Pumpkin Overnight Oats in a Nutella jar!

Since we are focusing on eating on smaller dishes, I thought I'd share my breakfast this morning. I saved a small Nutella container and I often mix up the ingredients for overnight oats in it because I can put everything in, give it a shake, and then grab it quick in the morning. And it feels kinda cozy and indulgent to eat straight out of a Nutella container! Today I had Pumpkin Overnight oats. Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Overnight Oats
Basic recipe:
1/2 cup quick oats
3/4 cup milk (I like coconut milk)
1 teaspoon chia seed
dash of salt

Here you can add whatever you like to change it up. Today I added:
3 T pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3-4 drops liquid stevia

I normally don't add any sweetener at all, but with the pumpkin I thought it needed just a little.

Put everything in the jar and shake it up. You can use a small mason jar or just any covered container. Mix it up the night before or at least 4-6 hours in advance. The next morning, just grab a spoon and eat. No need to heat it up.

12 Weeks to New Year is happening NOW! Click here to get started. It's small easy changes you can make that will establish good habits. Go ahead! It won't be hard and you won't feel like you are deprived of anything.

12 Weeks to New Year: Week ONE

I'm super excited about this. Fitness instructors generally love New Year's anyway because loads of new people start coming to class and it's so full of energy! LOVE IT! But October to December is generally not a good time for healthy habits and exercise. Following these simple EASY steps will help you navigate the holiday season like a champ AND give you a headstart for whatever you want to accomplish for 2015! No need to gain a ton of weight or let your exercise program be forgotten.

WEEK 1: Drink 2 cups (16 ounces) of water first thing in the morning. Drink it before you have breakfast.

WHY: Water fills your stomach and gets things moving for the day. Often dehydration causes food cravings, grumpiness, and headache. Those three things together make it tough to make good food choices.

HOW: Won't this be EASY? In five minutes you can check this goal off for the day! Just set some sort of cue so you remember like setting the glass right next to the sink, or leave a note next to the pantry so you don't forget to drink before having food.

EVEN BETTER: Drink 2 cups before every meal.

WEEK 2 Goal will be posted October 14.

12 Weeks to New Year. GET READY!

I've selected 12 simple things you can alter in your day that will make BIG improvements in your health. If you make one change per week, you'll be ahead of the game come January 1. You'll have some good long-term habits established that will help you maintain or improve your health for life. And if you want further changes in January, you'll have already exercised your self-discipline so you can conquer anything! ARE YOU READY?

Week ONE goes live here at 10:00 am MT, Oct. 7.  JOIN IN! Click "subscribe" in the right column to get each week's goal emailed to you.

I'll also be announcing each goal in my Tuesday Night Zumba class as my Tuesday Tip.

Why am I doing this? TWO REASONS.

1) I have learned that people who want to make improvements fall into two categories: They want to make changes but get overwhelmed and give up, or they really don't recognize which things in their life they need to change. I'm breaking things down to very simple parts. And there is nothing I'm taking away from you. This are clear decisive things you can check off a list and say "DONE!" As you establish these simple habits, some of your more destructive things will naturally fall off your list. Just give it a chance!

2) October - December is kinda murder on our ambition to keep healthy and exercise. We feel like just because its Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas we are just fully expecting to gain 10 pounds and stop exercising (Who has time to exercise with all that shopping to do?) So these goals will help you stay on top of what's most important--YOU!

WIN-WIN!

READY. SET. GO! (Well, not until October 7, at 10:00am)