Something-Like-Richard's Apple Oatmeal

The other day, my friend Richard was recounting a moment of culinary brilliance he'd experienced when he ran out of bananas to put in his morning oatmeal. Inspired by Julie and Julia, he threw some apples in butter and then mixed them into his oatmeal.

Now, of course, apples in butter is a fairly sizable no for us. But, I cooked up something sufficiently similar this morning:

Something-Like-Richard's Apple Oatmeal

Yields one serving.

I used Publix-brand Old Fashioned oats, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Steel cut is obviously great, but any type of oats will do.

I boiled 1 cup of water, according to the directions on the oatmeal packaging. While it was coming to a boil, I chopped a small Granny Smith apple into half-inch cubes (peel on!) and threw 1 tablespoon of raisins on top of the apples on the cutting board.

Once the water had come to a boil, I added 1/2 cup oats (as per the package instructions) and the apple/raisin mixture. This cooked, covered, for 5 minutes on medium -- stirred occasionally.

Once done, I put it in a bowl, mixed in 1/2 tablespoon of Smart Balance Light (which I use sparingly, on occasion) and sprinkled Apple Pie Spice over it. Cinnamon would be good too.

The verdict: Good. The apples get soft and the raisins plump up and add a nice sweetness to it. A pretty decent Sunday morning breakfast!

Two Problems, Two Quick Solutions

I don't know if you guys are like this, but I can easily fall into a "I don't have anything to eat" grump. Which is usually an unjustified grump, because I usually DO have food. Often the problem is really that I'm bored with what I've been eating. So I try to find ways to be a little creative and mix it up -- with some decent results. Here are two I did today, on the fly and as two good ways to make something fast and tasty.

1) What Do I Eat For Dinner When I've Just Worked Out and I'm Starving?

Tonight, we finished our team workout. I went to the grocery store to grab some extra veggies/berries that I hadn't been able to get during my "big" weekly shopping trip. I really wanted to eat this great chicken hummus wrap that I had made a few times before, but I've been trying to get in my carbs via fruits/veggies/beans, so I didn't want to get bread. And I was starving -- I needed to be able to eat something ASAP when I get home (I already had some cooked chicken in the fridge, ready to go).

Solution: Large Leaf Romaine

I grabbed two large pieces of romaine, spread each with half a Sabra hummus single, put on the chicken (sliced into relatively thin strips), topped with a few pieces of roasted red pepper and a tablespoon of reduced-fat feta.

1 pack hummus: 3 protein, 2 fiber, 250 sodium, 150 calories

2 TBSP reduced fat feta cheese: 3 protein, 0 fiber, 95 sodium, 30 calories

2.5 oz chicken: 16 protein, 0 fiber, 46 sodium, 78 calories

Plus romaine and roasted red peppers --

There are lots of things you could throw on the side of this -- some spinach with balsamic, a pepper cut into strips, etc. But it was quick, filling, and tasted really really good.

2) Post-Midnight Procrastination Snack

This was really a solution to three problems: I am up late

to work, and I am hungry, and I am short about 250 calories to make it to 1200 for the day.

Solution: Eggs with veggies, black bean and salsa

I took 1 cup of spinach, one chopped clove of garlic and a handful of chopped onion and sauted them on the stove for a minute or so. In the meantime, I scrambled two egg whites and one whole egg, then dumped it over the veggies to cook up. Afterwards, I threw it in a bowl with 1/3 cup of washed and drained black beans and put 1/4 of a cup of my staple homemade salsa on top.

Voila!

I'm also drinking a (measured) cup of skim milk with this, to push me right over the calorie line for the day.