Oats!

Do you ever go through "stages" with food where you just randomly start craving something... and then you keep craving it throughout the next week (or 3)? Luckily for me, as of 2 nights ago, my craving has been whole steel rolled oats (what?! how?!) and not ooey-gooey delicious, salty cheese.

I wish I had a picture to share with you of my breakfast the past two mornings because it has been ridiculously satisfying and filling to boot!

What I've been making:

• 1/2 cup uncooked whole steel rolled oats
• 1/2 organic frozen blueberries
• 3 tsp. flax seeds
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. almond butter (no added sugar or preservatives!)
• 1 cup water

Basically, if I'm in a rush, I throw everything into a large (reusable) container and pop it in the microwave until the oats have absorbed all the liquid; and voila! Tasty, comforting oats. I got a huge container of rolled oats from the farmer's market for less than $2, a 16 ounce bag of organic blueberries from Whole Foods for around $4; and I have just as large of a container of flax seeds as I do oats (for CHEAP from the farmer's market), so making this breakfast every day has actually been saving me money.

How is that possible? Well, right now it's 11am. Usually by now, I'm craving something delicious and slightly filling since I'm usually starving by now. Currently, I'm still very satisfied and furthermore don't feel the slightest bit bloated with that heavy "full" feeling. So, I'm not sneaking off to the office cafe or vending machine and spending unnecessary cash or calories. :)

Anyway, I absolutely recommend you keep the following on hand for a delicious anytime snack or filling breakfast:

• Frozen berries
• Flax seeds (don't buy them pre-ground, they double the price. I have a magic bullet at home that helps me grind them up as I need them, so I can do a batch per week and then add the ground flax seeds into anything, even on top of toast!)
• Whole oats
• SPICES (cinnamon, cumin, herbs de province, and paprika have all been ridiculously handy in my kitchen)
• Some sort of nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew) - They're incredibly satisying when you're in a pinch and want something tasty; not to mention, when added on some Ezekiel bread or pretzels, they make an incredible post-workout snack!
• Brown rice or quinoa (again, a very quick and simple last-minute snack that's tasty even with just a little added Earth Balance and a pinch of sea salt!)

What are your must-haves?