Quick and Healthy Oatmeal

Ahhh.... that cool crisp air reminds me that MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR IS HERE!! Judging from the look on Grady's face after our hike - its his too!

There is nothing more perfect to me than a nice sunny fall day. 65 -70 degrees during the day, cool enough to snuggle into your comforter at night! The leaves are starting to change and before you know it, ill be posting recipes for pumpkin and apple flavored everything! I wish it could always be like this! But, I'm soaking it up while its here!

One of the first things I notice when summer changes to fall is the differences in the foods that I crave. During the warmer months, I usually start my morning with some fruit, or some soy yogurt. This morning I had my first seasonal craving for oatmeal!

If you're like me, and you get weirded out by how much sugar is in one "healthy" packet of instant oatmeal - I have a solution!













Quick and Healthy Oatmeal

1/2 cup of rolled oats
enough water to cover them
1 teaspoon sucanaut
2 tablespoons of your favorite fruit sweetened preserves ( I like blueberry and raspberry)
fresh berries - optional

I throw the oats into a travel bowl with the sucanaut before I leave for work in the morning. And I keep the preserves in my work fridge. Once I get hungry I just pop the oat and sucanaut mixture with the water into the microwave and heat until the oats are done - about 1 - 1.5 mins. Then I add the fruit preserves mix all together and eat!

Its delicious - 10 times better than any packet of oatmeal i've ever made for myself ( and ill admit I LOVE the apple and cinnamon kashi) And its so much more economical than the instant oatmeal you buy at the store - especially if you buy the oats in bulk.


I thoroughly enjoyed my first hike of the season with Grady earlier last week. Can't wait for the upcoming hikes - they are sure only to get more beautiful as the leaves start to change!

A quick word on fostering.

A quick word on fostering - to anyone out there that has every considered it and I supposed also to those that haven't

DO it!

There are so many great animals out there that just need a place to stay until they find their new forever homes! The picture above is of one of my past foster dogs - Vivo.

Now known as Sammy. I had this guy for 6.5 months, which was my longest foster yet. But so amazingly worth it.

I have to say that fostering has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. You take an animal at his most needy- in Vivo's case- EXTREME need, and you can completely change the course of his life. V came to me with a torn ligament in his knee, SEVERELY overweight and had no social skills at all. Still he had a bright and congenial spirit that made him irresistible. I nurtured him through his surgeries, and taught him basic household commands. I got very attached and it was extremely difficult to let go of a dog that had become such a part of my family. But now he has a great family of his own, and I still get to see him periodically when his owners go away on vacation and he needs a spot to crash.

So to anyone who's considering it ... try it. You may be overwhelmed at first. But nothing beats knowing that you made a difference in an animals life. You never know, you could be the difference between life and death.