Chocolate Oatmeal and the Benefits of Soluble Fiber
Boy this hits the spot when you have a chocolate craving. I’ve become a little obsessed with mixing things into my oatmeal. I replaced my favorite pumpkin oatmeal with this chocolate oatmeal. The best part is that as rich as it looks and tastes, the spoonful of cocoa powder only adds 10 calories and zero sugar to your oatmeal! Of course it would be super bitter if you didn’t add any sweetener, but it doesn’t take much… 1/2 teaspoon of sugar usually works for me which only equals 2 grams of sugar. Sprinkle some chocolate chips on top to make it extra decadent. YUM!
Unless you’re new to this planet, I am sure you know oatmeal is good for you- it’s a whole grain that is rich in soluble fiber. If you want the (nutrition) nitty gritty on soluble fiber, here you go: it’s the kind that absorbs water and forms a gel, which slows down digestion. That is why you will feel more full eating oatmeal than some other low-fiber breakfast cereal. Soluble fiber also helps to lower LDL cholesterol (aka the bad cholesterol) because it interferes with it’s absorption, therefore helping to reduce risk of heart disease. Another benefit of soluble fiber is it delays stomach emptying so it helps maintain blood sugars at a normal level, which is especially important to diabetics.
I love that you can dress it up so many different ways- through fresh fruit, dried fruit, spices, sweeteners, cow’s milk, non-dairy milk, etc, but this chocolate version is my new favorite. My family is a big fan of oatmeal and go through it tin by tin- rolled oats, steel cut and quick-cooking….they all serve a purpose in our household.
Nutritious Eats
Chocolate Oatmeal
1 serving cooked oatmeal (I make mine half water, half soy milk)
1 scant tablespoon cocoa powder
couple shakes of cinnamon
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 Tablespoon chocolate chips (optional)
1. Cook oatmeal according to package directions. Once cooked, immediately stir in cocoa powder, sugar, a few chocolate chips and cinnamon. Enjoy!
COOK’S NOTES: if you don’t add the chocolate chips (which I don’t always do) then you’ll probably want the larger amount of sugar listed. I usually eye ball everything so add more or less of what you want!
Do you love oatmeal as much as my family does? Comments are always appreciated!
Pin It Print FriendlyYou might also like
|
|
|
|
Vegan Month Recap
Boy was the month of January a LONG one. Whether it was because it was the first month in a LONG time that we didn’t have a birthday or Holiday to celebrate…or mabye it was because I was eating vegan. Either way, it was long. So I thought I’d recap how my experience went and curious to hear from anyone that did it with me or just ate more vegetarian dishes overall.
I did lose 4 pounds in the month of January (*see additional info) while I was eating vegan. This was very exciting for me because I don’t lose weight very fast. I am now 6 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and my little sweet boy just turned 3 months. Not bad. I can fit into a few more pre-pregnancy pants, but not all of them. I think it will take another month or so to get there. Nonetheless, I am happy to be making progress.
I am not too concerned about getting rid of those last 6 pounds right away, because as a nursing mama I know that my body hangs on to a few extra pounds as maternal fat stores. I am totally fine with that knowing that I am nourishing this little guy.
(* Weigh-in was done a couple days ago so it was a pre-Super Bowl weigh-in and if you knew how many donuts I had yesterday, you might go running as fast as possible away from Nutritious Eats, but I feel obliged to tell you I ate….A LOT and I don’t usually do that. Ok- I feel better now).
Back to vegan month, I really didn’t struggle as much as I thought I would giving up all animal products for 31 days. I cooked a lot of great vegetarian dishes- tofu stir fries, vegetarian chili, soups, etc. I didn’t bake at all. I mostly ate oatmeal of high fiber cereal with soy milk for breakfast (no big change there) and snacked on lots of fruits and vegetables. On pizza Fridays, I had no cheese pizza with extra sauce and lots of veggies- mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, black olives, tomatoes and jalapenos. I missed the cheese a little, but not too much.
