Three Things Thursday

Pre-workout fuel: Slice of whole-wheat toast drizzled with honey
Workout: 20 minutes upper body with weights, 10 minutes lower body and 2.2-mile walk with dog

1. Mark has been helping out with the cross country team at the middle school where he teaches. He mostly just runs with the kids, keeping an eye out on behalf of the coaches and doing his best to encourage the students. But there's only so much he can do. Last night, he was telling me that some of the kids were running in socks or bare feet because they didn't have shoes to run in. Mark asked me if I would have an old pair to give - knowing I probably did with our weekend purchase. Part of me hesitated. My shoes ... well, they are my memories. I logged miles on them, overcame obstacles, met goals I was too scared to set for myself. How could I just give them away? It makes me sad, though, and I'm now on a mission to find a way to help Mark get the kids the shoes they need and hold on tight to my memories.

2. It seems like in a day it went from summer to fall. The leaves are starting to carpet the grass, acorns crunch beneath my feet. Squirrels scurry about in an effort to prepare for winter. Denali and I saw so many squirrels this morning that he could barely control himself. Seriously. If he wasn't on a training collar, he would have spent the morning trying to get any taste of squirrel he could.

3. While I was walking with the dog, my breath hanging in the air, I couldn't help but want something warm to wrap around me, envelop me. The breakfast I had planned - a bowl of Kashi Island Vanilla with banana - no longer seemed appetizing. A bowl of oatmeal with a banana - now that's another story. I tried to recall a recipe for oatmeal custard that I had read about back in the day on a WW message board. I warmed/scalded a cup of milk and slowly tempered 1/4 cup egg substitute to make a custard. I then added a 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup oats. Once it was sort of together, I put it in a loaf pan and topped it with sliced banana. I put it all under the broiler to get a "brulee" effect. While I might have gotten the effect, I didn't get the taste. It seems, with the help of Google, that I should have done something a little like this:

Oatmeal Custard
- Adapted from "What's For Breakfast"

2-3/4 cup water
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/2 cup egg substitute, thawed
2 tablespoons Truvia
1-1/3 cups skim milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Vegetable cooking spray
2 bananas, sliced on a diagonal
1 tablespoon Splenda brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil water in covered saucepan. Stir in oats. Return to a boil, reduce heat and continue to boil. Cook uncovered for about one minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cover and set aside.

In large bowl, mix next five ingredients. Add cooked oatmeal and cinnamon to egg mixture and mix well. Pour into 8-inch square pan, coated with vegetable cooking spray. Place in larger pan of hot water. Bake for 30 minutes. Gently pull out rack and place sliced bananas on top of oats. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until set.