Kitchen Experiment #515

I really have no clue where I come up with these kitchen experiment ideas. I was craving oatmeal this morning for breakfast, but I didn't want the same old bowl. Instead, I decided to "bread" my sliced nectarine with oatmeal batter. (I know, random.) I used Kath's recipe for an oatmeal pancake with my addition of 1 tbsp of vanilla hemp milk to make the mixture more "battery." I then coated my nectarine slices with the oatmeal pancake batter and cooked them in a skillet. The experiment came out pretty well, but I think next time, I will double the batter recipe. The nectarine slices would have benefited from more oatmeal pancake goodness. This recipe would probably work well with other slice-able fruits-- apples, peaches, etc.


Oatmeal Pankcake Batter

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 egg white (or 3 tbsp of liquid egg whites)
  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp vanilla hemp (or soy) milk
  
• Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

• Heat skillet and add non-stick cooking spray (or butter, oil, etc.)
• Slice fruit into 1/4 inch pieces
  
• Spread oatmeal pancake batter on one side of fruit and place in skillet, oatmeal side down. Then, spread oatmeal pancake batter on the top side of the fruit while in skillet. (*Add more oatmeal batter if desired, covering the entire piece of fruit.)
  
• Top fruit pancakes with maple syrup, almond butter, jam, etc. (optional)
  

* Double recipe for more batter.

Nectarine slices, coated in oatmeal pancake batter, cooking in skillet...


I also had a few dates and an iced coffee with vanilla soy milk for breakfast.


Eat Breakfast Like a King, Lunch Like a Prince, and Dinner Like a Pauper

I receive comments from readers pretty regularly about the smallish size of my dinners-- I tend to taper my food intake as the day progresses. I figured I should explain this eating habit.

Like the old proverb says, "Eat Breakfast Like a King, Lunch Like a Prince, and Dinner Like a Pauper," I try to eat my larger meals early in the day (i.e. eat breakfast like a king) and my smaller meals in the evening (i.e. dinner like a pauper). This eating pattern makes a lot of sense to me for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is that I often exercise first thing in the morning, so I like to refuel with a big breakfast (600-700 calories) packed with healthy carbs and protein. Following a morning workout, I used to eat a much smaller breakfast, but by lunch, I would be starving. Over time, my body has gotten used to eating most of its calories in the early hours of the day. My lunch is usually a tiny bit smaller than breakfast (500-600 calories) with a good-sized snack in the afternoon (200-300 calories) and, of course, occasional treats (100-300 calories). Eating the majority of my calories in the first part of the day keeps my energy up and my metabolism buzzing along. Dinner is often my smallest meal of the day (400-500 calories), which is usually made up of protein, complex carbs, and lots of veggies. Especially when I am just lounging around the house at night, I don't need lots of calories for energy. I'm also an earlier riser, so it makes sense for me to front-load my caloric-intake because I hit the sack before 10:00 pm and don't need a ton of calories in the later part of the day. Finally, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so why not start the day off right with a hearty meal of my favorite foods.

Question of the Day

How do you push/challenge yourself when exercising (mind games, the clock, personal trainer, exercise buddy, etc.)?