Friday, December 2, 2011

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal

 I started eating rolled oats for breakfast , again , almost four months ago, in an effort to lower my cholesterol from 226. I had stopped eating the oatmeal during the summer.  Along with eating oatmeal almost daily, riding my exercise bike, and cutting way back on the bad carbs, I was able to lower my cholesterol from 226 to 194 in three months.  I have avoided taking the meds for another year, Yea!

Rolled oats can lower cholesterol levels due to soluble fibre content. also, Rolled oats have  oatmeal's high content of complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fibre that encourages slow digestion and stabilizes blood-glucose levels, which can help people with diabetes.

Rolled Oats cooking on the stove
I always put cinnamon in my rolled oats along with some walnuts, and  fruit of some type, either sliced apples, pears, bananas, or even fresh cranberries or pumpkin puree, depending what fruit is in season. To me oatmeal is one of my comfort foods.  I grew up eating oatmeal for breakfast, and my Mom would add in pineapple, apples, or even chocolate chips, yum!  There are endless possibilities of fruit, nut, and spice combinations to make the oatmeal palatable. I used to put raisins or craisins in my oatmeal, but they have, too many carbs..  I don't like sugar or milk in my oatmeal, but some people do. You can cook you rolled oats on the stove, like I do on the weekends, or you can cook the oats in the microwave for 2-3 min. Or you can even make Baked Oatmeal with Raisns and Walnuts for a special treat. None of that "instant kind" which has salt and sugar in it. Even when I was working, I made my oatmeal at home in the microwave in a microwave container, took it to work, and heated it up, when I got to work. So if you don't like oatmeal, try adding some fruit, nuts, and spices, and give oatmeal another chance, for your health.
As a side note, I made Lindsey@Gingerbread Bagels Gingerbread Boy Marshmallow Treats with three year old twin boys earlier in the week  The picture is of the "undecorated" gingerbread boys. The boys got a little carried away,with the sprinkles and sugar, so no pics of "decorated" the gingerbread boys , but they had a lot of fun making them and eating them, isn't that what is all about:)

5 comments:

  1. Well this is perfection, one that its great for kidney health the other is it lowers cholesterol all in one bowl! Cant wait to make this one loving it and thank you for the healthy breakfast this is awesome!

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  2. This is great to see right before breakfast, very inspiring. I have been eating a lot of granola lately, but a nice warm bowl of oatmeal does sound delicious since it is cold and rainy out. Great post!

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  3. Claudia- I actually had you in mind when I wrote this post, because you said that you didn't like oatmeal. give it a try, and let me know what you think.

    Tina-Thanks for the kind words. If you do try the oatmeal, let me know how you like it.

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  4. Becky, I LOVE oatmeal and we eat it in our house all year round. We are very similar, cinnamon and walnuts are almost always on my oats, but I haven't done the cranberries. I'm going to have to give that a try. I'm with you, no sugar, but I do like milk over.
    On another note... thank you for your wonderful comments! My husband said the other day, "Who is Becky?" I told him "She is my friend from the midwest - the one who had the bakesale" and he said "She is such a nice person and leaves the nicest comments. Do you comment on all of her things too? You need to let her know how nice she is!" So, thanks for all your comments. We ALL appreciate them!!!

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  5. I have been debating about making some gingermen rice krispies treats and now that I see how cute yours are, I think I'm going to do it!

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