Oatmeal doesn’t have to be boring

March 14, 2009

When I made the decision to change my eating habits, I knew I couldn’t go back to another boring diet or I would fail miserably. You see, that’s the problem with “diets” — they are boring and simply not sustainable in the long term. In fact the word itself implies short term change. I always hear people say “I need to go on a diet” — the only thing I ever wanted to know was “When will this diet end?” It was never about changing my life, it was always about getting through the latest diet so I could get back to eating the things I liked. What I needed now was a new way of life that I could stick with and enjoy.

Because I am high risk for diabetes (runs on my mom’s side of the family) and am already seeing signs of impaired glucose tolerance, I decided to investigate diabetic menus. To my delight, I found that diabetics can eat all the same foods other people do, they just monitor their carbs. What could it hurt — if I follow a diabetic plan, maybe I can reverse my course and not get the disease. The diabetic recipes I found were also low in fat and calories so they would also help me shed some of these unwanted pounds.

I took the plunge and decided to try it. I asked my husband if he was willing to go along for the ride, and he was. He figured it couldn’t hurt to start eating healthier — I think he was secretly thinking that this wouldn’t last long and he could put up with it for a few weeks. Boy were we both surprised. We are eating healthier, tastier meals and have lots of variety in our menus. (I’ll do a separate blog on meal planning) It’s been 4 months and we’re hooked - we feel better, look better (I’ve lost 28 lbs. so far), and our health is better (according to our doctors).

I found a cookbook that has become my all time favorite, Biggest Book of Diabetic Recipes: More than 350 Great-Tasting Recipes for Living Well with Diabetes (Better Homes & Gardens.  Many of my weekly dinner recipes come from this book and we’ve even sent it to several family members as a gift. The recipes are simple, healthy and I’ve only found one or two that I don’t like — most are delish. Don’t be fooled by the title; this book has great recipes for anyone, diabetic or not.

Surprisingly enough, I’m even finding that basic things like oatmeal can be tasty. This morning I had my oatmeal with about 2 tsp. pecan pieces, 2 tsp. dried cranberries, three packets of Splenda, and 3/4 cup 1% milk. And I used to think oatmeal was boring…………..

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