Oatmeal

Wiki knowledge tells me: “oatmeal has high content of complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fiber that encourages slow digestion and stabilizes blood-glucose levels"
But I read that right now, just two minutes before I was about to write this post. All I knew about Oatmeal is- It’s super healthy, you must eat it and it fills you up in a nice way.
The first time I ate oatmeal, I hated it. Not a big fan of gooey things! But hubby was a big fan and introduced me to different flavors of oatmeal. During our pregnancy, I grew to love it. And though it’s not a staple meal in our house, we always have it in the house (Thanking Costco!)
Recently with Sumit and my brother starting P90X routine, the Oatmeal consumption increased tenfold. They got this amazing Fruit N Cream flavor which I heart! Sadly, the plain oatmeal sat at the back on my pantry.
Luckily I stumbled upon Priya's blog and was amazed at how many things she uses oat meal in! Hmm..
I tried this one: Mixing plain Oatmeal while making dough for Paratha's/ Roti. There is no looking back. So every now and then, I mix one packet of the plain quick oats in my wheat flour while making the dough. The resulting roti's have no special flavor or texture.. it’s like Roti but with the added benefits of oatmeal!
It makes me feel good.
I might slowly start trying other things that with Oatmeal in them... lets see. There is this- Poha & Oats Cookie which my sweet tooth is calling me to make!

Anyways, recently, I am trying to, at least one meal a day, start with oatmeal. So make one packet, add nuts, cranberries followed by normal food. This I think is doing the following- giving me benefits of oatmeal but more importantly, the main food portion is getting reduced since oatmeal is filling me up in a healthy way. I have done this now for six days in a row. Realistically I know I will not be able to sustain the daily. But even if I do this a couple of times a week for a meal a day- No Harm Done.

Any Oatmeal ideas/ recipe's you got?

The most recent one I saw is Chefdruk's Oatmeal cake.. Yumm Yumm Yumm.. Vanessa I have to try it!

Weighty Matters....

As a blogger I was invited to attend the Special K: "What you will gain when you lose" even at Union Station in Chicago yesterday by the PR firm Ketchum. When I read the invite and then re-read it- one sentence struck a chord: "Change the way you think about weight loss"
You are not really loosing the weight, but gaining something. Be it- Discipline, Enthusiasm, Confidence, Better Tailor, Sass, Pizzazz. Whatever, Losing weight, staying fit, is a pre-cursor to other things? And it does not have to do with looks. It has more to do with your emotional well being.
I know, on my heavier days, I feel lazier, implying, I won’t make the effort for that one party, one gathering to go to. Implying, I might just sit at home and sulk. It’s running around in circles from that point on.
Weight is on people's mind, most of times. And weight is no longer the pounds, its the BMI, it’s the healthy well being, it’s no longer, lets count calories, it more about making better food choices, it’s no longer crash diets but its more about let’s see what I can have instead of French fries for snacks.
The 2 week challenge of Special K is well known. The big misconception I had about it- replace two of your meals with Cereals- How boring I think. I know I can’t sustain that for two days, forget two weeks. So I asked the brand manager, and she worded it perfectly. No it’s not two bowls of cereals. Its right snacking, right fruits, vegetables, and nuts. But replacing one 'unhealthy' meal with a nutrient rich cereal bowl.
Hmmm.
I am all about sustainability. Will I be able to sustain the two week challenge? Probably not. I am not that disciplined with my meals. I am far from taking the 2 week challenge. Early last year I had done 8 week Getting Fit challenge mainly for myself. The aim was to make healthier choices, log food, introduce some gym or physical activity and above all live life as normal.
I think I did most of it entire year minus I cheated on the continuous physical activity part. I am trying to change that now.
Key point to note, I have not lost weight, but have become more active in my lifestyle. I have not dropped two sizes, but am definitely balancing my meals more. A heavy lunch one day implies a lighter dinner no matter how delicious the food is. 'Better' choices.
Of course it’s relative. There will be times, when all I want is something for my sweet tooth and at that time, I don’t care. Its 'the' choco-fix as I call it. It’s okay. As long as it’s once in a while.
I have been asked by a few of my readers to do a recap and more importantly the ‘sustainability’ of my Getting Fit. I am working on that. One day at a time, one healthy choice at a time. A detailed post will follow soon. This month, I have introduced physical activity/ gym and it should give the additional inertia I am looking for.
Like I always say- It’s a Start!

Edited to Add: I attended the Special K as a media/ Chicago area blogger. The views expressed above are purely my own. I have not been compensated by Kellogs in any way except the box of cereal which I got to stand on the 'huge wieghing scale' in the middle of the train train station! Talk about OMG moments.