There were a few instances where feta made it’s way onto my plate- one accidentally eating out and one by choice. I craved eggs, deli ham and baked chicken. Rib-eye steak also started sounding pretty good towards the end and I rarely eat beef (I mean maybe a few times a year?).
Because I am exclusively breastfeeding and I kicked up my exercise a lot this month, I just felt like I was missing something at the end of the day. Maybe it was calories…or maybe I was just missing the satisfaction from my regular protein sources. It could’ve also been the lack of treats or baked goods. What ever it was, on some days I felt like I didn’t eat enough and no amount of fruits and vegetables would fill the void. Interesting. I think that with time that I’d get used to the diet. Another interesting thing is that I did not feel any different than eating my regular diet. No change in energy, digestion, etc. Ok, well maybe a little more gassy! Ha!
A few things I learned- soy substitutes like soy cheese, soy yogurt, soy sausage, etc. are NOT my cup of tea. No thank you. I would rather go without all dairy and meat than try to incorporate the fake stuff. So all in all, it was a good month and although I welcome animal products back into my life, I know I will be eating more vegan dishes than meat dishes in our new “normal” routine. For that, the experiment with worth it.
How about you? Did you eat more vegan or vegetarian dishes this month? How did it go?
Print FriendlyYou might also like
|
|
|
|
Homemade Corn Tortillas
Corn or flour? That is the question you’ll be asked at most Mexican restaurants when ordering tortillas. Corn tortillas typically have less calories than flour, but other than that I don’t see any reason to choose them over the puffy, soft, delicious flour ones. Now that I’ve made these, my admiration for the corn fellas… [Continue Reading]
Pin ItBlack Bean, Corn & Poblano Tacos
I’m a chicken taco kind of girl. Always have been. I don’t think a recipe like this would have appealed to me as much if I wasn’t eating vegan for the month, but I made it a couple weeks ago and it will definitely stick around in my meal rotation. This can be vegan or… [Continue Reading]
Pin ItVegetarian Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich
Think you’ll miss meat in your sandwiches? Try this! I made this tasty sandwich a while ago….weeks after I created this one. It was hearty and very satisfying for a vegetarian sandwich- such a refreshing change from our typical lunch. The herbed flavor goat cheese is just scrumptious and I love anything with basil leaves… [Continue Reading]
Pin ItSpaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Olives and Feta
I often like something I’ve made for dinner, but haven’t the time to photograph it properly to include it on the blog. Well here is to being far less-than perfect. I snapped these images with my iphone and they are just going to have to do! I’ve been buying a lot of squash lately and… [Continue Reading]
Pin ItRoasted Salsa Verde
I was doing my weekly shopping at the commissary a couple weeks ago and took a lot of extra time in the produce section preparing for vegan month. I walked right into this display for salsa ingredients- jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, tomatillos. It immediately inspired me to make salsa verde. If you’ve never used tomatillos don’t… [Continue Reading]
Eat More Veggies
It seems like everyone I talk to these days is on a new diet/eating plan. Atkins, Paleo (caveman diet), DASH, Vegan, Gluten-free…..and what do all these ways of eating have in common? They encourage vegetables! Research may be inconsistent among different dietary trends, but one thing that always remains constant….VEGETABLES are good for you! The… [Continue Reading]
Simple Nutritious Side: Butternut Squash Fries
So in my attempt to stock the kitchen full of produce to make my vegan meals last week….I over-bought. Trouble with fresh produce- it doesn’t last that long! So each night I’d have to decide which had to go next (by the looks of it’s ripeness). I had great intentions for my butternut squash- soup,… [Continue Reading]
The Best of 2011
I always hate to see Christmas time end, but it’s nice to get back to our routines and set some goals for the new year. I look forward to another great year of blogging, cooking and sharing nutritious eats! As always, I appreciate you all being a little part of this blog. I thought I’d… [Continue Reading]
Connect with Me!