a peek inside the fishbowl

When I am having a bad day …

I don’t think oatmeal – as a breakfast food – has a very good reputation. For some reason it has a stigma of being kind of unhip.

What’s hip: good bacon and eggs eaten in a diner with cups of steaming coffee, fruit salad, fruit smoothies with protein powders and greens+, powerbars/granola bars, organic cereals

What’s less hip: All-bran, oatmeal, cream of wheat

Why? Because it’s (a) what our grandmothers used to eat and (b) these things are supposed to help us with our, ahem, digestive process and talking about our digestive process is a social taboo (heh, that’s why this is so amusing – note all the stuff that’s being dropped in the background).

I didn’t think it would be fair to blog about the PC Blue Menu Multigrain Oatmeal, after all, it was already a staple in my pantry even before the Healthy Eating Challenge kicked in. (What am I talking about? Read the kickoff post here.)

It’s become a favourite comfort food and I love it. In fact, I had a bowl of it before I went to bed last night.

Why?

– it’s quick and easy to make (dump contents in bowl, pour milk, nuke for 2 minutes)
– it’s healthy, and one serving has 6 grams of fibre (good for the digestive process, if youknowwhatImean, nudge nudge)

Check out the ingredients:

Rolled oats, rolled barley flakes, rolled wheat flakes, oat bran, rolled wheat flakes, oat bran, rolled kamut flakes, rolled spelt flakes, oat hull fibre, guar gum, salt, millet meal.

That’s IT!

– I make it with 1% milk, so I’m getting my daily dairy without overloading on fats
– it fills me up
– I control the sugar

Note the bolding on that one. :)

I find ordinary grocery store products – including regular instant oatmeals – to be disgustingly sweet. I want breakfast, not dessert! The amount of SUGAR they put in everything nowadays is staggering. It’s one of the reasons why our waistlines are expanding at the rate they are. Why not make everything a little less sweeter? Gah. I can’t be the only person who feels this way.

I add a teaspoon of brown sugar to my multigrain oatmeal and I’m happy.

I know a lot of people swear by steel-cut oatmeal. It’s supposed to be better for you. The PC dietician told me she makes a batch and keeps it in her fridge. Come to think of it this recipe looks pretty good. Hmmm. Perhaps that’s next on my “must try” list.

What about you? Are you oatmeal people, or not?

… but I call it “getting ready for dinner.”

 

They call it “fun.”

We’re eating outside tonight, woo hoo!