Pumpkin Chia Banana Oats

Did you know that there are only 48 days left until Christmas? Crazy, right? For most of my adult life, I’ve handmade all or most of Christmas gifts. Last year was the first year that we bought all of our Christmas gifts, only because the Husband and I were both in school part-time and working full time. But this year, we are resuming the practice of a handmade Christmas. In past years, we started making our holiday gifts in August. I started this year’s this week. Yeesh! Way behind.

I’ll be spending a lot of time right here:

Beyond just handmade, we are also trying to upcycle most of our materials. Which is super fun! Last Christmas, we upcycled a lot of our wrapping by collecting scraps of fabric and trimmings. While we didn’t have time to make all of our gifts last year, we did spend a few hours crafting up some fun wrapping.

I’ve finished one gift so far and obviously, I can’t show all the picture because our recipients read here, but here’s a little preview.

Breakfast

It is 22 degrees outside. Is there really any question what I had for breakfast?

Hot oats!

In the pot:

1/3 c. skim milk
1/3 c. water
1/3 c. oats
1/2 banana, sliced thin
1 tbsp. chia seeds
Dollop of pumpkin (3 tablespoons?)
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla <———add in at the end
2 tbsp. plain greek yogurt <——-add in at the end

This was SUCH a good base. The yogurt make it so fluffy and creamy. Highly recommended.

Topped with cinnamon chips, the other half of the banana, peanut butter and a crumbled up oat square. I made those this week and they are SO good.

One of the best bowls to date!

Of course, because of the 22 degree weather (and my refusal to turn on the heat) had to have a warm mug of tea.

Peach DeTox, because it was the first one I grabbed from the pantry.

In my Cherry Republic mug. Ahh, remember beaches? Missing summer a bit.

Warm and cozy breakfast.

Now I’m off to get all bundled up and head to the farmer’s market. It does seem a little strange to need a winter coat to go to the farmer’s market, but winter squash need to be purchased!