Hi friends! Can I just say that for the record, I am always blown away by the wisdom and insight that my readers possess? Granted I’m not surprised in the slightest since I know you are all incredibly intelligent, but your comments about disconnecting from the virtual world in my last post were really sensational. I will be responding to each of you today – I love this topic of conversation!

I’ve been making a lot of revelations with my food choices lately and am planning to have a big post about that and some other “food for thought” later this week. For today, I’d like to introduce a Power Monday through a fabulous Guest Bender! You’re not going to want to miss Diana’s genius creation – Power Toast. It takes what we know and love about oatmeal creations to a quicker, toastier new frontier!

Plus, her pictures are mouthwatering 🙂 Take it away, girly!

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Power Toast: Diana from The Chic Life

As a healthy eater, I love how easy it is to turn oatmeal into a powerhouse of nutrition with lots of yummy mix-ins and toppings. However, as a busy, working, city girl, I don’t always have the time I need to cook up oatmeal in the morning. So, I started making something different for my busier days…

Power Toast!

What is Power Toast? Power Toast is toast amped up with healthy toppings. The concept is simple. Oatmeal is a like a blank canvas to which we add various toppings to add flavor, texture, and nutrition. A good piece of whole grain bread can also serve as a blank canvas for delicious and healthful toppings. Power Toast is a lifesaver for my busiest mornings since I can get a great breakfast in a snap.

Base:

I like to start with a great base of whole grain bread. Personally, I prefer buying bread from a local bakery. Hubby and I get our weekly bread from Great Harvest Bread Company. We really love Honey Whole Wheat, Flax Oat Bran, Dakota, and Oat Bran because they are all whole grain based. Whole grain serving – check!

Spread:

Next, I like to add a nice nut butter spread to create the perfect pair of whole grains and protein to give me energy and help keep me full all morning. My favorite nut butter is Barney Butter (crunchy).

Toppings:

Here’s the fun part. In the same way you would add toppings to oatmeal, you can add toppings to your toast: dried fruit, jam, jelly, nuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, goji berries, chocolate chips – whatever you want. Get creative.

Here are some of my favorite combinations:

Coconut-y Toast – Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat Toast

Toppings:

• Barney Butter (about 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp)
• sunflower seeds
• flaxseeds
• HEMP SEEDS
• organic unsweetened coconut flakes

Dried Fruit + Seeds – Great Harvest Dakota Toast

Toppings:

• Barney Butter
• Earthfare fruit & nut mix (cranberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
• And, of course, HEMP SEEDS! (Have you tried these yet? You should! They are good for you.)

AB+J Seedy Toast – Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat Toast

Toppings (AB+J = almond butter and jelly):

• Barney Butter
• Earthfare organic pomegranate jelly
• sunflower seeds
• hemp seeds
• sesame seeds

Now, who’s ready for some breakfast?! What will you put on your Power Toast?

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Thanks, Diana! Now I’m officially hungry and off to make breakfast. I wonder what I should have…

Tell us, what would you put on your Power Toast?!

Have a POWERFUL Monday, everyone!

Abrazos!