Can Anyone Help Me?

Debatable, I know. But hold the jokes, please, this is serious!

I cannot open my oatmeal. Yes, I am able to tie my shoe laces, I have a drivers license, and I hold down a job. But I can’t open my oatmeal!

I’ve always bought the Quaker brand of steel cut oats and coveted the more expense John McCann's Steelcut Irish Oatmeal in the neato retro can. I thought about uses for the can after the oatmeal was gone. I could keep a homemade spice mix in it. I could keep tea in it. I could use it for something I buy in the bulk section of the grocery store, like dried dill. In the summer when the cucumber section of our garden goes crazy I go through ALOT of dill… dill, chopped fresh cukes, garlic salt and plain yogurt. Yum. I also buy quinoa and almonds and random new-to-me grains in the bulk section. It would be perfect cute storage for any of them!

But I can’t get the damn can open! I thought maybe the top popped off somehow. I couldn’t seem to make that happen. Tried and tried and tried, getting more frustrated until finally I said screw it, and got out the can opener. So by this time the can was ruined, I wouldn’t be able to recycle it into some fun kitchen use which was my ORIGINAL intention. It became a battle between me and the oatmeal can. The can opener didn’t work. Maybe I needed to use it at a different angle? Tried that. Still no dice and now the can is looking pretty bad. But it’s still winning! Help! I am THIS close to taking a hacksaw to it just to get it done. Inelegant? Yes. Effective? Likely.

Can anyone tell me how to open my freaking oatmeal??!

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancake

I could have sworn I found this recipe on the internet, but I have searched and searched and cannot find where it came from, now. So if this is your recipe, please comment and let me know and I will attribute it to you.

The recipe makes 1 serving and calls for:

½ cup egg beaters (I use 3 egg whites)
1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup blueberries (I use frozen)
Dash cinnamon
Dash salt
Splash vanilla

Mix them all together and cook like any pancake: in a pan sprayed with non-stick spray and watch carefully for flippin-time. I would recommend cooking on a lower heat setting so that the pancake cooks all the way through; with the blueberries and the oatmeal, it is a thicker pancake. I used ½ cup frozen blueberries this time and it was a little too many berries for the batter.
 
I use either fat-free Promise or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray, and instead of syrup, heated agave nectar. The amber variety of Madhava Agave Nectar has a smoky, almost maple flavor and goes very well with pancakes. It also has a lower glycemic index than syrup, or so I hear. Which it means it has less impact on blood sugar. Keep in mind that all my medical information comes from random internet searches so take my statements for what they’re worth. All I know is I lovelovelove Agave Nectar! I will probably dedicate an entire post to it sometime in the near future.
 

 
The pancake looks a little scary because the frozen blueberries squished; trust me, it is yummy! And it’s low in fat, packed with protein and fiber and antioxidants… all those things that I like to seek out for my healthier diet. The protein and fiber help keep me full almost all the way to lunchtime.

I just wanted to share that I have gone to the gym for the first time in months, and I have gone two days in a row! Yesterday I did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, stretched out and did some situps, and today I did the same thing except added 10 more minutes to the elliptical. I go so slowly on the elliptical because I try to stay in the “fat-burning zone” and I reach that pretty quickly. It’s almost embarrassing and whenever I hear anyone laugh I look around to make sure it’s not because of my slow-mo workout! Ok, two more trips to the gym this week and I get my reward of a new pair of sneakers.

Have a fab week!