Oatmeal Upgrade

I know a bunch of people who gag at the thought of oatmeal. Fortunately I'm not one of them. My mom used to serve it with a big hunk of butter and brown sugar. On a cold Seattle morning it was just the thing.

On any morning it fills the empty spot and warms me from the inside out. About 6 months ago I got a coupon from Starbucks for a free "perfect oatmeal." The picture is very enticing - it's sitting on my desk now staring at me. I've heard mixed reviews. It's actually an instant oatmeal

A packet of instant is easy to for me to fling into my purse as I head out the door and all I need is some hot water-even if I don't have a microwave available, and my own dried cranberries and toasted pecans if I remember. Quaker Weight Control has less sugar and 6 whole grams of fiber. That's 2 points and leaves some wiggle room for accoutrements like pecans - you have to be careful. 1 ounce is 5 points, so I weigh 1/2 ounce of them them carefully into the little baggie. 1/3 cup of dried cranberries is 2 points. So 6 points gets you fancy oatmeal without going to Starbucks. Trader Joe's has little individual packets of nuts called Trek Mix already measured into packets. 150 calories=3 points for 1/4 cup.

My sister swears by steel cut oatmeal and has made it for me when I visit - when we're not eating cupcakes for breakfast. It takes extra time but it's really good oatmeal. I'm going to try the slowcooker version soon. There's a recipe for Overnight Oatmeal on the Eating Well site