Continuing on in my occasional posts about what I’ve eaten lately, here’s a picture (yes, one I took myself—you can tell because it’s so terrible) of yesterday’s breakfast. It contained:
- Old-fashioned oatmeal, cooked right in the bowl using the microwave, 1/2 cup of oatmeal to 1 cup water and a pinch of salt, nuked maybe 3 minutes on 50% power, stirred, then another 2 minutes or so, with perhaps a final 30 seconds on full power. Takes a little more time and attention than quick oats and quite a bit more than instant oats, but they’re well worth it because of their nice chewy consistency, their lack of added ingredients, and their slower digestion that results in less of a blood-sugar spike. The more processed a grain is, the quicker its carbs get dumped into the bloodstream. Plus, it’s almost impossible to find instant oats (which need only to be mixed with boiling water, as they’re pre-cooked) that don’t have lots of added flavorings and, especially, sugar. OF oats are a nice compromise between quick oats (which have thinner flakes and are partially pre-cooked) and steel-cut oats (which take around 20 minutes of stovetop cooking). I like them when they’re not cooked to mush.
- Walnuts, which I toasted briefly in a pan with a little dab of butter and the tiniest sprinkle of brown sugar. They could have just been used plain, which I often do, straight from the freezer.
- A pat of butter. Yes, butter.
- Another tiny sprinkle of brown sugar. (Not really necessary.)
- Some dried date bits, which I almost always have on hand. These are extruded ground dates dusted with oat flour so they won’t stick together, available online and at places such as Sprouts, and are much less expensive than regular dates. They add sweetness and texture. If you don’t have them you could use raisins. (That’s what my husband does, anyway. I hate raisins.)
- Some half-and-half. You could also use whole milk. Please, no skim milk! If you’re on the anti-dairy bandwagon you could use oat milk, I guess, for a matching set. Or almond milk, or soy milk. Honestly, though, there’s nothing wrong with good old cow’s milk, and nut milks typically have less protein than regular dairy. They may or may not have fewer calories, depending on which variety you use, but your aim should be nutrition and satiety, especially for breakfast.