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

Coconut Water versus Coconut Milk

I keep hearing from people that coconut milk is bad for you and not to consume it. As usual, I want to find the story behind the rumors and provide it to you so we can all make informed, healthy decisions.

Coconut Water: Typically derived from young coconuts, coconut water is found in the center of the nut. Coconut water is a good source of potassium, magnesium and calcium. It is low in sugar but gains most of its calories from it. Coconut water is also a good source for electrolytes (minerals) that can be depleted during vigorous exercise or diarrhea and is sometimes called "Natural Gatorade".

Coconut Milk: Made from mature coconuts, coconut milk is processed by mashing the meat of the coconut with water. Because the meat of the coconut is high in fat, coconut milk is very high in calories derived mainly from saturated fat. The fats in coconuts do not raise your LDL or "bad" cholesterol as they are processed differently in the body than saturated fats from animal sources.

Canned coconut milk has been controversial due to the lining of the cans containing bisphenol-A or BPA which has been linked to cancer, diabetes, ADHD, infertility and heart disease. BPA leaches into products with high acid (like tomatoes) and high fat like coconut. Canned coconut milk also contains guar gum, a thickener that is often difficult to digest and can cause diarrhea.

According to one article I read, you can make coconut milk yourself or you can purchase one brand for certain that does not have any BPA in it. The one brand without BPA is Native Forest. For more information, please read.

Today, there are a number of coconut milk brands in cartons. I was unable to find enough information on them to make a comment on how they are processed and stored.

The best source of anything in the food world is as close to the whole food as nature intended. So, if you're going to consume coconut water, get young Thai coconuts and drink directly from the nut. If you want to have coconut milk for your recipes, go with home made.

For information on living a Delicious and Healthy life, see www.DeliciousAndHealthy.com and learn how to eat for health, graceful ageing and longevity.

Dr. Meg Interviews Joe Cross from The Movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead was one of the most inspirational documentaries I have ever seen. I was so moved that I contacted the Australian film maker, Joe Cross to see if he would be kind enough to grant me an interview to share with Delicious and Healthy fans. And he said yes!

If you have not seen the movie, GO SEE IT!!! It's available on Netflix. Briefly, it's about an Australian who takes a road trip across the U.S. talking to everyone about the sixty day juice fast he was on at the time to better his health. The movie offers tons of information about health, why he did the juice fast and how both illness and obesity vanished from Joe's life.

The interview covers some excellent information not covered in the film like:

• What does Joe Cross eat now?
• What has he been doing since he made the film?
• How does Joe see illness and obesity now that he's on the other side of it?

I was so inspired that two of my sisters and my brother-in-law and I are going to Join The Reboot and do a ten day juice fast together on separate coasts of the U.S. We are asking anyone that wants to join us to come on and do so! Just email me at: Meg@DeliciousAndHealthy.com

We are planning on having daily conference calls to help each other through AND, Joe wants to know how we all do in our Reboot Support Group. It will be after the 4th of July that we will start this juice fast together. More to come on that, just listen to the interview for now and decide if you would like to join us!

There are many ways to reboot - all you have to do is sign up for to join at www.JoinTheReboot.com and read about it. For now, please listen!

http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WY5pN9GQ