Monday, January 14th, 2013

Good morning!  WHEW I REALLY did not want to wake up this morning.  In fact, I had gone back to bed - claimed an excuse "It's raining too hard."  In fact it was not raining at all - the sound of the "rain" was someone showering in a nearby apartment.  Every part of my body was sore this morning from a workout I did yesterday.  Normally I like soreness because it makes me feel like I did something, but this morning was an exception - I just wanted to lie in bed and not move and sleep until 11.

So, I got back into bed and immediately my brain starts talking to itself.  "You've tried this before."  You'll just feel guilty in an hour when you feel rushed and the dogs don't get the walk they deserve."  My brain was right (it's always right).  I got up 2 minutes later and forced myself out the door.  It was extremely dark this morning (and misty but not raining), so I couldn't take a picture - there just wasn't enough light.

Then I came home and made myself this recover-from-soreness breakfast that I'll count as 1/2 towards my goal of learning 15 new vegetarian recipes.  I normally make oats for breakfast, however, I don't really vary from the basics.  I did a little research and added the stuff I knew would fill me up until noon and do my aching muscles good with the good fats and protein they need.

Vegeterian recipe #3.5 -Nutty oatmeal

1 cup water
1/2 cup dried rolled oats (don't use quick cook - it's only 4 extra minutes on the stove and the regular are a lot tastier)

Top cooked oats with:
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds
5-7 raw pumpkin seeds (they're expensive so I only use a few - lots of flavor - you don't need more)
5-10 almonds
3-5 pecans

The oats are low in calories but a good source of fiber - they are a better choice than bread in terms of carbs/gluten.  Wheat germ is the only nutritious part of the wheat and - funny enough - it's removed during the process of bread making.  It's quite nutritious and also a good source of fiber - toasted Kretschmer wheat germ has a nutty/crunchy pleasant taste.  The nuts provide fats - but good fats and oils, tons of protein, and they taste amazing.

You can also add some additional spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves.  I do that sometimes, but when adding this many nuts it's a bit overkill - I want to taste all the flavors of the sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and pepitas. 

Carpe diem,

J