July/August - Weight Loss Challenge

[jobob]

I'm re-introducing complex, high fiber ("good") carbs back into my diet, and one of the best is oatmeal made from old-fashioned steel cut oats.

They can be cooked overnight in a slow-cooker, but I don't like the texture that way - it always comes out too mushy for me.

They can be cooked on the stove in thirty minutes, but that's way too long a time most mornings.

So I'm trying to prepare them using a microwave. I'm told it can be done ... but so far for me it's been a bit of a disaster. The time saved microwaving is lost by the time it takes to clean up the mess in the microwave.

Here's what I've tried so far:

1st attempt (from here) :
Microwave - Mix 1/2 cup of steel cut oats with 2 cups of water in an 8 cup bowl (the size of the bowl is important as it must be large enough to allow the oats to bubble up without spilling over). Seal the bowl with plastic wrap and run at full power for 5 minutes. Stir and finish cooking for another 5 minutes (since microwaves vary in size and power, cooking times may need to be adjusted for different models).

Result: catastrophic oatmeal biol-over. The oatmeal that actually remained in the bowl tasted really good though.

2nd attempt: Cut the quantity in half! I mixed 1/4 cup steel cut oats with 1 c water, and again sealed up the 8-cup pyrex serving bowl with saran wrap. I figured that should do the ticket.

Result: another catastrophic oatmeal biol-over.

I've been using an 8 cup pyrex serving bowl with glass handles at either end and I don't get the saran wrap to seal very tightly over the handles. So I'm going to get an 8+ cup pyrex mixing bowl - perfectly round, w/o handles - and see if that will do the trick. Otherwise I'm stumped.

Any other tips?

Ed to add:
If microwaving is a lost cause, I might try one of the other time-saving approaches on that website. Cooking up mass quantities and re-heating a bit at a time might work out the best.

[GLC1968]

I had more luck cooking them using a lower power setting. On my old microwave, I would use a 60 or 70% power and I could see how it would cycle the power off and on. What was cool was that it would cycle it off just as the oatmeal started to boil over and the oatmeal would calm down. When it cycled back on again, the oatmeal would start heating up again and just as it was about to boil over, it would cycle off. This went on for the entire cooking time. I got it to a point where I could cook 1/3 cup of oats, 1/3 cup of milk, and 2/3 cups of water for 8 minutes at 60% power. (disclaimer: I forget the exact time - I think it was 8 min.).

[jobob]

Duh, I can't believe I didn't think of that! Thanks GLC!

[GLC1968]

Good recipe for quick breakfasts:

1-minute Flax Muffins

1/4 cup of flax meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 tsp liquid sweetener (maple syrup, sugar-free syrup, etc)

Mix wet ingredients in one bowl. Mix dry ingredients in another. Mix them both together and pour batter into a mug or ramekin sprayed with cooking spray. Nuke on high for 1 minute. Eat! This recipe is easily doubled for days when you need a little more fuel. I find that one is fine for sitting on my rear all morning at work, though.

I also often sub 1 T of almond meal for 1 T of the flax meal to add a slightly nutty flavor. This is really good with apple butter on it (in phase 2).

[katluvr]

GLC....so this makes 1 muffin? Do you know how many caloires and protein (my main interest)?

[GLC1968]

GLC....so this makes 1 muffin? Do you know how many caloires and protein (my main interest)?

According to MyFoodDiary.com, it comes to 254 calories, 13 g fat, 10 g carbs and 12 g protien (made with sf syrup). Good fats, though! I tried making it with 2 whites instead of the whole egg and the texture sucked. With the whole egg - it's more cake-like.

And yes, it makes one (ugly) muffin.

[Lizzie]

Thanks for letting me come on board on be a part of this!
My starting weight is 145 and I would like to get down to 135 or so.
Diet-wise I have cut out sugar and white flour (although during the long ride it is difficult to not eat whatever you can get your hands on)and for excercise I am riding 60 miles a week (all in one ride usually) and interval training on the treadmill 3x a week and also just finished a kettlebell workshop-so will attempt to do that several times a week (has anyone tried that)? I like it better than lifting weights. This is my grand plan anyhow!!!!

[berkeley]

So my jeans today were WAY big on me... the last time I wore them (maybe a month now?), they were a little tight.

YAY!