A healthy breakfast just got a whole lot better
As a diabetic I try to watch what I eat, not as often as I should but when I can. Each morning I usually eat a hot bowl of oatmeal to get me going as it’s healthy and the trick is to make it taste good without compromising the healthy benefits of it. No chocolate syrup for my oatmeal in other words. The way I usually fix my oatmeal is simple, I start with an envelope of Quaker Instant Oatmeal, sprinkle cinnamon on top, pour in a modest amount of Mrs. Butterworth’s Sugar-Free maple syrup and then add a dash of water. Microwave that for a minute and instant healthy, hot breakfast. The syrup gives it a nice maple, buttery flavor which coupled with the cinnamon makes it taste pretty decent. This has served me well for years and it’s a good way to start the day. Today I was making the oatmeal as I’ve done thousands of times before and decided to try something a little bit different. The trick is to not add anything terribly unhealthy so after I pulled my hot, steamy bowl of oatmeal out of the microwave I added a teaspoon of creamy peanut butter. Oh my God, the peanut butter turned my normal breakfast into a gourmet’s delight! The peanut butter in such a small quantity didn’t adversely affect the health benefits and the additional flavor in the oatmeal was wonderful. This has nothing to do with mobile tech but it’s a big deal to me so I’m sharing it anyway. Anybody got any other good ideas to make my oatmeal special?
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It’ll compromise the hell out of any health benefits, but I find that a can of turkey gravy will make ANYTHING taste better. If its really bland, then upgrade to beef gravy. Now thats good eatin! (and its only pennies a serving)
“My name is Dave Letterman and I’m not wearing pants!”
Pumpkin!!!
I would also suggest upgrading your oatmeal intake by switching over to steel-cut oats. It’s WAY better. Cook up the oats a crockpot on low setting overnight, and when you arrive in the kitchen in the morning it will perk you up better than any cup of coffee.
At least once a week my family throws together a batch of steel-cut oats with a little water and milk, a can of pumpkin (like you’d use for pie), some honey or brown sugar, and whatever pumpkin pie spices you like: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc. Proper recipes are all over the web.
In summary, switch to steel-cut oats. Favorite add-in: pumpkin. You can also go with whatever dried fruits you like.
As the other commenter said you have to switch to the steel-cut oats–they have way more nutritional value as they are not rolled and steamed to death–they have much more of a nutty flavor and you may not even need the peanut butter
Ah but the convenience of instant oats can’t be overstated. I’m the only one in my household who eats oatmeal so the single serving is the best way for me to go.
Somehow the thought of turkey gravy on my oatmeal makes my stomach roll.
Make the hot oatmeal as you normally do, Then add in dry grape nuts cereal. The Grape Nuts adds a new crunchy texture to the hot cereal. That would have to be my favorite way to have oatmeal. It certainly helps it seem less bland.
Hi JK. I think it is cool that you share this with us. Sort of makes us part of the extended family. But to show how your blog has affected me, when I read your post, I wondered if the oatmeal would be better if it was Core 2 Duo. Take care.
I like adding some dried cherries, along with a teaspoon of Splenda brown sugar blend. The Splenda blend is half Splenda and half brown sugar, so you’ll probably want to stick with the sugar-free syrup.
We use the old-fashioned Quaker Oats in our house but I’ll allow you to go with the instant and the others to go with the steel-cut oats.
Just say no to turkey gravy on oatmeal.
I usually have honey or marmalade with my oats, however, I find the battery life tends to suffer a bit. I love peanut butter though so I’m trying that tomorrow.
I say add raisins. I love Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and throwing a few raisins in there tast good! :D
Also, I just saw a brown sugar substitute at the store. I wanted to get some, but decided to wait and see if Walmart had it. It’s not brown sugar blended with splenda. It’s different.
Another oats fan! That’s amazing.
Generally I have mine neat, but a bit of stewed fruit always goes nicely. So, if you’ve got some apples, plums or whatever that are past their best and which you don’t fancy eating, stew them with a tiny amount of water (so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan). If it’s plums you’re stewing, put in a bit of chopped ginger (and brown sugar, if it’s not against doctor’s orders).
A spoon of that in oats, or with ice cream, is a treat.