Monday, January 31, 2011

Oatta here

Workout: 2.4 mile-walk with Denali

Sit down. I want to talk to you about a topic near and dear to my heart.

Food.

More specifically, this morning, let's talk about oatmeal.

I like oatmeal just as much as the next gal ... unless that gal doesn't care for it. I eat it as a pre-run snack, as a side dish to an egg white sandwich. Heck, I might even put a scoop of ice cream on it and eat it for dessert. More often than not, though, that's as far as we go. Why? Oatmeal doesn't really fill me up. And to get a bowl big enough to do so, doesn't seem worth the calories. I'd rather spend 500 calories on an egg white omelet, toast and hashbrowns.

But this morning, I might have met my oatmeal match. It was a Peaches 'n' Cream Oatmeal Parfait, inspired by Hungry Girl.

Peaches 'n' Cream Oatmeal Parfait

Oatmeal:
1/3 cup oats
1/4 teaspoon Truvia
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or sweetened if you picked up the wrong carton like I did)
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sliced peaches, packed in juice, drained and diced

Parfait:
1 (6-ounce) container non-fat Greek yogurt - plain, vanilla or honey
1/2 cup sliced peaches, packed in juice, drained and diced
2 tablespoons Cool Whip (optional)

To make the oatmeal, combine oats, sweetener, cinnamon, and salt in a small nonstick pot on the stove. Add almond milk peaches, vanilla extract and cup water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 9 minutes, stirring often, until thick and creamy.

Allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1.5 hours.

To make the parfait, stir oatmeal thoroughly until uniform in texture. Spoon half of the oatmeal into a tall glass, and top with half of the yogurt and half of the peaches. Repeat with remaining oatmeal, yogurt and peaches. Top with Cool Whip and dig in!

Let me tell you, this was good ... and filling. I ate this at 7 a.m. and didn't want for a snack till 10 a.m. (Three hours between meals/snacks is pretty good for me.)

I hope you enjoy the recipe and the many other recipes I plan to present to you this week. Wanna know why? I have declared this week Healthy Strides Food Week! Yay! I'll be sharing with you more of my meals, more of the recipes I fall back on and some planning tips.

Say it with me ... YUM-YUM!

2 comments:

  1. I definitely must try this!

    Oatmeal is my late-night snack, partly cause they said it's good for breastfeeding. My quest is to come up with a cheesecake or carrot cake-flavored kind, but a parfait is right up the alley :)

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