Ode to Oatmeal (or other meals)

This week has been extremely busy with school work and other events.  When the weather warmed up a little it seemed cabin fever took its toll and we all just had to get out.  I haven’t done a lot of cooking but I have managed to produce a few good breakfasts and most of them were oatmeal.  I love oatmeal because it is cheap, healthy and blank.  I don’t want to say bland although some people would claim this. Oatmeal is a blank canvas, inviting a colorful array of flavors that will make it more healthy and delicious. 

Food appeal is essential to all of us. This is one reason why I love healthy food because it is so colorful.  It does not need to be hard to give food aesthetic appeal.  Food processors realize this so they add dyes to foods to make them more attractive. It is like food make-up and it often is not used to enhance, but to cover up or falsify. This strips many of the nutrients that are keys to good health as well as stains our taste buds. We unlearn how to eat healthy and flavorful. 

In contrast, there is the other spectrum to this with many diets like a vegan or raw diet.  Both diets offer full flavor and great health benefits that is verifiable as long as you monitor everything you eat so you get adequate nutrients. But some of these diets are more like movements that protest what humans have been doing for hundreds of years. I don’t want to put down any vegans and I appreciate their passion, but they come on really strong.  I read an article in the Albuquerque Journal in which the author used scare tactics to promote vegan eating.  I felt like she was trying to convert me to another religion. 

Is it scary to think of what a diet high in saturated fat and sugar will do to our bodies? Of course. But don’t tell me that I am going to hell because I partake in meat sometimes. It is a cultural attack and I am quite offended. Do tell me that I can partake in a variety of foods and even tell me how I can make them taste good without adding a ton of fat and sugar or sweetener substitutes. So without further ado, try this on for size, but not supersize.

Sweet, Sweet Potato Oatmeal (the four food groups for breakfast)

½ cup water

½ cup skim milk

½ cup oatmeal (we use certified gluten free)

A dash or two of salt

½ cup cooked smashed sweet potato (can substitute any winter squash or pumpkin, but sweet potatoes are sweeter)

A couple hefty dashes of cinnamon or even pumpkin pie spice

2 or 3 tbls of toasted chopped pecans (for added flavor, I had some chile spiced candied nuts)

2 or 3 tbls of unsweetened coconut

A little brown sugar to taste although the sweet potatoes help with this (start with a little and go from there)

A handful of blueberries added awesome contrast and I think bananas, raisins or apples would also do the same

Combine oatmeal, milk, salt and sweet potato in a small pot over medium heat and cook until thick consistency. This depends on you, some people like to chew their oatmeal.  Add cinnamon and stir.  Pour into bowl and add more milk if it is too thick and the remaining ingredients.