MIKE Program

My fast-food oatmeal is still just oatmeal, but the key is that it keeps in the fridge for literally weeks for quick heat-up. Feel free to use the concept in any way that works. One key fact is that Bob's Red Mill steel-cut oats costs $2.87 per bag (vs $8.00 plus for the imported Irish tins, plus the tins lend an unpleasant metallic taste to the oatmeal!).

I make 2 qts at a time (eg 2 cup oatmeal, 4 cups water, 2 cups 1% milk), usually on a weekend, takes only 20 min to cook. Once reasonably cooled, I put in a tall plastic juice-type container to store in fridge. It keeps at least 2 wks. I heat in microwave, add a little extra milk, chopped walnuts; Raisens or dates are good too.

Oatmeal suppresses appetite for a good 6 hrs. For non-morning folks, that means plenty of time to work in your daily exercise routine before gnawing hunger sabotages your plans.

Susan Bagby MD, MIKE Program Advisory Board member