ENOUGH OATMEAL?At some point a number of

ENOUGH OATMEAL?

At some point a number of months ago (is that vague enough for you?) ;-), I began to get hungry for oatmeal made from old-fashioned rolled oats as an afternoon snack. I cooked it in the microwave and added Equal and 1% milk.



Not long after that, I noticed the above very large box of Quaker old-fashioned oats at Costco and I bought it. (No, this box wasn't what I messed up my deltoid lifting, although it was fairly heavy.) As you can see by the size of the bag I have been scooping the oats out of, I have made a good dent into the contents of the box.

I laughed at myself for buying such a large box, thinking that it surely must be a long-lasting supply of oatmeal. However, I am going down on it faster than I expected.

I feel good about eating it, as I believe that oatmeal is one of the most healthy foods a person can eat. There is some debate about the Equal, but I don't believe I eat enough of that to cause any damage to my body, and it makes the oatmeal edible for me, whereas otherwise I wouldn't be able to stomach it. The same with the 1% milk.

When I eat oatmeal, too, I am reminded of my late husband Steve, who while he was suffering from his chronic lymphocytic leukemia, ate large quantities of oatmeal. We would go into restaurants for breakfast or even for lunch (mostly during our days out at Astoria, Oregon) and he would order plain oatmeal with raisins. He would look at me reproachfully when I ate mine with brown sugar and milk, as he didn't think I was supporting him enough when I didn't eat what he thought was helpful to him to eat, but I couldn't stomach the oatmeal the way he ordered it. Still, he lost about 80 pounds eating that way, and probably prolonged his life. (His doctor told him, "Whatever you're doing, keep on doing it.")

I believe oatmeal is just as beneficial for a diabetic like myself. It may be partly responsible for the lowered blood sugars of the last couple of days. (Today's fasting level was 140 -- up a little from yesterday but still not anywhere near the 210 that it was running a few months ago.)

I will see if the diabetic cookbook I have on order has anything about oatmeal. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the dishes in it. I borrowed the idea from my friend Carly and it will be fun comparing notes and created meals with her once mine arrives! Lower numbers, here I come!

*****

I finally read in my instructions from Wednesday that I should be putting an ice pack on my sore upper arm. I did so last night and today, and it has helped.

I also have plenty of my dishes down on the counter top, as putting them away up high is impossible right now.

Those are all the completed thoughts that I have ready to blog about today. I suspect a Vicodin fog is approaching again. I'm glad I don't need to drive anywhere. (I have already brought in the mail here and at my business and then driven to town to mail personal bills that came today, plus a couple of Mother's Day cards.)