January is the perfect month to do Oatmeal Week, is it not? January is usually cold, so you want something warm and comforting that "sticks to your bones." Also, many people have made resolutions to eat healthy, lose weight and save money.
- Oatmeal is warm.
- Oatmeal is incredibly comforting.
- Oatmeal in undoubtedly healthy, even for carb-watchers! Just 27 carbs with 4 g fiber in 1/2 c oats.
- Oatmeal is very, very cheap. This container of quick oats cost just $1.99 at Aldi. According to the nutrition label it contains about 30 1/2 cup servings. 1/2 cup of oats is more than I can eat in one sitting, so I just use 1/4 cup oats each morning. This means that I get approximately 60 Stephanie-sized servings of oatmeal for just over $0.03 per serving. That's 3 pennies.
And (since I know you are all busier due to fitting in more workouts, cleaning, organizing, and couponing this time of year), oatmeal is quick and easy. Allow me to show you my morning routine, in just 10 simple steps.
1.) Get my quick oats (they are always sitting on the counter right next to the flour and sugar) and a microwave-safe bowl.
2.) Open the can. See the 1/4 cup measuring cup that lives in there.
3.) Scoop out 1/4 cup of oats.
4.) Dump the oats into the bowl.
5.) Fill the measuring cup with water and add it to the bowl.
6.) Repeat Step 6.
7.) Shake the excess water from the measuring cup, then put it back into the container so it will be there tomorrow.
8.) Place the bowl in the (dirty... sorry you had to see that) microwave.
9.) Microwave for 2 minutes on high.
10.) Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave. Congratulations! You now have a steaming hot bowl of oatmeal for breakfast!
You can use milk instead of water if you want, but I like mine made with water. Although 3 pennies for breakfast sounds pretty good, and 1/4 cup oats leaves me feeling pretty full, the feeling wears off quickly. If this was all I ate, halfway through my 30 mile drive to work I would be chewing on my steering wheel thinking "Need...more... protein!" But that's just me. Everyone is different.
Here is what I have been doing lately.
Add about 1/2 cup yogurt to the oatmeal. Yummy and comforting!
I eat breakfast at about 7:15, and adding this protein lasts me until 9:30 before I am starving again. But I guess I just am a big eater or something. Who knows.
Other things I have added to oatmeal:
- milk (I pour it on after I cook it)
- raisins
- walnuts
- fresh fruit
- raspberry crisp
- strawberry-rhubarb crisp
- apple crisp
- raspberry sauce
- peanut butter and jelly
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
If I don't have any yogurt, I tend to sprinkle some cinnamon, walnuts, raisins, and milk. If I leave out the walnuts or the milk instead of putting both in, I am chewing on my desk by 8:30 :)
I am not a registered dietitian, but as a general rule, I have found that adding protein to my oatmeal buys me more time until I am hungry, and adding sugar makes me hungry sooner. But sometimes the sugar is worth it :)
There you go... a steaming hot bowl of oatmeal in 2 1/2 minutes!
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