Back to Winter

It's snowing in New York this morning. I guess it's back to the winter weather.

One good thing about being in grad school and working mostly from home is lazy weekday mornings. Or sort of lazy. I'll go to the gym in a little while once it's less crowded and then finish up some notes for class before I have to leave, but for now, I'm just hanging out in my bathrobe, playing around on the ukulele and just enjoying being able to take the morning at my own pace. It's so rare I get to do that, and I know a lot of people who would agree.

Sometimes when I have an article due or something it's different, but today I'm enjoying a short respite between writing assignments. Of course, even slow mornings require fuel. Today, I made a bowl of oatmeal with banana cooked in and added a tablespoon of almond butter. If you've never tried it, you have to! I got the idea from the lovely Jade Sylvan, who blogs over at Boston Massage Therapy's Boston Healing Blog. All you do is stir the almond butter into the oatmeal until it melts in. Sooo good. Even better, it actually keeps me full until lunchtime!

$1 Oatmeal

Some of you know how obsessed I am with oatmeal, so you can bet I get excited whenever Jamba Juice starts offering their steel-cut oats for a dollar. Now through February 2nd (far as I know), on Wednesdays you can get 'em for a buck.

What's pretty funny is that I've never actually gotten around to trying their oatmeal. I usually eat breakfast at home, and though oatmeal makes a good snack as well, it's not usually something I think of grabbing. Why pay for something I can make at home for practically nothing, you know?

Once in a while, though, it's fun to try new things. The different flavors (Plain with brown sugar, Fresh Banana, Blueberry & Blackberry, Apple Cinnamon, and Berry Cherry Pecan) range in calories from 220-340 and are cooked in soy milk. Supposedly the fruit is fresh, even though you'd think with fresh fruit you'd see more vitamin C on the nutrition information label. While I'm not the hugest fan of pre-sweetened stuff, it's fine once in a while. And anyway, if sugar in your oatmeal is your idea of a treat, then you're probably not someone who has to worry about consuming too many added sugars.

All the same though, it sure beats the standard apple and almonds I usually carry around on busy days. It kind of makes me wish it was Wednesday...

Still, I think Starbucks gets it right by offering customers a selection of things they can add themselves. Mix in your topping(s) of choice, slice a little over-priced Starbucks banana in there along with some milk if that's your thing, and you're golden. Add a latte and the awesomeness is off the charts. Sigh. I wish it was breakfast. And that I hadn't gotten up at 7 a.m. to go to lab.

A new take on an old favorite

For years, I have been a loyal lover of oatmeal. It's nice to have a reliable go-to food for busy mornings. Oatmeal is especially convenient because it's easy to make and is packed with lots of nutrients like iron (great for people like me who aren't gonna get it from steak), fiber, and calcium.

Another thing I love about it is that you can add almost anything to it. Fruit, nuts, wheat germ, and lots more. I've even eaten it with ice cream. Sometimes I put protein powder in it when I need a little boost, and another favorite mix-in is pumpkin.

A friend was telling me recently that she likes to mix a tablespoon of almond butter into her oatmeal after it's cooked. "Tasty protein!" she raved. I tried it this morning, and wow. The almond butter does something cool to the texture of the oatmeal or the oatmeal does something cool to the texture of the almond butter. Whatever it is, it's awesome.

Learning to Love Soy Milk

I've never been a huge fan of soy milk, but this morning, I tried using some of the Whole Foods 365 Organic Vanilla Soy Milk in my oatmeal instead of water. It actually came out all right. The consistency was a bit gluey for my taste, but overall, it added a nice mellow flavor and a natural sweetness. 

I don't know if I'd use it in oatmeal again, but the soy milk definitely has a lot of important vitamins and minerals. For example, one cup provides half the daily value of Vitamin B12, something that's hard to get if you don't eat much meat. The soy milk has also been fortified with Vitamins A, D, and E, among other things. It also has a lot of calcium. I'd much rather get that stuff from real food instead of supplements (albeit fortified real food).

I'll have to play around with it, see what it tastes good in to me. I'm planning to buy a blender soon so I can start making smoothies. I know I've been saying that for weeks now, but because of the warm weather lately, I've been craving this frozen blueberry/strawberry/banana/yogurt smoothie I used to make when I had a blender—or access to my mom's!