Oatmeal Diet

Last year, I was diagnosed with borderline cholesterol - high HDL and LDL. (Those damn tamagoyaki’s!) My doctor told me to try an eggless diet for three months and asked me to return for a blood test. I never did. (Those damn chickens!) I am such a bad patient. The thought of parting with the subtle sweetness of a tamago, or egg yolk oozing on top of lup chong fried rice, or the fluffy custard in a steamed white bun…I could not do it. Bryan tried to get me to eat brown rice but I stuffed myself with white rice when we dine out.

I finally came to the realization that no matter how many hours I swim a day, those evil cholesterol guys will still camp out in my arteries because it’s hereditary. (On a side note, I think marriage made me smarter because I usually don’t come to many “realizations”.) Inspired by a friend at work, I have decided to start a new diet. Oatmeal - one bowl of oatmeal everyday and I am not to miss a day.

I began this new diet last Friday, July 30. It was a disaster. I usually wake up 15 minutes before I have to run to catch the bus. So, I have absolutely no time in the morning to cook myself some decent breakfast. Waking up even earlier to eat breakfast is completely out of the question. So, I did what everybody does when in a hurry for food - microwave. Directions: Microwave 1/3 cup of oatmeal with 1 cup of water for four minutes in 70% power in a blah blah blah… Well, I should’ve read the “blah blah blah” (which was “one-quart sized bowl to allow for expansion”) because then I wouldn’t have to spend another 5 minutes cleaning up the mess I made! Stupid Choo!

Day 2, I got the most giant bowl I had in the kitchen and microwaved my oatmeal. It turned out a little on the mushy side. No prob… Day 3, the day when perfection was born! Here are the directions in case you want to go on the same diet and love Coach’s Oats (available at Costco at a low low price of…I forgot, sorry). Microwave 1/3 cup of oatmeal in 1.2 cups of water for 3 minutes under 70% power in a LARGE bowl. Let it sit for one minute, then stir in 1 tablespoon of macademia nut honey and 1/3 cup of granola. Voila! You have yourself a healthy gourmet breakfast in less than 5 minutes.