Treats for the Feast

Tomorrow's Friday! Holla! (<--Sorry, I won't do that again.) As you know, this week has been ridiculously busy, and I'm super thankful that the weekend is near! We have one more day of cheer clinics, then tryouts Saturday, and Sunday is all to myself! Plus, we're meeting up with friends for dinner three different nights this weekend, so I'm excited about that.

I was back on top of my game today - much better than yesterday. For breakfast I ate one of my new favorite combos: yogurt, peanut butter, cinnamon, and honey, plus sliced bananas. Delicious, and I love the creamy texture!

The rest of the day felt fairly calm, despite all the cheer madness. This week tests me every year, and today my stomach started showing signs of stress. To ease the tension, I decided to make today my rest day and to grab a salad from Trader Joe's instead of cooking for dinner.

Quite tasty!

Aaaaaaand there it goes.

Scout knows he's not allowed on the table when we're eating, so he tried to hide behind my laptop.

And then he got into the Easter basket.

I still spent lots of time in the kitchen, though, because I had to do the dishes that piled up last night and empty the dishwasher. Plus, our department is in charge of bringing food for tomorrow's weekly "Friday Feast," an informal potluck to which staff and faculty contribute. It wasn't the best date for me, but I still wanted to bring something healthy and delicious to share. (Terry suggested stopping for donuts on the way to school, and my jaw just about dropped. I could not, in good faith, bring donuts to school and then come back here and report it!)

Instead, I scoured the Internet for some options for a big baked oatmeal dish. Usually teachers just take a little taste of each item provided, so I didn't need a huge spread on my own, but I wanted to contribute enough to make it a real feast. I found three recipes that I thought would be perfect:

• Julie's Banana Pecan Coconut Baked Oatmeal

  

  Can't wait to try this one

  
  
• Berry Baked Oatmeal (also from Julie's blog)

  

  Strawberries mixed in

  
  
• Whole-Wheat Zucchini Bread from 100 Days of Real Food

  

  (I didn't wait for it to finish baking)

  
  

Hopefully everyone likes these healthy treats! 

And lastly, I'd like to share a fantastic blog post today from Lisa of 100 Days of Real Food. Lisa's was the first blog I started reading (last April), and I'm not exaggerating when I say she (and Michael Pollan) changed my life. This post gives a very frank, well-rounded view of why processed foods really aren't fine. 

"Newsflash: We are not "just fine"

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!