Strawberry Cheesecake Oats

Thank you so much for all of the encouraging comments from yesterday?s post. I can?t even tell you how much each and every one means to me. I was unsure about sharing that experience because I don?t want an eating disorder to be a focus of this blog. And I don?t know how much my readers want to hear about it. I know for myself, reading about those going through the recovering of an ED helps me and encourages me but I know that not everyone agrees with that. Thoughts?

And you know, the title of this blog, The Process of Healing, can actually be taken in many ways. I?m healing not only from this stress fracture but from a history of disordered eating. Many of you are in the same boat as me. Maybe you are healing from an injury or an eating disorder or a broken heart? I think we go through several phases of ?healing? in our lives. It?s nice to know, for me, that I?m not alone in that

So today has been a day of truly exceptional eats. I started off the day with my Strawberry Cheesecake Oats!

How good do they look?

I simply cooked a base of whipped banana oats (1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup water, 1/2 a banana, pinch of salt, cinnamon). When they were practically done, I added 2-3 tbsp. of whipped cottage cheese and cooked a few minutes more. I then added them to my bowl and topped the mixture with strawberries. (almond butter may have also been added..)

HOLY yum! If you like strawberry cheesecake, you will be all OVER this!

A funny thing is that I actually cannot stand cottage cheese, that is, normal cottage cheese. It?s a texture thing. But it?s also one of the foods that I keep trying in hopes that  my tastes will change and that I will suddenly like it (I?m also this way with olives). Unfortunately, no matter how many times I try it? I never like it. But I?ve been so jealous of all the cottage cheese in oats around the blog world so when I saw this whipped version, I HAD to try it! This cottage cheese is whipped so it has the consistency of ricotta cheese. SO good! It made my oats perfectly cottage cheesey but without the curds (isn?t that what?s in regular cottage cheese?). Delicious, my friends. I?m so glad that I discovered the whipped version!

I embraced some healthy fats at lunch and enjoyed every last bite!

I had 1/4 of a huge avocado with a dash of salt?

And some of each of these cheeses?

(Irish cheese ? I?m on a all things Irish kick )

(Can?t go wrong with gruyere? not sure what the ?cave aged? is all about but it was gooooood)

Some grape tomatoes, raw broccoli, and baby carrots.

I loooove tasting plates like this!!!

In addition, I had some Great Harvest bread topped with pumpkin butter.

By the way, the pumpkin butter and both of those cheeses are AMAZING together!!! I ended up putting the cheese on top of the toast.

Also a peach, which actually tasted like a fig?! Strange. But since I like figs? good.

Dinner was another epic meal?

I tried a new veggie, yet again, for dinner tonight : broccoli rabe. Ever tried it? You can find out some interesting things about it here. I picked it up on the spur of the moment this weekend at Whole Foods with no idea really what I would do with it. I thought about it and decided to do a sauté of sorts with these chicken sausages that I got from Trader Joe?s.

I first ?blanched? (even though I don?t think you normally blanch veggies this long) for 10 minutes in simmering water. Meanwhile, I crisped up the chicken sausages in a skillet on medium heat. After 10 minutes, I drained the broccoli rabe and added it to the skillet. I seasoned it all with salt, pepper, pinch of nutmeg, and a drizzle of Agave Nectar and cooked it for another 2-3 minutes or so.

SO good!!!! The flavors were amazing together! The broccoli rabe was sort of like a blank slate; I had heard it could be bitter but I found no bitterness at all. It went great with the chicken sausage! I will be making this again!

On the side, I had some more brussel sprouts. This time, I drizzled them with maple syrup and then salt and pepper and roasted them.

YUM! AND I converted my mom, who previously hated Brussel sprouts, to a brussel sprout lover!!! Don?t you love it when that happens?!

Also had some TJ?s white cheddar Mac and Cheese on the side.

Do I even need to tell you how good it was? Instant Mac and Cheese is one of my comfort foods? and one of those foods that I could eat and eat and eat?

And I swear? dessert should?ve been illegal?

I took this yogurt from TJ?s?

(which in itself was FABULOUS!)

And topped it with 1/2 a crumbled cappacino chocolate chip muffin from Great Harvest.

O.M.G. The bomb. Seriously. I know it looks kind of boring and? brown? but it?s awesome!!!

I also received a fun package today!! But you?ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is. Indoor (not natural) lighting is not very conducive to good picture taking so I want to wait and photograph my goodies tomorrow in natural light.

I am thankful today for:

"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." – Roger Crawford