PEOPLE, PEOPLE.
I’ve a little story for you all.
Last Saturday, I went to an event hosted by PS Snacks at Yoga Spark in Tribeca with my gal Gina ( @avo_and_abs ).
I was SOOO excited to take a candle lit hot yoga class because I haven’t participated in a workout classes in what seems like FOREVER. In Chicago, I go to the CorePower sculpt and in Madison, WI, I go to the Dragonfly’s yoga up class. Since I landed in NYC, I haven’t taken any yoga classes because I got a gym membership and didn’t want to pay for another membership or class pass. It just get SO expensive in NYC – ya know??
In addition to the lack of workout classes, I haven’t gotten a good stretch in. Hot yoga allows you to go SO deep into your stretch because of the heat. My downward dog game is so much stronger in a hot yoga class.
You may have been following me on Insta and seen some of my morning stretches… I do downward dog and all, but I just can’t stretch as deep without the heat.
You could say that there has been a LOT of a buildup to this yoga class. They say that muscles are like rubber bands; the shorter and tighter the rubber band, the less force can be produced. The longer and more elastic the rubber band, the more force you can produce.
( Throwback to physics in high school.. #cringe.. )
Gina and I settle down in the front row right by the mirror. We were just really hyped up for a free yoga class ( also that we were getting a free healthy cookie dough breakfast afterwards, but that’s besides the point ).
We start stretching, doin’ out thang, then the class starts. The yoga instructor turns off the lights so only a few candles light up the room.
She then walks us through sun salutations. I LOVE sun salutations because they just really warm up, strengthen, and align the body. In this class, we mixed it up and did an “around the world” sun salutation just for kicks! This means that we would face the front mirror for the first sun salutation then the back wall for the next ( and repeat ). We also incorporated a three legged downward dog to get an extra stretch.
First round through, I was feeling good! I stretched a little bit so I was able to go pretty deep in my downward dog. We then faced the back wall and the instructor continues to guide us through the moves…
Look to your hands… Step or float to the top of your mat… Halfway lift.. Forward fold… Mountain pose… Forward fold… Plank pose… Chaturanga… Upward facing dog… Downward facing dog… Three legged dog…
* BOOM… *
“F*CK !!”
MY FOOT SLAMS INTO THE MIRROR WITH FULL, ELASTIC RUBBER BAND FORCE.
The ENTIRE class looks over at me ( who remember, is also in the front row ) and the instructor runs over.
My foot was throbbing & my face turned purple – it was a medley of the heat and the embarrassment.
I guess this is what they mean when they say that muscles are like rubber bands. They should have emphasized how those rubber bands quickly loosen up in hot yoga. Like, enough to allow my leg to stretch INTO the mirror.
LUCKILY, I didn’t break the mirror!! I also got a much needed deep stretch, but I couldn’t really get into that ~candle lit yoga state of mind~. I’ve struggled to turn off my loud, scattered monkey brain for the rest of the class…
But I mean, how could I get into a meditative state of mind when I knew that there was gluten free, healthy & free cookie dough in the my future… RIGHT?!!
After the class, all the mellow yogis and shambly hails gathered in the main room for some cookie dough breakfast!
PS Snacks set up a cookie dough bar that included regular cookie dough, pb cookie dough, brownie cookie dough, coconut yogurt, granola butter, cacao nibs, chia seeds, and goji berries for overnight oats toppings..
AM I IN HEAVEN??
The brand, Brekki, brought the overnight oats and their different flavors included: blueberry, raspberry, coconut, and strawberry.
I prepared the strawberry Brekki overnight oats with granola butter, peanut butter PS Snack’s cookie dough, chia seeds, and coconut yogurt. The oats were DELISH. Absolutely amazing. In fact, it kinda reminded me of a PB&J sandwich – but oats version. It’s like a PB&J 2.0…
It got me thinking ( again – I CAN’T seem to turn off that damn monkey brain ) what if I make a PB&J overnight oats recipe with strawberry chia seed jelly, peanut butter, and greek yogurt.
This recipe is revolutionary. It’s innovative. It’s also just delicious…
S’cuse me, but I think that..
Recipe:
♡ ½ cup rolled oats
♡ ½ cup milk
♡ ½ cup greek yogurt
♡ stevia to taste
♡ 1 T pb2
♡ splash of vanilla extract
♡ small handful strawberries
♡ 1 T white chia seeds
♡ optional : extra peanut butter for drizzling
Directions:
In a small bowl, mash the strawberries into the white chia seeds. Allow the chia seeds to soak in the strawberries. In a mason jar, combine the rolled oats, milk, greek yogurt, stevia, pb2, and vanilla. Shake the mason jar until the ingredients are all mixed. Top the mixture with the strawberry chia jam and close the mason jar. Allow the overnight oats and jam to sit overnight and serve in the morning!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and that you don’t have to kick any mirrors to try it out!
xx hails
