Breakfast is a very sensitive subject for me. I know people who go without it but I’m not one of those people. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I don’t think anyone should ever go without it! When I was floating on the heavier side, one of my biggest problems was not eating. I would go all day and not eat until 4 pm so when it was time it eat I was starving. That meant I would eat anything and everything. That was a huge problem in itself but I was also really messing up my body. Not eating regularly throws off your body so when you do take in food your body is storing that to keep you alive and moving.
Eating early in the day keeps us from “starvation eating” later on. But it also jump-starts your metabolism, says Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School. “When you don’t eat breakfast, you’re actually fasting for 15 to 20 hours, so you’re not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight.” Read more at webmd.com
Egg white omelets/scrambles and a side of steel cut oats, that is our breakfast! I put some salsa on my eggs too! I’m a creature of habit and I love having this every morning.I’m crazy busy in the morning because sometimes I do teach cycle but I always manage to make a good breakfast for Willie and I…almost every morning. Some mornings he fights me on it because I don’t have enough time but still try to make breakfast. He insists on eating cereal some mornings which he enjoys but I just don’t think cereal is a great breakfast.
I’ve been asked several times about our egg whites. I put mushrooms, spinach, green and red bell peppers and whatever produce I have in the fridge. It’s a complete seasonal thing but the aforementioned ingredients always make the cut. I use Mrs. Dash (no salt) seasoning blends or I make my own blends at the grocery store. Some days we do a fiesta blend others an Italian blend; it just depends on what we want that day. And yes, I do use a cooking spray! Most days we use liquid egg whites but if there are eggs in the house, we do use the eggs whites from the eggs. It’s quick and easy…and delicious.
So here is how I make our delicious steel cut oats we eat every morning!
- 1/4 cup steel cut oats
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves
- 2 tbsp of plain greek yogurt or a yogurt of your choosing
- *Your choice of fruit. We use strawberries, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples…whatever we have in the fridge
- 2 tbsp skim milk, almond milk or whatever you choose (optional)
- Combine the spices and water into a microwavable bowl. Heat for 2 minutes.
- Remove bowl from microwave and add steel cut oats to the water. Let sit for 5 minutes.If you are adding milk, this is the time to add it.
- Place bowl back in the microwave for a minute and half. Watch the bowl because you don’t want it to overflow. (This is a problem I have every morning.) The goal is to have the steel cut oats thicken and not be too watery. You might need to microwave for extra time to thicken the oats.
- When thick, remove bowl from microwave and add the fruits of your choosing.
- Place in the microwave for another 90 seconds.
- Remove from microwave, add the yogurt and stir it all together!
Want to know the difference in oats?
Steel cut oats: Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into pieces. These take longer to cook and have a nutty flavor two them. These oats are the least processed of all oats. Think of the oat in it’s purest form!
Old-fashioned rolled oats: These oats are steamed and then rolled to make them into the flat oats we see at the grocery store. Because of this they can take on more water and quick much quicker.
Quick cooking oats: Simply put, these are old-fashioned oats that are rolled thinner for quicker cooking.
Instant oats: These are the thinnest rolled oats for faster cooking by being pre-cooked and dehydrated. When these are cooked it produces the most mushy oatmeal. These oats are heavily processed! It’s best to stay away from these and just plan for extra time to make some old-fashioned oats! These oats tend to be more powder and less oat like. If you’re going to eat right, why ruin it by eating something processed like this?
