My favorite foods are pizza, grilled cheese, and birthday cake. On a recent trip to Italy, my main fare was pasta with olive oil and parmesan cheese and I loved it! My husband, on the other hand, eats anything in any quantity. Correction: he ate anything. At the beginning of the year, he finally decided to combat his failing health with a fitness program offered through the university where he teaches.
Prior to his epiphany, my husband avoided eating at home, preferring even fast food to my attempts at cooking. For a long time, we dined mostly apart – him at Jack in the Box, me, in my kitchen.
In addition to loving pizza and cake, I resisted intense exercise beyond my morning hikes and ping-pong. But I always sought out fresh and healthy foods at the farmer’s market, made my own fire cider, and probiotics. Yet, I could not shake those pesky pounds that had glommed on to my thighs when I was sleeping. So when my husband told me about the suggestions from the nutritionist in his fitness program, I was all ears.
The nutritionist determined that for his level of fitness and weight, he should consume 2200 calories per day to maintain his weight and by cutting 500 calories he could expect to lose ½ to 1 pound per week. Then she explained which foods were healthy and which were not. All my husband took away was that Jack in the Box fell into the latter category.
In order for my husband to start down the road toward skinny jeans, he would have to eat at home. The thing I had complained about for years – fast food – was coming to an end but that meant I would have to go to the market, plan meals, and cook – good-by free time!
Fast food egg sandwiches were going the way of disco and beanie babies – history. My breakfast, on the other hand, was constant – overnight oats with berries. I discovered overnight oats probably on the website which guides important life decisions: Pinterest. There were recipes for apple pie overnight oats, Nutella overnight oats, chocolate overnight oats. After lots of experiments, I settled on my own recipe with enough sweetness for my inner cake-lover and a bit protein for my vegetarian inclinations.
In our 30+ year marriage, I never observed my husband eating oatmeal. So, on the morning after his meeting with the nutritionist, I boldly served him my overnight oats with raspberries and waited. If he liked it, breakfasts would be easy-peasy.
He took a bite. Then another. Finally, he looked up and said something like, “this looked weird but it’s not too bad.”
I moved on to other meals, modifying them by replacing the bread or noodles with riced cauliflower and other vegetables.
And while cooking has never been one of my favorite things, I have found some shortcuts to make it less terrible.
Here is the basic overnight oat recipe which I do using colors and layers.
Start with a large mason jar – maybe a quart or larger.
Fill halfway with organic rolled oats.
Then, I add a thin layer of chia seeds followed by unsweetened coconut in the same amount or as much as double the chia.
Because I am always low on protein, I add a scoop of vanilla flavored protein powder.
Then, I cover the jar and shake to mix all of the dried ingredients.
Then, I add the wet ingredients which I am too lazy to measure but will try to estimate here.
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 TBS organic maple syrup
Cover the mix generously with almond milk – I either make my own or use Califa unsweetened vanilla.
Then, I seal the jar leave in the refrigerator.
The whole experience takes about 5 minutes. And in the morning, I scoop it into bowls with my fruit of choice – usually mixed berries. Easy-peasy!
With his new life style change, my husband got a new body but all I got was jealous.