Strawberry Vanilla Protein Oats (Slow Cooker Style)

So is it Spring or isn't it?! Mother Nature is seeming a little confused these days. One day it's warm and sunny and the next it's gray and frigid. We had some glimpses of Springtime weather on Tuesday morning and since then have pretty much been experiencing a monsoon.....okay, so maybe I'm being a wee bit dramatic, but we've had some crazy thunder, rainy downpours and the weatherman is calling for a chance of wet snow or freezing rain today today. AWESOME {enter sarcasm here} I think we can all agree that we are done with winter and want the snow to take a hike, but it just doesn't seem to want to let us go. I bought a couple {read: five} new pairs of flats that I'm dying to wear, but I made an attempt with them yesterday and my feet received a royal soaking. Today, I'm back to boots.

My cravings have been all over the board because of this weather too. One day I'm craving fresh green salads with lots of veggies and my favourite honey dijon dressing and the next day I'm thinking about making a crockpot full of veggie stew.

Last night, I decided that I needed to make a crockpot full of steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. I decided to try a new strawberry vanilla combo, so I could get a little Springtime with the berries while at the same time getting the warm and cozy comfort of the oatmeal. This combo turned out to be delicious!

I also decided to add some protein powder to my oats, which is something I've never done before. I recently became a member of Team Vega {an entire post dedicated to this amazing company and their equally amazing products will be coming very soon} and they provided me with a sample pack of products to try - I decided that their Vega One French Vanilla Nutritional Shake powder would be a perfect compliment to my strawberry oats. This flavour is the bomb-digity of protein powders!!!!!

What I ended up with was an amazing new oatmeal that I insist you've got to try. It's Springtime meets comfort food and it is SO.GOOD!!!!!

Strawberry Vanilla Slow Cooker Protein Oats

Serves 2

1/2 c steel cut oats

1 c unsweetened original almond milk (or milk of your choice)

3/4 c water

1 package vanilla-flavoured protein powder

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 c frozen sliced strawberries (fresh would probably work)

Optional Toppings: favourite nut butter, maple syrup, coconut or chopped pecans

Note: I used my small hot dip slow cooker for this recipe. It works perfectly or you could use Janetha's instructions here for using a larger sized slow cooker.

Grease your slow cooker with coconut oil or non-stick spray.

Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir well to combine.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve and enjoy. Sometimes I like to add a spoonful of plain non-fat Greek yogourt to my oats and sometimes I eat them topped with chopped fruit, a drizzle of syrup (perfect way to add more sweetness for all you sweet lovers out there) or a big glob of melty nut butter. Either way will rock your socks off!

I prepare my oatmeal in the evening and let the slow cooker simmer away all night long. When I get up in the morning, I open my bedroom door to the mouthwatering aroma of freshly made oatmeal. It's such a nice way to start your day!

Are you craving fresh produce and all foods associated with Spring or are you still enjoy all the comfort foods of winter?

Have a great day!!

Andrea

xoxo

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Scones

I've been dreaming about dark chocolate raspberry muffins all week. Sadly, when I went to the grocery store to pick up my supplies, the raspberries were in a very poor condition, so I ended up with these.

You can't really tell from that picture, but these strawberries were HUGE! See... 

And I was happy to discover that they were super sweet & juicy ~ much better than I expected!

Oh, I also picked up some of this....

Strawberries and dark chocolate. There really aren't many other combinations that can compete.

Once I got home, I started searching for muffin recipes, but surprisingly there weren't very many that looked very good. So I turned to my new cookbook, "eat, drink & be vegan" by Dreena Burton. I found a raspberry chocolate chip scone recipe that inspired me. So I set to work making some dark chocolate strawberry scones. Derek was working last night, so I had nothing better to do. The challenge is to not eat all of them before he gets home! Being home alone can get me into trouble because no one knows whether or not I've stuck to my diet (with the exception of Dora & Hank of course...& they'll never tell ;-)

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Scones

Inspired by eat, drink & be vegan

These scones would make a really nice side to a brunch with family and friends. The chunky strawberry and dark chocolate is an awesome combination. The scones aren't very sweet, which is the way I like it, but if you like your scones sweeter, you might want to adjust your sweeteners. 

PS - they're vegan too! 

2 c spelt flour (I'm not sure, but whole wheat flour might also work)

1/4 c agave nectar (white sugar or honey would be ok)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 coconut oil, melted (canola oil would work)

1/4 c dark chocolate chunks

1/4 c + 3 tbsp almond milk (any milk would do)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2/3 c chopped strawberries

1 - 2 tsp spelt flour - for dusting counter

1 tsp almond milk

Pre-heat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Add in your oil and mix well - flour will be crumbly. Stir in chocolate.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the milk and vanilla. Add your wet ingredients to the dry and add the strawberries. The dough is going to be wet, heavy & sticky. You might have to use your hands. Place dough on a floured surface and shape into a circle that is about 7" in diameter and 3/4" thick.

 Cut the circle into 6 equal wedges.

I admit that I am not the most accurate or neat cutter. I blame it on the chocolate chunks - they got in the way of a neat line!! Luckily cutting accuracy did not affect the taste.

Place the wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The recipe suggested that the tops be brushed with soy milk. I brushed mine with almond milk although I'm not really sure that made any difference in the way that the scones look once baked.

These look really ugly! I swear they weren't so bad looking in real life :-)

Bake for 14 - 16 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove them from the oven and  cool on a cooling rack.

Serve warm with your favourite cup of tea.

I enjoyed mine with Earth Balance, but they would be really delicious with fresh cream and strawberry jam!

Scrumptiuos!

These are fantastic, but I am still set on making some raspberry muffins. I promise that you will have a recipe from me as soon as our raspberry supply is replenished with some healthier looking berries.

Wishing you another fab weekend!

Andrea