March 18, 2011

Fast Food Swap: Nik's Fruity "Maple" Oatmeal


Oh McDonald’s. Your food is so appealing to the eye…but yet so scary when you find out the facts about it!

Have you ever read Fast Food Nation? If you absolutely love McDonald’s…don’t read that book. It will freak you out and you’ll never want to eat there again. (Now I’ve gone and made you curious, haven’t I?)

At any rate, this post isn’t supposed to be a McDonald’s hate train e-mail! But I think we can agree that there are many items on their menu that just don’t work for our respective plans. One of them, in my estimation, is the addition of their fruit and maple oatmeal.

So first let’s get the usual objections out of the way. Yes, oatmeal is healthy. And yes fruit and nuts are healthy. And yes, maple syrup is not the most objectionable thing in the world in moderation. BUT somehow our friends under the golden arches managed to pack a pouch dumping 32g grams of sugar in that little cup of oatmeal! Yowsa!

Here’s a bit of a better altnernative, using my newest oatmeal rave, Oat Fit! (Read my review):

Nik’s Fruity "Maple"Nut Oatmeal
(makes one "big pouch" portion, two [or three] "little pouch" portions)

Ingredients:

1 packet Oat Fit oatmeal, maple/brown sugar flavor
¼ of a small apple, diced (if you are early out, remove the skins)
¼ - ½ of a small banana, cut into rounds and then halved
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tbsp craisins (if they don’t bother you)
A “splick” of salt
No-calorie sweetener to taste
Optional: 1 scoop Any Whey unflavored protein powder

Directions:

If using protein powder:

Put 3/4 c. water on to boil. Combine your Oat Fit, sweetener, spices and protein powder in a bowl. Add 1 oz. room temperature water and stir until it is a thick, chunky paste.

SLOWLY add in boiling water, stirring along the way. If the oatmeal is still watery, nuke it for about 15-30 seconds.

Taste the oatmeal and adjust the flavors the way you like them before adding the fruit and nuts.

If not using protein powder:

Prepare oatmeal in a bowl according to package directions.

Stir in salt and any necessary sweetener (the sweetness should be the dominant flavor with just a hint of salt).

Stir in the fruit and nuts and combine thoroughly.

If you want to be really authentic you can add a dash of cinnamon to the top. Or not. Your choice!

Those using regular oats (quick or otherwise), you would use your regular serving (and accompanying amounts of water or milk and salt) and then add no-calorie sweetener,1/4 c. sugar-free pancake syrup and a little bit of cinnamon before adding your fruit.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say as a three year post-op I could (and happily did) consume this entire bowl. That was at 6 a.m. As I type this it’s nearly noon and I’m still not overly hungry. (By the way I do not advocate waiting so long to eat. Bad Nik!) So there ya go.

Now you might wonder why I gave both protein and non-protein instructions. Let me tell you, the divas LOVE this oatmeal. LOVE! So even though they don't object to protein powder, I give this to them as-is. Remember: your kids nutritional needs are different from yours!

At any rate, this is a hearty breakfast and the best part is YOU control what goes in it!

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