Category Archives: McCann’s Irish Oatmeal

Quick cook method for steel cut oats.

I love steel cut oats, but I don’t want to wait the 30 minutes it takes to cook  them.  I also don’t like cooking up a big batch and then reheating later, because they are too gummy to me that way.

So,  I was looking at the McCann’s site and used one of their tips.  Last night, I put 1 serving of the steel cut oats into a container and added 1 cup of water, put the lid on, and stuck it in the fridge.  They recommended cooking for a minute before doing this, but I didn’t bother.

This morning after I got back from the gym, I dumped the container into a small saucepan and brought it to a boil, added my spices and a tsp of brown suger,and cooked for 9-10 minutes.    The result?

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(Yes, the pecans are overtoasted)

Creamy and chewy, just like steel cut oats are supposed to be!  I’m excited!  Okay, I know it’s lame to get excited about oats, but I am 😀  Just a few more minutes to cook than regular rolled oats, totally worth it!

For this bowl, I mixed in 1/2 a cup of canned pumpkin at the end of cooking and topped with cranberry sauce and pecans.

You could do this for more than one serving, too.

Will be productive for soup!

You know how yesterday I was saying how I didn’t get anything done? Today was a whole nuther ballgame!  I was raining when I got up (Hello Ida remnants), so I had to wait a bit until my gym opened up at 8am.  I had a Zone bar for a preworkout snackie.  Then off to the gym and hit the treadmill for 5 miles.  It felt good to really break a sweat.  You know you are on the treadmill a long time when you see people come in, watch them work out and then they leave, all while you are doing the same thing 😛

I arrived home ready to devour my arm and commenced to cooking some Banana, cashew butter, and apple butter oats.

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These were fantastic!  John was laughing at me because I kept saying “yum” while I was eating them.  Extra hunger = extra good taste.

Off to shop, passed by Great Escape on our way.

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Hit the outlet malls – serious sales going on today.

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And found a coffee mug that’s just right for me!

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We were hungry at this point and headed to Samantha’s where one of the soups of the day was Squash and apple bisque!  I just had to have a bowl with some fresh made wheat bread.

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Soooooo good.  It was a soupy kind of day.  Then it was off to the mall for more shopping.  We actually got a nice start on the Christmas stuff that we are buying.  We will make other things for people as well.

Took a break for this!

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I had a skim latte. John got an eggnog latte.   I am trying to wait until Thanksgiving before I have one, but I had a couple sips of his.  Eggnog is like crack to me.  I could bathe in its creamy goodness 😯

More productivity with grocery shopping and then a stop at the smokehouse to stock up on meat.  We got chicken breast, ground beef, turkey breast, boneless pork chops, and bacon. There are some great benefits to shopping locally if you can.  Boneless chicken breasts at $2.09 per pound!  I love that we can support local farmers and the local processor all in one fell swoop.

All of this happened by 4 pm!  We were on a roll.

Obviously had some fresh meat for dinner – chicken with a slice of bacon and laughing cow!  Yum!!!  It’s amazing how just 1 slice of bacon can add so much flavor.

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And a mondo amount of broccoli!

I am going to relax tonight with the hubby and watch movies.  One of those rainy nights just perfect for that!

Have a great night!

4-miler and food in bowls

I konked out early last night and didn’t see the end of the game, but I really needed sleep.  I actually got about 7.5 hours and that makes me super happy! :mrgreen:   Today was a run day outdoors, so I ate breakfast first while I waited for the day to warm up some.  I cooked up some banana oats with PB and blueberry jam!  Yum!

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I got some McCann’s quick cooking oats and those nutritional are the same as rolled oats.  Not sure why that is, but they cook quicker.  I love McCann’s, too – must be the Irish girl in me 😀

After working for a while and seeing the temp creep into the 40s, it was time to go out for a jog.  I don’t like waiting so long to shower, but I don’t want to do it twice in a day.

Distance:  4.22 miles

Time:  42:57

Pace:  10:11 per mile.

Felt pretty good and I was sweating profusely.  I can’t believe how much I sweat even in the 40s!  I just had a technical shirt and jacket on.  I’m a salty sweater, too.  (Sorry)

I had a fun lunch today.  We have packs of animal crackers and Teddy Grahams from Halloween, so I added some to my lunch – Everybody into the pool!

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  • 1/3 cup pumpkin
  • 1 container of Chobani vanilla yogurt
  • Craisins
  • Teddy Grahams

Steady working today and was able to finish early!  Yay, love those days.  My afternoon snack was a latte and one of those granola bars.  While I was making my latte, someone stole my seat….

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Dinner was a mix of pan sauteed broccoli, chicken, and a laughing cow cheese wedge.  Looks like butter, doesn’t it? 😯

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I realized that all my meals were in a bowl today!

When I was cooking dinner, I grabbed the strawberries and found this:

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Now you all know *I* wouldn’t put back 1 strawberry.  Good thing we had another pound in there 😀

Had a pretty good eating day today.  I did have some cashews and FSTG chips while cooking dinner.  The run made me extra hungry today.

Off to the airport tonight.  John’s mom is coming in for a very brief visit for the next couple of days.   Her flight gets in at 10 p.m.!

Question:  Are you a profuse sweater when you exercise?