2 recipes

I usually devote today's post to my Weight Watchers meeting, which I missed last night because of the SNOW. Mom Nature are you listening? Enough!

Since it took me three hours to get into work yesterday, I had to work late. But my reaction to missing my meeting was so unexpected: I was disappointed. And this is a good thing.

On the way home last night -- that only took 90 minutes -- I started to think about how I am not meeting the WW daily requirement of two dairy servings a day. Since I am lactose intolerant, I avoid milk, but always eat one yogurt. It's the second serving I am missing.

This morning, I made myself what I know will become my daily drink to get me going: 8 ounces of almond milk, frozen blueberries and strawberries, and a banana. I whipped it up in the blender, and the result was a 16-ounce smoothie worth 1 PointsPlus. What a treat.

My other recipe is for oatmeal, the biggest hit at last Sunday's brunch. I was silently laughing at my son and daughter, who were impressed with how good steel-cut Irish oatmeal is. When they were children, they would sit there and gag rather than eat their oatmeal. Have times changed!

Do I have time to make real oatmeal daily? Absolutely not. But I made so much of it Sunday, that I had enough leftovers for breakfast all week. Besides the flavor, the texture of steel cut oatmeal is chewy and more filling than the flakes we are used to. And at about 3 PointsPlus per 1/4 cup serving, I think it is worth the effort. For an extra treat -- and of course some added PointsPlus -- you can throw in some nuts.

VAL'S OATMEAL
4 cups water
1 cup steel-cut oatmeal
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tblsp. pure maple syrup
* Bring water to a boil. Add oatmeal, cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and maple syrup, stir, and after oatmeal begins to thicken, about 5 minutes, lower heat to simmer.
* Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the oatmeal reaches your desired consistency.