High Energy Skillet Oatmeal

I think I am supposed to write even when I am in a funk and feeling down, right? Ruhlman says to set aside time each day to write no matter what.  Today is that day.  I am feeling creatively challenged and I am gonna write.  I was driving home from the gym and instead of feeling my usual positive, ambitious self, I felt tangled, knarled and confused.  Not fun.  My flow was off kilter.  My energy was blah.  I was questioning my lifes message.

I usually feel clear headed & ambitious to take on the world.  Do I make you guys laugh and smile?  Do I inspire you to eat healthy whole foods?  I sure hope so.  If I don’t I’ll keep trying.  If I do I’ll keep trying!

I have loads to learn.  That is both frustrating and empowering.  This time last year I had no blog.  I had never even read a blog. From June until November my blog images were from my iPhone.  In November I pulled out the SLR,  I have been using it without any real understanding.  The great thing about being a type A driven gal is the power I have to push myself even when I want to call it quits.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a photography workshop presented by Helene Dujardin.  She is full of wit, honesty and personality.  Helene is the stylist and photographer behind the virtual pages of the breathtaking blog Tartelette .  Her tagline is “…on the sweet side of life…” and that it is.  Most of you know her lively blog.  If you have not seen it, I highly suggest you take a peek now.

A few things happened during the three hour workshop.  Not only did I stand in awe and hang on each of her words, but I learned how little I know about my camera and photography.  My digital SLR goes way beyond point and shoot, as does yours.  I let my camera and lighting control me.  Now it is time for me to take control.  Acceptance, practice and understanding need to become my friends on this journey.  I go two ways when I feel frustrated: I get bitter or I get very ambitious.  Usually it is a combination of the two.  It is time to face the unknown with positive energy and gusto!  What seems like a challenge at first can be our biggest source of motivation and growth.

While feeling a bit blah I ask myself the following two questions:

What drives me?

By empowering others I feel empowered.  I love to spread good energy.  I love smiles and giggles.  My goal each day is to inspire with grace and fluidity.  I like positive affirmations.  I love to take care of my body and share what I have learned with others.

What defines me?

I strive to feel good from within.  All that stuff on the outside makes no sense unless the inside mind and body are running at their peak.

I came up with these insights:

In the past:

When I felt frustrated & confused I would grab the closest sugary, fatty, dessert kind of food and eat way too much of it.  Um, hello emotional eating!  I would eat it until I felt worse.  That would set off a chain of guilty feelings and a bloated belly.  The sugar crash would follow.  Along with exhaustion, confusion and extra calories that were sure not gonna turn into lean muscle!

Today:

I do not have time for pig outs, sugar binges and sugar crashes.  I don’t want to spend extra time in the gym working it off.   I don’t want to loose precious sleep and feel out of sorts.  I do workout everyday because I want to, exercise makes me feel great.  I don’t want to work out because of guilt for what I ate.

How does this bowl of Oats define me?

Thank you to Sonia of Burp n’ Slurp for posing this question to her readers!  (In her post my Skinny Chocolate Drop Cookies are featured, thanks Sonia!)

This High Energy Skillet Oatmeal is happy food.  It is simple in theory, but well thought out none the less.

• It tastes awesome. (visualize rice pudding meets custard)
• It uses whole foods.
• It offers loads of slow burn and immediate energy.
• It has a great ratio or lean protein, whole grains and healthy fats.
• It has lots of volume & lean protein from the eggs so I don’t feel cheated.
• It uses easy to find ingredients that most of us all ready have on hand.
• It is inexpensive.
• My kids love it.
• It is versatile.  Don’t over think it.

Questions for you guys:

What do you do when you are not feeling your emotional best?  Do you grab a pizza and Oreo’s and eat till your belly hurts?    Do you take our your frustrations on others?  Do you cuss out everyone that gets in your way?

On the flip side: Do you head out the door for a workout?  Do you treat yourself with kindness?  Do you smile at dogs, birds and other people until your grin has changed your attitude?  Do you reach for healthy, tasty, high energy foods?

Fresh Tips

• Your High Energy Oatmeal can be eaten for breakfast or a Mini Meal.  If eaten for a mini meal you might want to go with half of this serving size.  It’s called a “mini-meal” for a reason.
• Always remember balance at each meal.  If you use a full egg, perhaps cut back on the other fats (nuts, nut butters etc…) If you are using egg whites, add a little more fat somewhere else (a bit more seeds, nuts, butter, etc.)  Don’t avoid the fat and protein, you won’t stay satisfied for long with just oats and fruit.
• Oats are high fiber, whole grain and full of nutrients.  You can read up on the healthy benefits of oats right HERE.

High Energy Skillet Oatmeal

• Source Organic ingredients when available
• Shop for ingredients at the Family Fresh Cooking Amazon Store
• As always, use your own taste buds to determine how you want to season your High Energy Skillet Oatmeal.
• Cook your Oats in a Big Batch so they are grab and go and at the ready.

1 Egg or 1/4 cup Egg Whites

1/4 cup fat free Ricotta Cheese

Oats: 1 cup pre cooked Steel Cut, Old Fashioned or Coach’s Oats (If you have another whole grain hot cereal you can try that too)

Sweeten to taste: Vanilla Stevia drops, English Toffee Stevia drops, Agave, Pure Maple Syrup, Honey, Sucanat (non-refined cane sugar)

Spices: Cinnamon, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Cloves, etc

Fruit: about 1/2 cup diced apple, pear, peach, berries, 1/2 banana, applesauce (without added sugar), 1/4 cup dried fruit, etc

Healthy Fat: 1-2 Tbs Nut butter, chopped nuts, cream cheese, goat cheese (sounds weird, but tastes great,) sunflower seeds, unrefined coconut butter, unsweetened coconut flake, a few tsp butter, cacoa nibs, etc…

Extras: Unsweetened Cocoa powder, steep a few Tea Bags in your Big Batch of oats

Salt to taste

METHOD

1. Lightly spray and heat skillet on medium heat.
2. Add all ingredients (exclude the butters, cheese and nuts) in a bowl and combine thoroughly.
3. Add to hot skillet.  Heat through for a few minutes stirring with a spatula frequently.  The egg should be cooked through and the mixture should be hot and fluffy.
4. Gently stir in your butters, cheese or nuts at the end.
5. Enjoy your quick, high energy breakfast or mini meal!

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For the Kids:

This is a great breakfast to fuel your kids up for school.  This oatmeal is quick and they will love the flavor.  It will provide their bodies with great amounts of low glycemic energy to stay focused in class and active in sports.  No one should start the day with an empty belly.  Moods get nasty and focus goes in the gutter.

Break the fast of a long night of sleep: Eat breakfast & start the day right!  Besides it tastes so yummy and helps to kick start that metabolism.

More FFC Oat Recipes you might like:

• Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal {with Flaxseed}
• Cocoa Coconut Oat Parfait
• Power Me Up! Toasted Sunflower-Honey Granola Bars
• Oatmeal: The Basics
• Oatmeal Bowls: 7 Ways

Tagged as: Agave, balanced meal, Big Batch, breakfast, butter, cardamom, cinnamon, Coach's Oats, coconut, easy to prepare, eggs, Helene Dujardin, high energy meal, High Protein, honey, iPhone, Kid Friendly food, low glycemic, Maple Syrup, Michael Ruhlman, mini-meal, NuNaturals, nutmeg, oatmeal, Organic, pumpkin pie spice, steel cut oats, Stevia, Tartelette, weight loss