Breakfast in my house growing up was all about cold cereal and peanut butter toast.
Sometimes, I would pretend like I was working on the set of a major cereal box photo shoot. I would make myself the very breakfast which was featured on the front of my cereal box. You know, when cereal boxes used to have pictures of breakfast rather than movie stars and silly looking characters.
Huge bowl of cereal with milk. White bread toast with copious amounts of margarine. A banana. Orange juice.
Amen.
Now that’s a health, well-balanced breakfast!
Right Food Pyramid?
The only time when there was a change of breakfast pace was when my dad made pancakes and bacon on Sunday mornings. The smell of bacon would wake my husky little ass up out of bed, I would run downstairs, and the feast would begin.
Most mornings, my mother ate puffed rice cereal. In my opinion, puffed rice cereal is the thing that makes people want to go on hunger strikes. To cease existing. To fall on the ground and plead for something to eat other than puffed rice cereal.
Puffed rice cereal?
Why?!
Some mornings, however, my dad would whip out his culinary expertise (I kid), and surprise mom with a nice steaming bowl of oatmeal.
In my childhood huskiness, when breakfast only included those things which were advertised on the front of the Lucky Charms box, oatmeal was strictly off limits. Moms ate oatmeal.
Now, I’m a fan of oatmeal, but I’m picky. I don’t do packets of oatmeal. I don’t like how they chop up the oats so much. I like my oats whole and hearty. Husky, if you will.
This morning for breakfast, I partook in a bowl of Old Wessex Ltd. Scottish Style Porridge Oats.
I picked up this container for $3.75 at MOM’s (My Organic Market) yesterday. I thought the price was reasonable, and I was ready to try some new oats, so I went for it!
The Preparation:
I cooked my oats in the microwave for 3 minutes at 50% power, stirred, then cooked or another 2 minutes at 50% power. I always cook my oats at 50% power when I’m at work because otherwise, I blow them up and make a mess of the microwave. My boss doesn’t really like it when I do that, especially since then it takes me like 10 minutes to clean blown-up oats from the microwave. Not the best way to get my quarterly bonus.
After taking them out of the microwave, I added a tablespoon of almond butter, and about 1/2 cup of almond breeze. Then I sprinkled the top with some HempPlus granola.
The Initial Impression:
I really liked the way that the oats smelled when they came out of the microwave. They looked cooked, but still retained their shape. For me, this is key, because I don’t really do mushy oats. I’m just not a fan of the texture.
The Verdict:
I might be partial to these oats due to familial heritage alone, but I love them. I really liked how the individual oats did not mush out. They were actually chewy, which was a very welcome surprise for me.
I will be adding these oats to my short list of foods to buy on the regular. They are hearty, good for you, and chewy. That’s fun.
