Oats!

I love steel-cut oats!  Who am I???  I've never been one who really likes oatmeal.  Too gummy, too gloppy, too much in the morning.  For years I have started my day with a piece of buttered toast and a scrambled egg.  Since both butter and eggs are not recommended on the whole food, plant based diet, I decided to give oats another try.  Especially once I heard that oats were a cholesterol lowering powerhouse.  I think the banana 'milk' the oats cook in is a big factor in why I like these so much.  To make the banana 'milk', you take a ripe banana, 1 tsp of vanilla and a cup of water and blend it up.  Add the 'milk' to a sauce pan along with a 1/2 cup of dry steel-cut oats. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and then simmer for 10-15 minutes.  It still looks watery when you're done, but once it sits, the texture is perfect.  We've been topping it with a tablespoon of ground flaxseed and fresh fruit.  Delicious!  I'm a big fan of the cherries right now.  Ground flaxseed is a great source of omega 3/6 fatty acids and soluble fiber.  We've been working some flaxseed into our salads, wraps, and oats so we end up getting at least 2-3 tbsp a day.  The texture is a little odd at first, but we've gotten used to it and the flaxseed has quickly become a habit.  It's only been 12 days, but I'm getting more and more curious about how this diet is going to effect our lab results.  We'll find out in 78 days!