I heart oatmeal

...and oatmeal is good for your heart. It's full of omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, fiber. I love starting a chilly Winter day with a steaming bowl of oatmeal. It keeps me full all morning long.

This was breakfast the other morning...


Shelly's Cranberry Orange Oatmeal

1 cup Oatmeal (This is the BEST oatmeal)
2 1/3 cups Water
Pinch of Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 cup Shelly's Cranberry Orange Walnut Sauce (recipe below)
1/3 cup Milk (I use vanilla soy milk)
1 teaspoon Butter
1 Tablespoon SF Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)

Optional toppings:

Sugar Free Maple Syrup (I use Cary's)
Walnuts, chopped
Dried Cranberries or another spoon of Cranberry Orange Walnut Sauce
Grated Orange Zest
Smucker's Simply Fruit Orange Marmalade
a splash of Soy Milk

Combine the oatmeal, water and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the cranberry sauce and cinnamon and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the milk, butter and syrup. Stir well and cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately with any optional toppings. Makes 4 bowls.


Shelly's Cranberry Orange Walnut Sauce


1 - 12 oz bag of Fresh Cranberries
1/4 cup Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)
1 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped

Rinse the cranberries and remove any berries that are cruddy looking. Set aside. In a medium saucepan with a lid bring orange juice and syrup to a boil. Reduce heat. Add cranberries. Cook 10 minutes with lid on stirring occasionally. Cranberries will start to pop. Smash them up slightly to help them along. Add walnuts. Stir. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. It will thicken as it cools. Great with Turkey, Chicken, or Ham.

More proof Eggface hearts Oatmeal:

Shelly's Oatmeal with Grated Apple
Shelly's PB&J Oatmeal
Shelly's Strawberry Walnut Oatmeal
Shelly's Blueberry Oat Bars

Highlights of the Day:

* Hung out with Jeremy last night. When you live in a town with absolutely no nightlife you need to create your own. Indoor carpet picnics rock. Try it. A blanket, snacks, music, stories. Good times.

* Well hmmm this is a highlight but it will sound like a lowlight...

I bit it. I walked into the kitchen tonight, felt super dizzy and woosh fainted.

So where is the highlight? Well... 1.) I didn't crack my head open on the tile floor and 2.) It tells me I need to get my blood work done. I've been neglecting that. I've always (even pre-op) been a little anemic so I dare say that is the issue but nothing like a wake-up call or in this case the opposite of "wake-up" to get you to take a little action.

I also hadn't eaten all day. My bad. I should have made some Cranberry Orange Oatmeal but all I had was a Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce Soy Latte for breakfast. I had some errands to do and missed lunch and hadn't had dinner yet. So a little lack of fuel could have been the issue too.

* No damage at my house from the 4.5 Earthquake tonight which happened about 1/2 hour after I had bit it so LOL I thought it was me at first. It was a pretty strong one. Big jolt and loud.

Listening to: "Goodbye To You" Scandal