but maybe you'll get some new meal ideas.

Of course, in my case, you know if I'm doing breakfast, I'm going to serve you my tried-and-true Greek yogurt with homemade granola and fresh strawberries.  Does it seem like I eat that all the time?  Well, I do. And the reason being, aside from liking it a lot, is that years ago when I read Dr. Oz's book You: On a Diet, he recommended having a tried-and-true meal so you don't have to figure out what to eat all the time.  This became my default meal for breakfast (and sometimes dinner, truth be told) and over five years later, it's still my favorite.

Here's what you'll get for breakfast at my house:
Fage nonfat Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some homemade granola.  Plus lots of hot coffee.

Hippie Granola
3 cups oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill extra thick)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp (generous) salt
1/3 cup honey
2 tbsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line rimmed jelly roll pan with parchment paper if using non-stick pan.  Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.  Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth.  Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, toss.  Spread on prepared pan.  Bake for 25 minutes - no need to stir. Remove from oven – granola will crisp up within a few minutes.  Let dry, break up and store in an airtight container.

Now, go on over to Cammy's place and see what she's serving for lunch!

AIM: Adventures in Maintenance is LynnLoriDebby, Shelley, and Cammy, former weight-loss bloggers who now write about life in maintenance. We formed AIM to work together to turn up the volume on the issues facing people in weight maintenance. We publish a post on the same topic on the first Monday of each month. Let us know if there is a topic you'd like us to address - here's the link to our Ask Us (almost) Anything form - click here and ask away!

21 comments:

  1. Yum! Lately I'm a bit done with yogurt which is always my breakfast-to-go too. Also I'm having trouble eating breakfast lately. On work days I often bring breakfast to work because I don't want to have it earlier and at the weekends I often skip breakfast because I just don't want to eat.

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    1. I used to bring my breakfast to work back in the day because I couldn't force myself to eat early in the morning.

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  2. Looks good! I haven't made granola in a while. Perhaps it's time...

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  3. I used to have granola on my yogurt all the time with strawberries. Need to bring that back. Fage rules!!!

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  4. this is such a great series idea!!!
    ((hits up printer fer granola :-))

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  5. So this means if I come visit I gotta bring my own eggs? LOL. I saw Cammy's post first and as soon as I saw you had breakfast I knew this would be it ;)

    Interesting about Dr. Oz' recommendation. Our wellness coach gave us the assignment of coming up with 3 tried and true and easy breakfasts. She said 3 is enough because you can alternate them and still feel like you're getting variety, if you're the type of person who needs variety in order not to get bored with your food.

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    1. Eggs for breakfast?? What an odd concept! ;) LOL, you know I go on jags with making my homemade egg mcmuffins for breakfast, but this one is still my favorite.

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  6. I might be able to go to the grocery store, read labels, and figure this out ... but any particular reason you use Bob's Red Mill oats versus Quaker or generic?

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    1. Sounds weird, but Bob's feels chewier? Maybe thicker or denser is a better description. Could all be in my head, honestly, but I got into the habit of buying Bob's and never thought about changing.

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  7. Well, your granola is getting a workout in this series! What can I say--its darn tasty! Yogurt and your granola is one of my default breakfasts in the summer. I've never tried Bob's oats. I use a lot of oats, so I like to buy the big volumes. But I think I'll try his the next time I make your granola. Gotta run--lunch : )

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    1. It was a nice surprise to see my granola in your meal - we start and finish the day with it! :)

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  8. Is it ok that I...um...add chocolate chips to mine sometimes?

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    1. NO! LOL...of course! I make mine plain and then if I'm out of fresh fruit, I'll add some Craisins.

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  9. For some reason my tried and true granola is not sticking together - I am thinking the humidity might have something to do with it - do you have a problem with your granola not being crunchy anymore - do you store it right after it cools?

    I'd be happy to have breakfast with you any day! :D

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    1. I let mine cool for about half an hour and then I break it up and store it (glass jar with a sealed lid) right afterward.

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  10. What a great idea for a blog post series! I'm starting to like Greek yogurt a lot now (especially with fruit) but have never tried Fage!

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  11. Love your blog.
    I've yo-yo dieted for the last four years, and have just started my own journey to lose weight much slower in a much healthier weigh.
    Please check out my blog and give me any tips or advice or even just some encouragement ;-) http://theyo-yodieter.blogspot.co.uk/

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