pumpkin granola for fall

homemade granola is one of my go-to's for breakfast, yogurt toppings or dessert toppings. i have posted recipes for both good, ole, simple granola and for peanut butter granola previously, but today i am putting a fall twist on my classic granola recipe: pumpkin! many people don't think they like pumpkin, but they just haven't given it the chance! it is a most delicious fall flavor, and has nutritional benefits to boot! this morning for breakfast, i had some of this pumpkin granola with kefir, a banana and blueberries (of course, i sprinkled some more pumpkin spice and cinnamon on top). it was so good, perfect for this cool, fall morning! also, it kept me quite full through my barre3 workout and chores around my house!

pumpkin granola

2 cups oats

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp splenda brown sugar blend

1 t vanilla 

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil)

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice seasoning

1/2 tbsp cinnamon 

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. mix together all dry ingredients then mix in wet ingredients. toss to coat everything evenly. 
3. spread the granola on a cookie sheet (make sure you have sprayed it with non-stick pray!)
4. bake for 30-40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so, until granola is crisp. 
5. allow to cool and store in an airtight container. 

(slightly adapted from joyful healthy eats)

nuts and dried craisins would also be excellent additions to this recipe! enjoy it over yogurt, with kefir or atop a warm apple for dessert! 

last night, i hosted a lovely (if i do say so myself) wine and cheese party for my pledge class! we all really enjoy our time together when we actually get together and last night was just perfect. entitles "bring your own bottle," everyone brought their poison of choice and i supplied the munchies! the menu included a bacon cheddar cheese, asiago with rosemary and olive oil cheese, brie as well as white cheddar cheese, an olive tapenade, spicy mustard, turkey summer sausage, apples, grapes, carrots, celery, crackers, baguette slices, trader joe's no-guilt kale and spinach artichoke dip and some brownie bites to top everything off! i really enjoyed everyone coming over to my apartment and getting to host! i'm thinking there may be fondue night, beer and pizza night, margs and mexican night in pledge class '11's future! 

tonight the vols are squaring off against oklahoma and i have a crockpot full of chili ready and cornbread ready to go in the oven just before kickoff! go big orange (stella is ready for the game too)!

xoxo,

clp 

last summer saturday in the boro

today is my last saturday in murfreesboro for a while and it is a busy one!

this morning came super early because i ran the Fenton, Payne and Fred 5k with Alex, my older cousin.  i have only run 2 other 5k's, but i think they are really a fun way to donate to charity. this race's proceeds go towards multiple organizations in murfreesboro which is a plus. also, the race's route was really nice, especially since my grandparents and aunt and uncle could walk out their front doors and cheer us on!

alex and i pre-race

and i'm off! 

i ran it in 27 minutes and 41 seconds and placed 192/702 overall and 4th in my age group! pretty happy with my results since i hadn't run a mile, much less 3, since early may!

after the race, dad and i went to the farmer's market on the square for our weekly trip! i loaded up on veggies and fruits to take back to knoxville with me! i really am going to miss the market on saturdays, but UT has one on wednesday afternoons on the ag campus that i will have to visit!

i mixed up a batch of my go-to granola this morning as well. it is a breakfast staple in our house so i wanted to make sure mom and dad had some for after i left and that i had some since i have a busy couple of weeks coming up. it is a simple recipe but i like it that way because you can mix it with just about anything. we like ours over yogurt or with kefir and any kind of fruit. here's the recipe:

claire's go-to granola

2 c Old Fashioned Oats

1 T Cinnamon

1 T Vegetable Oil

2 T Honey

2 T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 1/4 c Regular Brown Sugar)

1 t Vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In mixing bowl, combine cinnamon, vegetable oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir.
3. Stir in oats until oats are fully coated.
4. Spread on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Take granola out and flip with spatula. Bake another 15 minutes.
6. Cool completely and store in airtight container. 

this afternoon is going to be busy as well. there are four birthdays in our family during the month of august and since all the grandkids are home, everyone is coming to our house to celebrate. to make it easy on the birthday girls (who would have ended up doing most of the cooking), we ordered pasta, soup, salad and bread from demos' and i am already looking forward to it! we will top off the meal with birthday cake of course!

before supper we are having pictures made of the six grandkids for my grandmother. we attempted this two years ago and the whole thing was a catastrophe from start to finish. mom and i were in tears from laughing so hard when we got the proofs back. however, we are using the talented Angel Pardue today and we are having her take casual shots outside. i feel like i have been recruited as the personal shopper for everyone on what they will wear and am loving it! hopefully these photos turn out much better than the last ones!

amidst all this, i am also trying to get packed up to head back to knoxville on monday. i can't believe that summer has come to an end so quickly but i am looking forward to seeing my sisters and friends in knoxville and moving into my first college apartment. the packing list keeps on growing and growing, along with the piles of stuff that are ready to be loaded in the car tomorrow. hopefully we will have most everything done by early afternoon tomorrow so i can lay by the pool!

happy saturday to all & xoxo,
clp

fabulous friday: cooking, shopping and workouts

what a fabulous friday i have had... between working out, cooking and shopping, today was particularly enjoyable! since i had such a lovely day, i thought i would share with you what made it such a fantastic friday...

my morning started out with one of my favorite pre-workout breakfasts: homemade peanut butter granola (recipe below), strawberry kefir, fresh sliced strawberries and a sliced banana. beyond being delicious, it provides me with enough energy to power through my workout.

peanut butter granola

1/2 cup homemade peanut butter (to make homemade peanut butter, simply toss unsalted, roasted peanuts in a blender and turn on high until a butter forms) or peanut/nut butter of choice

1/4 cup honey

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. put the honey and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 45 seconds, or until peanut butter and honey can be whisked together until smooth
3. mix in vanilla and oats
4. stir mixture until oats are evenly coated. transfer onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and spread evenly
5. bake for 8 minutes
6. let cool completely, then crumble up large pieces and store in an airtight container for up to one week

(modified slightly from something swanky)

this morning's workout was my usual friday MAC workout: body pump and spin. these are my favorite two group classes and i love the trainer so i am really going to miss it when i go back to school. as elle woods said "exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy..." it's definitely safe to say that i have plenty of endorphins to go around after my friday workout. 

i also ventured to green hills today to brave tax-free weekend. surprisingly, the mall at green hills was not terribly crowded and i got to shop at leisure and go in my favorite stores! a trip to green hills would not be complete without a visit to j. crew (is it a problem that they recognize me when i come in?) and to see my personal stylist there, katie. i could go on for days about j. crew, so i will just leave that for another post another day. a trip to whole foods at hill center ended my trip to nashville and you could say i was in heaven. i could walk the aisles of whole foods forever! 

i had a surprise waiting on me when i came home from nashville today! we had an old chair that i repainted and got reupholstered this summer and it was finally ready today! it turned out even better than imagined and i can't wait to see it in my room in my apartment! 

from horribly drab...

... to totally fab! 

i will share more apartment pictures later on once i get all moved in and settled! 

supper tonight was tasty if i do say so myself. we had grilled thai curry chicken served over spaghetti squash with peas, carrots and edamame, garnished with green onions and chopped peanuts and my homemade thai peanut sauce. i also grabbed some sushi today at whole foods we had on the side. for dessert, i broiled fresh georgia peaches from the peach truck sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with atlanta fresh apricot honey reisling greek yogurt cream cheese! a healthy dinner with a healthy dessert was the perfect end to my perfect friday! 

more tomorrow!

xoxo,

clp