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lean eats

Friday Fare, Health

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

June 6, 2014

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

Hiiii. I am so sorry I missed last week’s Friday Fare 🙁 I swear, I have so many delicious and healthy recipes to share with you all but I have been travelling a lottt recently and two situations occur:

a) I make a delicious and healthy meal but have nowhere I can photograph it (good lighting and scenery is everythaaang people) or b) I have a perfect place to take photos but I am really busy and do not have time to make anything special. Oh blogger dilemmas, man.

Anyway, a few nights ago I was really craving oatmeal and somehow managed to be quite creative and come up with overnight kombucha chia oats with matcha green tea yogurt … AND photograph it!! I probably should have done something to make the photos a little nicer (’tis a bit plain) but alas, I did not.

The idea for soaking the oats in kombucha came to me because I actually had a bottle of Synergy’s cherry chia kombucha chilling in the fridge (pun .. hehe). I had nooo idea how the combo of cherry flavored kombucha, chia seeds and rolled oats would take, but I decided to take the risk and I am really glad I did. It was delicioussss. Now, the matcha green tea yogurt idea came about because I bought some matcha green tea powder at Safeway the other day despite it being kind of expensive.

But seriously, matcha green tea powder is so bloody hard to find and I really could not be bothered to drive to Japan Town (HATE driving in downtown San Francisco) and the good Asian supermarket nearest me is still kinda far … so yeah anyway, tangent. Since I had the powder I thought it would be fun to make a flavored yogurt which was also delicious, although I did have to lightly sweeten it with liquid stevia. And the toppings seemed self-evident because they are all awesome, delicious and healthy.

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

Okay, so now that you have the full-blown history of how I thought of this recipe (hope I didn’t bore you all!!) let’s get to making it!

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt Recipe

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

Alice Williams
A perfectly invigorating blend of kombucha chia soaked oats with fat fighting green tea yogurt

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats I used Bob's Red Mill brand
  • 1/2 a bottle of Synergy's Cherry Chia Kombucha
  • 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
  • 1 cup of full fat plain yogurt - don't fear fat ... or a fat-free version, but check to make sure it doesn't have any extra added sugar as most fat-free versions are really high in sugar
  • 1/2 cup of blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish honey
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish pumpkin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1 teaspoon or more if you wish slivered almonds

Instructions
 

  • 1. The night before you plan on eating this meal, put your rolled oats and the cherry chia kombucha into a mason jar (or anything that will be sealed) in the fridge overnight to soak.
  • 2. Now that your oats are ready and soaked, let the fun begin! To make the matcha green tea yogurt layer, simply get a bowl and put your yogurt, matcha green tea powder, and liquid stevia in a bowl and use an electric whisk to blend it all up (you can use a normal whisk too). Once the yogurt is ready, dollop it on top of your oats.
  • 3. Now layer the blueberries on top of the yogurt layer, followed by the honey, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds, and slivered almonds.
  • 4. Voila! A really easy, delicious AND healthy breakfast which can be taken on the go or enjoyed at home. I like having mine with a cup of tea, green tea of course 😉
Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt
Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

How else can I enjoy Overnight Oats?

Overnight chia oats with kombucha are so versatile and can be altered in so many delicious and simple ways. Another variation involved using greek yogurt (I like Fage) instead of normal yogurt, strawberries and Dang coconut chips, mmm.

Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt
Overnight Kombucha Chia Oats with Matcha Green Tea Yogurt

I hope you all enjoyed this week’s edition of Friday Fare. If you make this, please share a photo with me and hashtag it #fridayfare if you upload your re-creation on Instagram or Twitter!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Fitness, Health, Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary: Kayla Itsines Week 3

March 16, 2014
sugar free and refined free muffins

Hello everyone!

