Best Oatmeal!

For almost four months now, I have chosen to not eat flour or sugar. I have also stayed away from too many carbs in the form of potatoes, and other starchy vegetables. I still eat dairy, and protein in the form of meat. I have felt much better. Many of my aches and pains are gone, and I am starting to sleep better as well.

All of those items are huge benefits for me. I know I have lost inches over this time. Clothes are fitting better, and I am able to wear some clothing I couldn’t. I no longer weigh myself. It was becoming an obsession, and was too debilitating for me when I didn’t lose, or I gained…again!

Because I began this journey back in the middle of August, I wanted to get a good handle on it before the holiday season began. I knew I also wanted to find some alternatives to the traditional holiday baking. At one time, before five children, and not much time, I loved to bake. Cinnamon rolls from scratch, brownies, and cakes I decorated. I didn’t use mixes. After children, so much of my time was spent cooking meals, that desserts really took a back seat, and cinnamon rolls were a rare treat. I also didn’t want that much sugar sitting around for us all to consume. 

I have been thrilled to find several sites/blogs that have wonderful recipes. They have almost anything you could think of made with no flour or sugar. The recipes are great for many kinds of diets out there, keto, gluten-free, dairy-free, and Trim Healthy Mama to name a few. I have mostly concentrated on the dessert side of things because that was what I was missing. But now I’m ready to try some other goodies. In this post I’m going to include two links to two sites I use frequently, but there are many others. I want to give a huge shout-out to these women that spend the time working on these recipes so people like me can make them. 

For Thanksgiving this year, I stayed on my plan pretty well. I didn’t have that bloated, miserable feeling of past years. I tried one bite of the stuffing my father made, and the same for the mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and green bean casserole my daughters made. I ate turkey, spinach made with cream cheese and topped with cheese, sweet pumpkin casserole, cranberry sauce, and vegetables with cheese and bacon. For dessert I had pecan pie topped with whipped cream, and pumpkin roll. And I didn’t feel left out, or wanting anything. 

Last night, while drifting in and out of sleep, I was thinking about oatmeal. I know, kind of crazy. Especially for me, since I haven’t eaten it much lately. It was one of those items I had to eat as a child, and made probably too much for my own children. With the oatmeal thinking came the memory of the cranberries in the fridge from Thanksgiving. And then I remembered the sweetened condensed milk there as well. This is the result of those thoughts last night:

 

Our youngest and I enjoyed this for breakfast this morning, and it was delicious! Even better than I imagined in my dreams. Here is the recipe with the two links for the cranberry sauce I made for Thanksgiving, and the sweetened condensed milk that I made for the pecan pie. No processed sugar needed, and I think it tasted even better.

Enough prepared oatmeal for you or two, or more. Top with cranberries and sweetened condensed milk to taste, or for your diet.

https://joyfilledeats.com/cranberry-sauce/

https://mymontanakitchen.com/3-ingredient-sweetened-condensed-milk-thm-s-low-carb-sugar-free/

I also wanted to include another site that I frequent a lot. This is where I got the recipe for the sweet pumpkin casserole. One of our youngest granddaughters loved it!

https://mrscriddleskitchen.com/sweet-pumpkin-casserole/

Again, thank you ladies for some great recipes! I’m looking forward to trying a few more for Christmas. And now I know how to make the best oatmeal!