Oatmeal - What to put on it . . .

I used to loathe oatmeal. The texture, the flavor, the blandness of it all. I could eat Cream of Wheat until I was stuffed silly though.

Being gluten free means, of course, that I cannot have Cream of Wheat but, I can have oatmeal since it is technically gluten free. The thing is, though, oatmeal is usually processed on machinery that is shared with wheat based cereals. Even if the equipment is not shared, if glutenous dust is in the air, it will settle all over everything in the vicinity. The cheaper the oatmeal brand, the higher the parts per million of gluten will be in the oatmeal.

Of course, gluten free oatmeal brands have popped up over the last several years. You see, it took decades for them to figure out that oatmeal is gluten free because no one was using dedicated equipment just for oatmeal so people were having reactions to it.

Enough on the information about oatmeal, now that we can eat it, I do and now that I have fallen in love with the stuff, I have come up with my own creative toppings. Here is my favorite bowl of oatmeal with a decadent twist . . .

Dr. Meg's Decadent Oatmeal Recipe

1/2 Cup gluten free oatmeal

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon

stevia to taste (I use powdered)

3 tablespoons walnuts

1 handful of black berries and strawberries

4 chocolate covered power berries (or dark chocolate chip or pieces)

A little almond milk (unsweetened)

I prepare the oatmeal according to directions, mix in cinnamon, cayenne and stevia, add chocolate, fruit and walnuts then top with almond milk. The trick is to use only a little chocolate to give it a nice flavor and not overdo the sugar content.

Since I used stevia, it is sweetened without all those empty calories. Cayenne pepper gives it a nice little spice and helps with blood circulation. Cinnamon helps regulate blood sugars and berries are low carbohydrate and low sugar fruits. Chocolate covered power berries are high in antioxidents but they do contain sugar. This isn't an every day thing. Just a couple times this week. I eat eggs and vegetables on the other days.

Dang, I love breakfast!

For more information on living a Delicious and Healthy life, see www.DeliciousAndHealthy.com