Overnight Oats = breakfast without thinking

These can soak overnight and up to 3 days if you want to make a whole bunch of them at a time!

Makes getting out the door in the morning easy and great start to your day a snap!








3/4 cup old fashion oats
3/4-1 cup milk of your choice, I prefer unsweet almond (milk should cover the oats)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4-1/3 cup fruit, I used blueberries and strawberries this morning, but peaches/mango/frozen mixed berries/bananas would all be great!

1. Put oats, cinnamon, fruit into a Tupperware container. Pour in enough milk to completely cover oats.
2. Put lid on Tupperware
and place in the fridge. When ready to eat, give it a stir and you are done!

ENJOY!

Coconut Panna Cotta, by Chef Joe

Recipe #2 from 8/3/15 Support Group

1 oz (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup Splenda
1.5 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin into water and let stand about 1 minute. Then heat, over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, then remove pan from heat.
2. In large saucepan, bring coconut milk, half and half, and Splenda just to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring. Remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla.
3. Pour into shallow serving dishes or into a baking dish with sides at least 1/2" high. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight to let the panna cotta 'set up'.

Would be great, served topped with fresh raspberries and mango cubes!

ENJOY!

Summer Squash Casserole

I found myself in a predicament with too much summer squash hanging around the kitchen from the local CSA. What does one do with all those squashes?! So I thought I would whip up a side dish for dinner that could then be portioned out and taken for lunches to work.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
3 large cloves fresh garlic, sliced
5 summer squash ('yellow squash') sliced - zucchini or kuda squashes would also be excellent or a mix of all three, roughly 6 cups raw
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated cheese (I grated Dubliner)
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil over med-low, add garlic and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (I grind fresh Himalayan salt and pepper right into the pan). Saute until very soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove onions and garlic and place in bottom of a glass baking dish
4. Add squash to pan, slightly increase heat, add balsamic and a little more salt and pepper, and let saute until squash starts to soften, about 10 minutes. Then spread over onions in baking dish.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan, melt the butter then add the flour and stir until a paste forms. This is your roux to thicken your milk with. Stir the roux in pan until it starts to brown. You are basically toasting the mixture. The darker the brown, the deeper the flavor, but you can definitely burn it too! When the mixture is between the color of a raw walnut and almond it is done. Remove to a plate.
6. Heat milk in same pan (less dish washing!) over medium heat. When milk is warm but not boiling, add thyme, oregano and roux. Raise the temperature of the burner to med-high, whisk the mixture to combine the roux and start the thickening process. As bubbles start to appear on the surface of the milk, it will start to thicken. Cook about another five minutes, whisking constantly, then pour over vegetables in baking dish. NOTE: it might not be enough liquid to fully cover vegetables and that is correct! Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top and grate cheese over breadcrumbs. Bake about 20 minutes or until topping is browned to your liking.
7. Remove from heat and top with ripped fresh basil leaves.

ENJOY!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake, by Chef Joe

Chocolate, 100% Whey Isolate protein powder
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter*
2 cups skim milk**
1/2 cup silken tofu

1. Blend protein, milk, and peanut butter in blender until smooth. Add tofu and blend again. If shake is to thin, you can add more tofu and/or ice and blend more.

approx 100 grams protein for the entire recipe, to be sipped over the course of the day

*feel free to substitute almond butter, cashew butter or soynut butter as long as they don't have added sugars
**unsweetened soy milk or unsweetened almond milk are also good liquids to use in this recipe and will feel better to to people's GI systems who might be struggling with lactose post-operatively.

ENJOY!!