Fresh Strawberry & Oat Combinations and Bacon Ranch Crusted Chicken

With strawberries being at the pinnacle of freshness and sweetness this time of year, I found myself craving some of them this week. I couldn't believe how delicious they were on their own, but also how much they spruce up a lot of other meals.

After work yesterday, I purchased some ingredients to make an overnight oats recipe I've been wanting to try, and during the preparation of cutting up my berries for the morning, I threw together a really tasty and quick snack that I will definitely eat again.

I used half of a Trader Joe's Blueberry Bran muffin heated for 30 seconds, 4 chopped large strawberries and a 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk to come up with this concoction and OH was it tasty!

I'm planning to have this again sometime this week with a full muffin for breakfast. All of the flavors went together perfectly.

Stats: 145 Calories, 4.2g Fat, 350mg Sodium, 23.7g Carbs, 3.8g Protein, 9.3g Sugar

I'll get to my overnight oats last since I have to explain my recipes in chronological order :)

I found a recipe for Bacon Ranch Chicken through Hungry Girl and gave it a go last night with a few modifications.

First, how could Bacon Ranch Chicken possibly be bad, but second, how could it be good for you?!

The chicken I made was made up of the ingredients below

Spicy Ranch Dressing Mix, Oscar Meyer Bacon Bits (for cooking), Garlic Powder, Dried Onion, Black Pepper, and Free Range Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

The package of Chicken that I purchased was 1 lb. It's honestly impossible to find pre-packaged chicken that is much under 1 lb. in your typical grocery store, but luckily when I opened the package one of the breasts was man-sized (about 10 ounces!) and the other was lady-sized (about 6 ounces) which happened to suit my boyfriend and myself very well!

I pre-heated the oven to 375 first, and covered a baking sheet with foil (and sprayed with Pam)

Next I removed the chicken breasts and coated them with garlic powder, dried onion & pepper on both sides. Once the breasts were seasoned, I took one teaspoon of the Spicy Ranch mix and pressed it evenly over the top side of each breast (1 teaspoon per breast).

I then took 1 tablespoon of the bacon bits (FYI, there are 3 teaspoons in 1 tablespoon as I learned via Google since my tablespoon was in the dishwasher last night!) and pressed them evenly over the top of each breast (1 tablespoon per breast)

Here are the prepared breasts before heading into the oven

I cooked the chicken for 25 minutes (+3 minutes for the manly breast) and found that was just the right amount of time.

The bacon cooked really well and I think I'll start making it a staple in my house for baking. One tablespoon is 25 calories, which definitely deviates from bacon's usual unhealthy reputation.

To go with the chicken, I prepared a salad with a new super-human hybrid lettuce I bought at Raley's (seriously it's a cross between Romaine & Iceberg). While my interest was piqued by the hybrid thing, I was mostly drawn to the fact that the lettuce was on sale and pre-washed (awesome). I didn't expect for it to be so crisp and delicious!

To the lettuce I added white onion, celery, chopped carrot, a couple of slices of avocado, cherry tomatoes, fat free feta cheese, a bit more of the bacon (heated up in the microwave for 20 seconds until crisp), and TJ's Fat Free Parmesan Ranch

Yum. It was SO good and Boyfriend approved (big-time)!

Stats (Based on a 6 oz. Chicken Breast w/Salad): 310 Calories, 9.7g Fat, 788mg Sodium, 11.5g Carbs, 49g Protein, 5.4g Sugar

Last, but not least, I tried out a recipe for Overnight Oats (adapted from Fit Foodie Finds) since the strawberries were in need of another food pairing:

1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/4 Cup Wheat Bran

1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix all of the above ingredients in a tupperware container (or something similar) and place in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 2 hours).

Remove container after chilling period and layer with fresh strawberries or any other choice fruit (peanut or almond butter would also be tasty).

I used 4 Large Fresh Strawberries

This was really great and felt like I was having a special treat for breakfast. In the future I may omit the cinnamon just because I don't like fruit and spices together, but that's all up to your preference. I also added a Stevia packet to my oats mixture since I tend to like things a bit sweeter.

Stats: 203 Calories, 6.9g Fat, 75mg Sodium, 34g Carbs, 12g Fiber, 6.3g Protein, 2.3g Sugar

That's all I've got for now. Go out and get some fresh strawberries soon while they're this amazing. I fully intend on going to the Farmer's Market this weekend to get a ton of fresh produce for this week and some new recipes!