February 2011
Newsletter
Food focus: Oatmeal
Oatmeal
provides you with soluble fiber, as do Jerusalem
artichokes (aka sunchokes) and legumes, all of which are recommended to
diabetics because of their ability to absorb sugar and slow its digestion. Wheat bran, nuts, and seeds are examples of
insoluble fiber. Rather than swelling
inside you, that sort of fiber tickles your intestines. Both kinds of fiber help keep peristalsis at
work!
Besides
their help in absorbing sugar, oats also absorb fats and have been recommended
for people trying to reduce serum cholesterol –on the assumption that dietary
cholesterol contributes to it.
We
are having a cold winter on the East Coast, so oatmeal porridge in the morning
and oatmeal cookies at tea time are appealing.
For those avoiding wheat, there’s an easy recipe below that’s just oats. The photo shows the difference between steel
cut oats (which should be soaked before cooking), rolled oats, and oat
flour. This recipe calls for the latter two.
Recipe of the Month: Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
or coconut oil, melted but not hot
¼ cup of honey
1 teaspoon
vanilla
Spices to
consider, according to your taste:
1
teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger powder, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and/or ¼
teaspoon ground clove
½ teaspoon
salt (optional)
½ teaspoon
baking powder
1 cup of
rolled oats
1 cup of oat
flour
½ cup of
raisins (optional)
½ cup of
chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Mix the wet
ingredients well. Add the dry
ingredients and mix them in well. Drop
the batter by the teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and make for 12-15
minutes in a pre-heated 350 F. oven.
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