pumpkin oatmeal

[letsride89]

so i had left over canned pumpkin from the pumpkin pie i made for my dad yesterday..(btw, first time making it...came out DELICIOUS.) =)

so here's wat i did for my breakfast this morning...

1/2 cup old fashion oats
1cup water
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
lots of cinnamon
sugar substitute (splenda)

microwaved the water and oats for one minute and thirty seconds.
added the pumpkin, heated for 30 seconds
topped with lots of cinnamon
sprinkled on some splenda, and enjoyed

i would have put raisins but we didn't have any

oats=150 calories
pumpkin=20 calories
cinnamon=not enough to equal my satisfaction =)

anyway, this is well below 200 calories for a YUMMY breakfast! maybe add some spray butter on top if u like!

[OakLeaf]

sounds great!

but I hafta say, this time of year, why not use fresh pumpkin from the farmer's market or store? Pie pumpkins are best, but a small jack-o-lantern pumpkin still has plenty of "meat" and flavor. All you have to do is cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy parts, put it cut side down on a baking pan (or a sheet with a lip) and bake at about 350F until the shell side is soft to the touch. Then let it cool and scrape out the pumpkin. You can puree it if you like, but I prefer a little texture to my pumpkin pies. Yummy!

[letsride89]

great idea!!! i have never done that...so i might try it! i have a new love for baking and i want to learn how to start baking with healthy ingredients.

my dad just started riding with me back in july. he did the MS 150 with me, i'm so proud of him. he has lost 20 lbs. i want him around for a long time so i am going to start learning how to incorporate HEALTHYness into his diet! he loves the sweets i make him, but i realize i need to HELP him, not HURT him with my baking abilities!!

[alpinerabbit]

The energy-saving version of baking is putting it into the pressure cooker.

hokkaidos do not need to be peeled for that, others, yes, and it's hard work but I do it all the time.

[3for3]

Yummy! I'll have to try that. I like to add pumpkin to mashed potatoes this time of year. It adds a shot of vitamins to what is otherwise a comfort food. Of course, I also like to add a little grated smoked cheddar...so that probably detracts from any health factor the pumpkin adds.

[Tuckervill]

You can microwave pumpkin, too, to get it soft enough for a pie.

Karen

[letsride89]

oooo mashed potatoes and pumpkin?

how can i incorporate that with my baked potato tonight??

[3for3]

I bet you could just mix a little in along with whatever else you're putting on it. I think I usually use 1/2 cup puree for mashed potatoes that serve about 4 - 6 people. So just a couple tablespoons would do for one serving, unless you want a stronger pumpkin flavor. Like I said, I like to grate a little smoked cheddar or gouda too. That combination of flavors tastes like fall to me. Hope you enjoy!

[RolliePollie]

My cat Claudia gets 1-2 Tbsp of pumpkin every morning for breakfast. The vet recommended it for furballs...it's been tremendously helpful for her and she loves it. If I try to sleep in, she comes and wakes me up so I'll feed her.

The pumpkin oatmeal sounds really yummy...I may need to steal some from Claudia and give it a try!

[emily_in_nc]

My DH makes yummy steel-cut oatmeal (organic!) in the crockpot overnight during the cooler times of the year. Adding pumpkin sounds like a great idea -- thanks! He'll typically put raisins, sometimes dried cranberries, and lots of cinnamon in it. Ooooh, it's so good!

We have our first cold weekend coming up here in NC -- I feel an oatmeal morning coming up!

[wildhawk]

Yummy ideas!! I have organic oatmeal every morning before my ride with honey and cinnamon, but adding the pumpkin would be great!! I will have to try that!!

[letsride89]

i just made some another bowl of this for a dessert after my dinner...just cut the recipe in half and ate away! this time DH was here, and he called it pumpkin goulash ...WHATEVER!

[TahoeDirtGirl]

sounds great!

but I hafta say, this time of year, why not use fresh pumpkin from the farmer's market or store? Pie pumpkins are best, but a small jack-o-lantern pumpkin still has plenty of "meat" and flavor. All you have to do is cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy parts, put it cut side down on a baking pan (or a sheet with a lip) and bake at about 350F until the shell side is soft to the touch. Then let it cool and scrape out the pumpkin. You can puree it if you like, but I prefer a little texture to my pumpkin pies. Yummy!

Thank you for taking the mystery out of how to get the pumpkin seperated from the skin. I couldn't figure out how people would peel a pumpkin. But it never dawned on me to bake it first then peel it. I love pumpkin cooked with a sweet potato and then whipped up with a little butter, salt and cinnamon. Time to go find me a pumpkin!

[Jallora]

I pour a little bit of flavored creamer in my oatmeal. My favorite is fat free hazelnut. Yum!

[emily_in_nc]

I pour a little bit of flavored creamer in my oatmeal. My favorite is fat free hazelnut. Yum!

I love the taste of those creamers too, but they are not healthy at all, and they're actually not fat-free -- they just make the serving size small enough that they can say that. The fat in them is partially hydrogenated -- very bad. I keep trying to get my in-laws to stop buying them.

Here is the ingredient list for Coffee-Mate Coffee Creamer, Hazelnut, Fat Free:

Water, Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Caseinate (a Milk Derivative), Titanium Dioxide, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Polysorbate 60, Carrageenan, Beta-Carotene Color.

Kinda scary! I'm lucky to have low cholesterol so can get away with a splash of real half-n-half in my oatmeal. Yummmmm!

*Sorry to rain on your parade! I almost hated to respond, but just in case you weren't aware of what you were ingesting...