This photo of my one-minute oatmeal is from Friday morning.
I took up eating oatmeal for breakfast about a year ago, and, at first, I was buying the boxes which contained individual packets. The packets contained oatmeal, and they contained dried bits of various fruits which reconstituted (sort of) when the mixture was heated with the addition of liquid.
Lots of sugar. That's the main additive in those little packets.
Finally, as much out of frugality as anything, I bought one of those big tubs of quick-fix oatmeal, determined to come up with a healthier breakfast. First try was not good. Then, I realized that the tiniest sprinkle of salt added just what was missing. I also began adding wolfberries, a great antioxidant source. I actually wrote about this very topic back in the olden days...August.
The reason for the "Breakfast, redux" topic this morning is the photo you see at the top of this pile of words.
As soon as I saw it, as I took the bowl from the microwave, I knew I needed to capture the image. I was already running later than I am comfortable running, so I snapped a few shots, stashed the digital camera back in its proper place, and wolfed down my oatmeal so I could dash to the office.
When I got home, I downloaded my morning photos and sent them to Julia's mailbox so she could tell me what she saw. Thankfully, the image of the heart was clearly visible to her, with no prompting on my part.
It's a Valentine's-looking heart, of course.
For me, Friday morning, my first thought was this truly was a heart-healthy breakfast! In content, and as visual art.
15 comments:
YUM! Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast (usually with banana slices but sometimes with fresh blueberries). I gave up the packets once I retired and had time to cook the Steel Cut variety -- healthy and delicious! Loved the heart shape ... glad you captured and shared it here.
That's great! I've been oatmeal resistant most of my life but I just gave it another chance a few weeks ago. Not bad, but not terrific. Maybe a teeny bit of salt would make the difference. Thanks!
It is startling, the difference between plain oatmeal and oatmeal with quite literally 20 grains of salt.
The real secret is in the accents. Wolfberries are more for their benefits, as I don't find them all that great-tasting. But any fresh fruit can do the trick.
storyteller--I'll have to google that...never heard of "Steel Cut."
Thanks for stopping by, ladies!
I love the steelcut but never leave enough time for that - going to upgrade this week from the instant to the quaker dude. Will try the salt trick too, but haven't managed to find wolfberries.
i used to eat the individual packets that came with tons of sugar myself back in the days. today, it is plain and i add raisins or dry cranberries with tons of cinnamon. i love cinnamon!
very interesting the message the oatmeal is sending you...hmmm? perhaps your heart is thanking you for taking such good care of it?
Hi Rick, I just discovered youblog, coming over from Lynn...(she tagged me too) I like your funny, thoughtful posts, the way you wrote about your daughter "Dan" and the way you describe your peace-bubble and the every-day-new attempt to live without complaints:)
Have a good day!
Andrea
Yup ... "steel cut" oatmeal does take longer to prepare(about 30 minutes) but I make up a big batch for the week and reheat individual servings in the microwave each day. If you fix it on the weekend, it'll be just as quick as "instant" on weekdays, but much tastier! My favorite is McCann's Irish Oatmeal available at Trader Joes.
For now, I still like the little packages. But I make it healthier by adding a third of a cup of Bran Buds with Psylium.
Rick, don't look now but...there's a HEART in your oatmeal! I like Irish steel cut oats with buttermilk.
I love hot oatmeal, from the big cylinder too, made with dried cranberries, and/or fresh bananas and fresh blue berries. It actually brought my cholestrol down! It's my winter breakfast of choice! With all that fruit no extra salt is needed (in my taste).
Raisins are good too! Mix it up for variety.
Your heart photo is wonderful. Warmed my heart! ;-)
Oh and raw almonds cut up really make it a full meal. (protein).
Crunchy delicious. This is making me hungry.
i found your blog via lynn, and love it, plus you're an aquarian like me, that means you're special.
love the heart shape...i'm also into oats lately, and only recently discovered how to make them in the microwave....you learn something new every day.
Welcome, Forever Young!
As far as I'm concerned, any theory which disputes the fact that Aquarians are special doesn't hold water!! (wincing is allowed while reading my blog, by the way...some say it is a necessity)
I'll be over to check out your space at a deeper level--I visited just briefly, and I can see it will be an education to spend more time with your posts!
Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Rick, I just had to laugh when I opened up your post this evening about the oatmeal - if you visit my site, you'll see that I finally got the tagging assignment done and the first thing on my list has to do with OATMEAL! Who knew we would all be so affected by the Quaker Oats ads to lower our cholesterol!
Now, I've got to try out the steel cut - although I may be tempted to stay with the not so time-consuming Quaker Oats/plain/no sweetener - I add dried plums (yeah, they're really prunes), cranberries, a little low-fat milk.
Happy breakfast everyone!
always good when your food reminds you WHY you are eating it!
I think I'll have a bowl myself tomorrow! :)
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