This was an INSANE week for me! I had a research proposal and a presentation all due this past week, so I was working like a maniac to make sure I got everything finished and to some sort of a high standard. I don’t know how I managed to get everything done, but when it hit 10PM on Thursday night (yes, my classes end at 10PM), I breathed a sigh of relief because my weekend had finally started …

In addition to all this work, I had a really great consultation with Body Type Nutrition coach and fitness model, Stephen Box. He has been my secret nutrition weapon these past few months and has been helping me with losing the last bit of fat and has taught me a lot about nutrition along the way. Since I am NOT a certified nutritionist, I can always use some help and I do not think any of you should shy away from getting help from qualified sources. Anyway, I was feeling a little demotivated and he really helped set me back on track. So thank you so much for that, Stephen! Staying inspired and motivated is a key part of staying a healthy and fit individual and certainly not something that should be overlooked.

This weekend saw me making some very sound nutritional choices as my boyfriend and I went to visit his grandparents and aunt who are sugar-free and gluten-free, because his aunt has candida (which I actually want to do a whole post on at some point, because candida overgrowth is actually a huge problem). Ergo, this weekend was full of delicious meals and desserts which were guilt free! For those of you who follow me on Instagram you will have seen the photo’s I posted of all the yummy food and the beautiful scenery I enjoyed.

Kayla Itsines Week 3

Luckily for you all, I have been given permission to share some of these recipes so look out for them as I release them over the next few weeks. Here is a little teaser of one of the recipe’s I plan to share with you all …. 🙂

sugar free and refined free muffins

 

Doesn’t that look so good and fluffy?!

Kayla Itsines Week 3

So that’s it from me! Ohh, I guess I should state that I have officially finished week 3 of Kayla Itsine’s Bikini Body Guide, and will now be going into week 4. This week KILLED ME. So .. many … jump lunges … my god.

Hope you all had a wonderful week! Let me know what you got up too in the comments below 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice

Blogs I love, Fitness, Health, Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary: Kayla Itsines Week 2

March 9, 2014

Hello lovely readers!

I am feeling much more positive after my last week of being low and negative. I have now completed week 2 of Kayla Itsine’s bikini body guide AND I am so happy to say that I have completed the 6 week intermediate to advanced yoga program from Do Yoga With Me!

So what can I say about this? Well first off, I am not a master advanced yogi at all, but I noticed a significant amount of progress during the past 6 weeks. And for those of you who do yoga regularly (or even those who don’t) you will know that 6 weeks is not a long time at all. Most master yogis have been practicing for years … yeeeeears!! I have been on and off practicing yoga for about 8 years but this is the only time I have ever been regular and consistent with it. And it shows! For those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that very occasionally I will post photo’s of me in certain yoga poses, and the most recent photo I posted has shown how I have become much more flexible in comparison to the one I took a few weeks ago.

Kayla Itsines Week 2 BBG

Kayla Itsines Week 2

In terms of the bikini body guide I am embarassed to say that I have already screwed up a little .. I did the workout you were supposed to do for weeks 1 and 3, but for week 1 & 2 … oops! Oh well, hehe, I suppose I will just have to do the workouts for weeks 2 & 4, on weeks 3 & 4. It is still too early on to notice anything, although I feel as if my abs have become stronger because I am not flailing about quite as much as I was last week when I would do the sit ups!!

Apart from that, not much else is new to be quite honest! I have been swamped with work, but I have still been doing some cooking and baking to come up with new things I can feature on Friday Fare. I recently made a delicious and slightly tweaked version of Kitchen Treaty’s Vanilla Lime Green Smoothie, and it was absolutely delicious. I subbed the vanilla yogurt for vanilla protein powder and added in some of my homemade toffee sauce instead of honey. I recommend you have a look at Kitchen Treaty, as I am sure it will give you some inspiration for meals, desserts, and more.

green smoothie that fits into Kayla Itsines HELP Guide

green smoothie that fits into Kayla Itsines HELP Guide

That’s all from me for now! I think I am gonna go and make my healthy ice cream recipe now … mmmm

easy 3 ingredient healthy ice cream with toffee sauce

How have your weeks been? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice