How did I decide I was in the mood for this delicious creation this morning? I can think of a few simple reasons…

A) I woke up starving and pretty tired after a late night out with my classmates last night, and when I’m all sleepy I always crave sweet. Here we are

B) I have been following the 80/10/10 diet pretty rigidly for the past week, and yesterday I came to realize that it may not be for me (at this stage in my life, at least). I felt like I wasn’t getting enough protein to fuel my active lifestyle, and when yoga became difficult and I was waking up super sore every morning, I knew I had to switch things up. Maybe in the future when I have more time to focus on my diet I will give it another go, but for now I was feeling exhausted, bloated and sore! (Not to say it doesn’t work extremely well for many people with digestion issues, because I do believe wholeheartedly in the research and principles behind it. And there’s no denying that I didn’t try it for very long.)

C) I have been craving the shit out of peanut butter, which I am taking as another sign my body was begging for more protein.

D) I made peanut butter cups yesterday (probably because of that raging PB craving!) and I was dying to incorporate them into my breakfast.

E) I had to add a banana, since I have about 30 super-ripe ones (not a joke) laying around my kitchen because of 80/10/10.

Life Updates!

Before I get to the recipe, I want to give a little update on what’s going on in TBV land (can you tell I’m in a list-making mood today?):

A) SHIRTS! We are finishing up the last photo shoot for TBV Apparel today, which means that I will be launching the ad campaign and taking pre-orders within the next week. If you want to sign up to pre-order now, shoot me an email at theblondevegan1@gmail.com . I’M SO EXCITED IT HURTS!

B) Novel: many of you know that I’m working on a novel, and it got workshopped in class last week after me taking a several week (OK, maybe it’s been a month… or more) hiatus from working on it. The feedback I got from my class and teacher gave me a resurgence of passion and excitement about the book, and I am looking forward to writing some more scenes and fleshing out the new installments of my plot over the next few weeks.

C) Running: Ummm, my half marathon is this Sunday, April 13^th. Have I been training properly? No, because my ankle is still messed up from straining it about a month and a half ago. I am planning on walking parts of the race and running as much as I can of it. It’s a huge bummer that the injury happened, but it has gotten me more in touch with my body and reminded me how necessary it is to rest when my body is feeling fatigued…. Something I had been neglecting to do, hence the injury in the first place.

D) Yoga: I am thinking about doing another yoga teacher training to further my exploration of the practice. I got my teaching certification about a year and a half ago, and since I’ve moved to NYC teaching yoga has kind of been put on the back burner. I still practice every day, and every time I am in a class I get that itch of desperately wanting to teach again, and I think this summer might be the perfect time to look into new programs so I can come out refreshed, more educated and more in alignment with my teaching self.

E) Life changes: I know I’ve hinted at some life changes over the past few weeks, and I am almost ready to write about them on the blog. I am just trying to get all my ducks in a row before I come out with it, because I don’t want to jinx anything! But I am dying to share with all of you, as always.

F) Interviews/Events: Today I am interviewing Nadya Andreeva about her book Happy Belly that I have been so obsessed with lately. I am so excited to talk to her, pick her brain about all things wellness and digestion, and to share with all of you on the blog! And it’s going to be a video interview– yahoo! This Saturday I am going to a talk at Juice Press lead by Fred Bisci, health and wellness guru, about finding the keys to a healthy lifestyle.

G) Self-Love Challenge: I have gotten so many amazing emails, Instagram tags (and hashtags), texts and overall love surrounding the #fallinlovewithyourself #tbvchallenge. You’re all doing an incredible job… I will share this week’s winner on the blog tomorrow and I cannot wait.

WOWEE! Busy-town. And I didn’t even mention IIN starting soon, which I am getting ridiculously excited about!

Now, without further ado…

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Oats

Ingredients:

½ cup oats (I use gluten-free Bob’s Red Mill)

1.5 tablespoons peanut butter (or any other nut butter)

1 sliced banana

3 sliced strawberries (optional, but they’re yummy)

1-2 raw vegan peanut butter cups

A dash of cinnamon

 Directions:

1. Boil the oats in water over a medium-high heat until the water is fully soaked in.

2. Once the oats are boiled, stir in the peanut butter, ½ of the sliced banana, and the sliced strawberries.

3. Pour in the cinnamon.

4. Top with the rest of the banana and the peanut butter cups. You can chop the PB cups or leave them whole. They’re delicious either way.

Nutrition Info: