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Day in the Life – Morning Hustle Edition

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Hi, I'm Tina!

I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). I use macros and functional nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals.

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This post is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company, but all opinions are my own. 

Now that summer is here, our family is enjoying a much more low-key lifestyle, but during the school year, weekday mornings start bright and early at 5:00 AM when Mal’s alarm clock goes off. Here’s a snapshot into one of his final days of school!

Mal heads downstairs for breakfast while I get a jump start on my work for the day. I typically only work for 20-30 minutes, often checking email and replying to blog comments, but even checking a few tasks off my to do list first thing in the morning gives me some awesome momentum for the rest of the day. Plus, I don’t feel like I have 8 zillion tasks weighing me down!

After a little work, I take Murphy for his morning walk. I used to rush through our walks because I wanted to get back to my laptop, but now I really savor our time together. The exercise – for the both of us – is such a great way to start the morning. I always return to the house feeling energized and ready to start the day!

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I have a busy day ahead and won’t have time to get to the gym or take a class, so I get my butt moving with a high-intensity kettlebell workout in our basement. It’s just 15 minutes long, but I’m a sweaty mess by the end!

After that, I immediately hop in the shower and get myself ready for the day. I’ve actually become quite the get-ready ninja, so I’m cleaned, dressed, and makeup-ed in no time! Mal leaves the house promptly at 6:40 AM, so I need to (mostly) have my act together before he goes to school and Quinn is awake for the day. Otherwise, trying to work out and get ready with a 3 year old takes soooo much longer!

 

Then, I head downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. I recently had the opportunity to try Quaker’s new Overnight Oats, and I am a huge fan.  (If you follow me on Instagram Stories, you’ve probably seen them a bunch!) They are super convenient, and I love that you can have a nutritious and hearty breakfast in the morning without spending a lot of time preparing it. They’re an easy choice, especially when I need as much time as possible to get all sorts of things accomplished in the morning!

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I love overnight oats and know that a lot of you guys do, too. It’s definitely a popular breakfast choice in the blog world and beyond, so Quaker saw this as an opportunity to bring added convenience to the trend with their single serving cups. To do this, they brought together key ingredients of a typical homemade recipe into a convenient cup, so all you need to do is add milk (or your non-dairy option of choice) at night to the single serve container, let it cold-steep in the refrigerator overnight, and then wake up to a cool and hearty breakfast for a hassle-free morning.

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Each single-serve container features a flavorful blend of oats, fruits, quinoa, flaxseed and nuts – giving you the nutrition you want to help start your day. They’re made with 100% whole grain oats (+ other grains) and have no artificial flavors or added colors. Nutritionally, each one has at least 11g of protein when prepared with ½ cup of non-fat milk and 300 calories or less per container (before adding milk/non-dairy options). Quaker Overnight Oats are available in four delicious flavors: Blueberry Banana & Vanilla Bliss, Toasted Coconut & Almond Crunch (obviously, the first one I tried – so good!), Orchard Peach Pecan Perfection, and Raisin Walnut & Honey Heaven.

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At night, simply add milk or your non-dairy option of choice and stir to the fill line within the single-serve containers. You can also use nut milks, coconut, and soy milk!

how to make quaker overnight oats

Then, just let the mixture cold-steep in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours+ (but not longer than 24 hours). Take it out of the refrigerator the next morning and enjoy a cool and hearty breakfast option with no morning prep required. It’s as easy as steep, sleep, and eat!

quaker overnight oats

Quinn wakes up a short while later and the morning hustle continues. Typically, we have a solid hour or more to play and get ready for daycare, but, this day, we need to be efficient. Kerrie and I have a 9:00 AM meeting in the city. With rush hour traffic, we need to give ourselves at least 1.5 hours to get there, so, long story short, Quinn and I need to boogie through our morning routine. We do, however, have time to tease Curious George with offers of “banana juice.”

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I feel bad rushing Quinn out the door, but I picked my battles and let him wear his rain boots and bring his Scooby Doo Mystery Machine to school.

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At daycare, I give Qman lots of hugs and kisses before saying goodbye. Then, I grab a couple of cold brew coffees before meeting Kerrie at her house to drive together to our meeting. Go, go, go!

Boo. We hit lots of traffic, but we have plenty of time to catch up and chat about the 8,000 things that we need to do.

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Meeting time!

After our meeting, we battle more traffic and then finally grab a late lunch together. We’re both starving!

After that, I swing by daycare to pick up Qman. His teachers tell me that he had a great day!

Mal and Murphy are waiting for us at home, so it’s time to unplug for the day!

Question of the Day

What’s your favorite no-hassle breakfast?

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