Mango and candied ginger

Stopped by Machias hardware today, which is half hardware store/ half natural grocery. Very cool store. I am trying to avoid sugar, but I am a sucker for candied ginger, which they sell in little baggies at the hardware store. So today's oatmeal is steel cut oatmeal with candied ginger and mango. The mango was a bit sour, but it went really well with the sweet spicy ginger and creamy oatmeal.

Grandy Oats

I saw these organic oatmeal cups at the store and decided to give it a try. It was pretty good for instant oatmeal. It had organic raisins, apples, and cranberries, with very little organic cane sugar. This brand is probably healthier than the Quaker instant oatmeal cups, and were comparably priced. I still think it's best to get old fashioned or steel cut oatmeal and cook it yourself, but Grandy Oats organic oatmeal with fruit is a pretty healthy and tasty option for those too busy to cook.

Down East Maine Seafood

I'm finally back at our house in Machias Maine after a long 4 months of crashing with relatives. Our house had some old peeling lead paint and... Eh it's a long story.

First thing we did after getting settled was to go to the local Hannaford, where you can buy the most amazing fresh local crabmeat. This stuff is just to die for: sweet and tender with just a touch of ocean salt spray. I can't find the words to describe this stuff. Heaven. Yes.

So today's oatmeal: thick rolled oatmeal with cream, orange zest, garlic, pepper, and a generous scoop of the most amazing crab meat in the world. This shit is epic.

Best Western Continental Breakfast

On Saturday night we stayed at a Best Western in York, Maine. Our room was awesome; we somehow got this enormous room for the same price as a normal hotel room. In the morning they had a continental breakfast that was not as impressive. I managed to through together some mediocre oatmeal though. I grabbed a packet of Quaker instant oatmeal, original flavor. I added hot water and then through some fruit from a fruit cup and some half-and-half on top. It was ok.

On the road again

On Saturday we drove from Schenectady to York Maine. I was still sick with a stomach bug, so I wasn't up for eating much fast food on the road. So instead I grabbed a gnu foods blueberry cobbler bar. It says "Fiber & Flavor" right across the wrapper. I think the world is full of flavorful foods high in fiber, but its a good thing to advertise I guess. It was all healthy ingredients, including oats of course. It had quite an intense blueberry flavor; I think next time I'll try one of their other flavors.

Food poisoning Friday

On Friday, I had lunch at a hot dog place in Schenectady called Mike's Hot dogs. I got there too late for breakfast, which is too bad because they had oatmeal for $2.00. Instead I had a steak sandwich, which probably gave me food poisoning. I was too sick to make the oatmeal I was planning to make for dinner. So if you're ever in Schenectady, go to Tara Kitchen or Bombers, or even Burger King. If you must go to Mike's Hot Dogs, get the oatmeal, and tell me how it is.

Crazy week? Eat some pancakes!

First off, I would like to apologize. I had a combination of being insanely busy as well as sick with a stomach flu for the past several days. While I continued to make oatmeal, I was unable to find the time to update the blog. So this post has oatmeal from Thursday, April 4th.

Oatmeal Pancakes IV ?

2 cups oat flour
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup applesauce
2 tsp baking soda
2 Tablespoons melted butter.

Combine the yogurt, water, eggs, applesauce, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking soda. Mix the dry ingredients in quickly then fold in the melted butter. Cook pancakes on a hot griddle.

Muesli & yogurt

I posted a while back that oatmeal contains anti-nutrients, and ideally should soak for several hours in warm water with yogurt to make it easier to digest. Having healthy gut flora will also help you break down the phytic acid in oatmeal. One way to do that is to just eat yogurt with your oatmeal.

Today I had a bowl of Swiss Muesli with thick Greek yogurt, a rich and filling meal.

Veselka Bowery

While in NY yesterday, we had brunch at Veselka Bowery to try their oatmeal with candied walnuts and bruleèd bananas. This Ukrainian bar and restaurant was gorgeous and had an amazing menu. If I ever go there again I want to try the lox and cream cheese perogies.

The oatmeal was so unbelievably good. Just the right amount of sweetness and crunch atop creamy old fashioned oatmeal. It was a work of art. This oatmeal was listed in CBS local's 5 best bowls of oatmeal in NYC. I definitely think it was the best oatmeal I've ever had. I really need to step up my game.

April fools, and oatmeal to go.

So obviously I was kidding about the oatmeal allergy. April fools! Ha ha heh..

Today the family is heading down to New York City for the day. I found a really awesome oatmeal bar for the road: Bobo's Oat Bar, made in Boulder Colorado. This thing is huge and chewy and dense. Its much more filling than most granola bars, and its also sweetened with brown rice syrup, so it's not too unhealthy. I highly recommend this brand if you happen upon it.

Bad news...

I'm afraid this will be my last post on this blog. I just got back from the allergist, where I discovered I have a severe allergy to oatmeal. I will be switching to eating corn everyday instead.