Not quite right

I’ve been meaning to try steel cut oats for months now. Yesterday I finally got the nerve to pick up a bag.

Steel cut oats

I was pretty excited to try them out this morning so I followed the directions and whipped up some Peaches ‘n Cream Oats.

peaches n cream oats

Good idea in theory, but something wasn’t quite right. I cooked the oats for about 20 minutes, yet they were still a little bit too chewy and even though I added honey to the mix they took on a more savory texture that didn’t really meld with the sweet peaches. Next time I’m definitely cook them longer, and perhaps try them in a more savory combination.

Even though the results weren’t perfect, the peaches were delicious and I’m feeling quite full and satisfied. This tells me that steel cut oats are worth the extra cooking time.

Have you ever tried steel cut oats? Favorite way to eat them?

My first co-op experience

I would like to make a public declaration this morning:

I think protein oats are the gaggiest food on the planet.

I’ve tried to like them, but they turn my stomach every time. Never again will I waste good oatmeal and good protein powder by combining them. Blech.

protein oats

Because I didn’t eat my breakfast yesterday and had no food backups at work, I was positively hangry by the time lunch rolled around.

I learned from the ever brilliant Lisa that yesterday was National Egg Day, and never one to turn down a food holiday – I celebrated with an egg burrito.

egg burrito

I also satisfied a week-long craving of having a chocolate shake. A friend mentioned having one on Sunday, and I’ve been wanting one ever since.

I’m a firm believer that the only way to get rid of a craving is to satisfy it. I had a small shake and ate it with a spoon. No more craving!

chocolate shake

Work kind of dragged by yesterday. I’ve been having a lovely bout of insomnia this week and I felt like I was going to pass out at my desk all day.

The only thing that got me through it was the anticipation of picking up my first ever co-op share after work!

co-op goodies

I went with a lesser known co-op in Edmond (email me for more info, they don’t have a website) because they don’t have a membership fee. You just pay a flat rate each time you want to order a share, and everything is supposedly organic (although I’m not sure that’s true).

I was pretty impressed with the haul! My sister-in-law and I split the share because I didn’t think I’d be able to eat it all myself before stuff started going bad.

co-op goodies

This is all the stuff we had to split in half. You’ve got carrots, green grapes, half a huge zucchini, cherries, and half a cantalope.

co-op beets

And beets! I’m in love with beets right now, but I’ve never cooked them myself. I’m more than a little scared of the mess, but excited to eat them.

co-op broccoli

I got to have all the broccoli because my SIL can’t have it. That’s a lot of broccoli. I have an idea for it though.

farm fresh eggs

I also ordered a dozen farm fresh, organic eggs. I’m kind of scared of these too for some reason, but I’m sure they’ll be good.

co-op tomatoes and avocado

There were also tomatoes and an avocado. As well as some strawberries and peaches, which I didn’t get a solo shot of and blueberries that I let my SIL have because I’m not a huge lover of blueberries. Oh, and a container of organic spring greens.

I have a lot of eatin’ to do!

After I put away my goodies, I realized that it had been 8 hours since I’d had my last meal. Yikes! Good thing my SIL had sent me home with some lentil curry to have for dinner.

lentils

The curry featured eggplant, zucchini and lentils and it was delicious. She told me to top it with feta, so I obliged.

For dessert I had my cantalope half filled with some strawberries.

cantaloup with strawberries

Like summer in a bowl. I was in heaven.

I had planned on going to Body Pump last night as well, but it was cancelled. Honestly, that was kind of a blessing in disguise. My body was angry yesterday.

Sleep deprivation can really take a toll on a person very quickly. Also, my left foot has been hurting lately and I think I needed to take a day off of vigorous exercise. I did 40 minutes of random OnDemand workouts, but nothing too challenging.

I still didn’t sleep well last night, but I don’t feel as worn out today as I did yesterday so I think the break served me well. Hopefully this weekend I can catch up on some zzz’s.

One thing that makes me fairly certain that I wasn’t built for the 8 to 5 lifestyle is how poorly I sleep during the week.

I go to bed at 10 and don’t fall asleep until well after midnight. And when I do sleep it’s kind of that lucid sleep where I never actually feel like I’m asleep, if that makes any sense. So I wake up the next morning feeling like death.

During the weekends, when the pressure to conform to a certain sleep schedule is off, I sleep like a baby. It’s weird.

Just thought I’d share that because I know a lot of people deal with insomnia, and it sucks. I feel ya.

Have you ever joined a co-op or a CSA program? Did you like it?

Any tips on how to make protein oatmeal less disgusting?