Revelation

Sweetie called me the other night to say she was out of soda so I offered to pick some up for her. Of course I ended up splurging on myself as well, as I cannot seem to go to a grocery store and buy just one thing! While in the checkout line at HyVee, I had a revelation: At some point I became the person who splurges on veggies, lettuce and fish instead of cookies, chips, and ice cream. Wow.

HyVee has had their big tubs of lettuce mixes on sale for about 2 weeks now so I've been on a salad kick. This has to be an improvement in nutrition over my pizza/fast food/ice cream bender I'd been on for about a week. I'm blaming it on hormones!




Included in my splurges was Swai fish and Andy's fish breading. Andy's fish breading is SO TASTY! I wasn't sure it would do as well in the oven but I followed the package directions and it turned out just as fabulous as it is when I sample it fried! I always take a sample when they have it at HyVee but I've never been weak enough to cave into the high priced seasoning and fish. Menstrual hormones are a curious thing.

Quinoa with ground turkey, peas & salsa

I've also started eating farro. It's a grain that's cooked like rice, looks kind of like barley, has a texture similar to al dente pasta, and has a taste I can't quite define. It is very tasty but I like quinoa much better.

Oh, and has anyone else ever tried oatmeal made with steel-cut oats as opposed to instant? I've never really cared for oatmeal because of its mushy texture and bland taste. I had a friend practically spoon feed me a bit of his steel-cut oatmeal to prove how different it was. I'm a convert! This stuff is SO GOOD! I add and 1/8 cup each of raw walnuts and dried cranberries to a cup of oatmeal. It fills me up for about 4 hours and is really good for keeping my cholesterol down.


And contrary to the package directions, you don't have to spend a half hour getting it ready every morning! Here's how I make it:

1. 1 cup water to every 1/4 cup oats (serving size) - I make 6 servings at a time
2. Bring to a boil for one minute
3. Remove from heat and cover
4. Leave overnight on the counter
5. In the morning, portion into servings.
6. Leftover servings reheat in the microwave just fine. (I cook on high for 1 minute with berries. They leak their juice and it's like a sweet sauce. No need for maple syrup!)