Monday, October 26, 2009

Good Food For Every Day

This morning I started my day with oatmeal.

I have always been a cream-of-wheat kind of girl, which is my first choice for breakfast on a snow day.

Ken likes oatmeal. Until I figured out how to make oatmeal so I can eat it, I used to make cream of wheat for me and oatmeal for Ken. The kids could have whichever they wanted, and they usually opted for Cheerios.

Then I figured out that if I use a bit more water and cook it slowly, I can eat oatmeal, though I've never made it just for me.

Until today.

This week-end I flipped through Eat This Not That! by David Zinczenko, 2008. It's a fun book that makes suggestions about which foods to eat at chain restaurants, which prepared meals are better than others, and which snack foods are least bad for you. Little of this information pertains to how I eat on a regular basis, although I did learn that the crackers Ken and I like aren't the best for us.

The best information I got from this book was the list of "8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day." Spinach. Yogurt. Tomatoes. Carrots. Blueberries. Black Beans. Walnuts. Oats. I think it's a great list because I already like almost everything on it.

I don't like yogurt, no matter what I do to it or how often I try it.

And I was a little light in the oats department. I like my homemade granola but don't always have a ready supply.

So today I made oatmeal for breakfast. I like it with brown sugar and low-fat milk.

Then I went outside to shovel and rake rocks for two hours.

Oatmeal, my new energy food.

9 comments:

Joanne said...

Sounds like a good read ... I'd like to know which foods to eat at chain restaurants. The last time I ate at a chain, I had a migraine the next day, which I attributed to the food, which was light, but very, very salty. I assume it was msg laden too :(

Kitty said...

Growing up, I was always a cream-of-wheat girl. Then I discovered how good oatmeal is for you. I like to add a handful of raisins while it's cooking. *yum*

(I have to admit, though, a nice bowl of grits with cheese and Tabasco trumps either cream-of-wheat or oatmeal.)

CaShThoMa said...

Oatmeal rocks; especially with chopped pecans or walnuts on top!

Kristen said...

after reading this I went and set up my oatmeal for tomorrow morning - I have a new way to make it in the microwave thanks to "heat eat and review" - I've never tried it at 50% power before.

http://heateatreview.com/2009/09/21/how-to-make-oatmeal-in-the-microwave/

Anonymous said...

Love any hot cereal, especially with raisins and apples cut up in it! Oh can't forget the brown sugar.

helen said...

Now that you're okay with oatmeal, try steel cut oatmeal sometime. A friend cooked it for us and we found that we prefer the texture and taste over regular oatmeal. It takes a little longer to cook but is worth the wait. You can cook it ahead and reheat without jeaopardizing the taste. We like to add dried berries and slivered almonds.

Elaine said...

How great that you embraced that List of 8. When my teen-aged son picked up the same book and began peppering me with all the poor food choices we'd been making as a family, I was not nearly as receptive. :-)
http://wisewomencoffeechat.com/2009/06/its-ice-cream-season-so-eat-this-not-that/

Cindy said...

and its even better if you add blueberries and walnuts to it!

mermaid said...

Thanks for the book. It sounds right on target for healthful picks. Glad to hear you like oatmeal.