Oatmeal

[Melissannde 41]

Thanks. She got it in one stick. The combo of weight loss & weight lifting has made my veins much more accessible. Used to be inside elbow.. no go, then back of arm.. maybe.. and last resort, back of the hand with a butterfly. The back of the hand really hurts too!!

lunch was extra good because I was HUNGRY by then. I get to have oatmeal tomorrow.. yeah!! Funny how simple things can make us so happy.

[Jachut 487]

I wouldnt use packet oatmeal either - its too highly processed and added to, makes it no better than most of the other crap cereals in the Cereal aisle.

We dont call it steel cut here, we call it rolled oats, but the unprocessed oats are best - all I do is decide the night before I want oats for Breakfast, measure out about 1/3 of a cup, pour some milk on and stick it in a sealed container in the fridge overnight. In the morning, just microwave for 1 minute - its creamy and soft and no 20 minutes of simmering on the stove. I like a bit of brown sugar (just a level teaspoon full) and some more skim milk on top - oh and I always add a very tiny pinch of salt to it the night before too.

Personally, with things like coffee, oatemeal etc, I think your best bet is to learn to like it plain, and wean off the habit of always trying to sweeten or flavour things, retrain your palate. None of those syrups, artificial sweeteners etc are good for you and they just prolong the problem of your mouth always looking for something sweet.

[Acadia 20]

Something to keep in mind is that a lot of Protein powders will go super grainy and nasty when mixed in. And oatmeal is high in Protein anyway so no need to add more.

Definitely stay away from the prepackaged kind unless it's from somewhere like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's where they offer non-sweetened prepackaged oatmeal (blueberry flax is my fav from TJ's).

I personally make mine really thick (I hate thin oatmeal) and I've never gotten stuck because it breaks down very fast as you chew it and add saliva.

[Melissannde 41]

Jacqui, I've seen rolled oats and steelcut oats from the same maker (Bob's Red Mill). It seems while similar, they aren't exactly the same.

I want to try Groats someday, which are even less processed than steelcut oats.

I agree that the artificial sweetners aren't the best for anyone.. but it's a process. I figure get the person on the healthier foods first, then wean off the artificial sweetners.