A Breakfast of Champions

With Jenni's big event next weekend in mind, I thought it was about time that I posted something about my latest breakfast creation.

I'm not a big fan of breakfast. It's been hard for me to find something I like other than toast. Toast is great and all, but all of the fat and calories from the "butter" I use (the vegan butter spread, Earth Balance) is still not ideal. I always have a piece of fruit to go with it, to make myself feel better I suppose. It's just too cold (especially in the morning) to eat cereal, so I thought I would try my hands at homemade oatmeal.

I've tried to make oatmeal in the past and I usually either force it down so I don't waste it (telling myself, It's healthy! Just eat it!) or if it's really bad, I do have to unfortunately throw it out. It took me about a week of making oatmeal every day to come up with the perfect formula, but I did it, and can now say that I make GREAT oatmeal. Don't worry, I'll share my secrets with you. What you want to do is replace the recommended water they instruct you cook it in on the package with HALF apple juice and HALF vanilla soy milk (which is naturally sweetened, unlike chocolate soy milk!) The result? Oatmeal that is perfectly sweet, still creamy, and delicious! I always cook the oatmeal with a few shakes of cinnamon too, some kind of fruit (blueberries might be my favorite) and sometimes a small handful of chopped walnuts. I also tried both the instant oats as well as the old fashioned, and I prefer the instant because it comes out creamier.

Perhaps this is one to try before, say, running a half marathon? I personally think it's great before teaching a bunch of dance classes, but maybe that's just me ;)