Britney Spears flavored M&Ms

Today is going to be a good day. Do you know why?

Because my breakfast was FABULOUS.

I made my oatmeal last night to bring to work. I know that some people think that’s gross… it gets pretty think, and the oats swell up. But I don’t mind, and I definitely don’t have time to make them in the morning. Anyway, I put a pot of 1/2 water/1/2 milk on the stove to bring to a boil. I added rolled oats, some wheat germ, and some ground flax seed (it gives it a yummy nutty taste!). I mashed a banana and whipped that in as it was cooking. I added just a teeeeny bit of honey, because the banana was really sweet. I stirred in a bit of natural peanut butter. Then, I threw a couple walnuts on top, along with 6 butterscotch chips. This morning, I heated it up and stirred it… mmmm butterscotch/peanut butter goodness. But the heaven doesn’t end there. I discovered ¼ of a sugar cookie remaining on the break table. It couldn’t have been more than 30 calories. I crushed it and sprinkled it on top.

I am in a dopey, dreamlike state; definitely under the influence of heavenly oatmeal. Thank you to katheats.com, where I first got hooked on the good stuff. That woman is amazing; she keeps a picture food diary, and eats the way I could only DREAM of eating. I’ve gotten a lot of ideas from her. AND she gets in some serious exercise every single day! But warning: I am stuffed. I have a feeling my tummy isn’t going to rumble until tomorrow!

Anyway, what’s my plan today? I have to work some overtime… got to the office at the crack of dawn, and I’ll be leaving at about 4:30pm. I came prepared, with a lean cuisine for lunch (only 230 calories… to balance out my energy-filled high calorie breakfast), a fruit leather, and a fiber 1 bar. Tonight I have laundry to do, and online course to delve into (for China) and a new soup recipe to make.

I had a moment yesterday – a horrible, eye-opening moment. Have you ever had one of those moments where it just hit you that you have a serious serious problem? Yesterday, I had one of those. My husband bought 100 calorie packs of M&Ms for my stocking this year. That was wonderful, except that when I opened my stocking, I put everything back in afterwards. I just finally started going through the Christmas pile and putting things away yesterday. The M&Ms were interspersed with… perfumes and scented soaps. The little baggies smelled exactly like Curious by Britney Spears. Instead of wrinkling my nose and throwing them in the trash, I opened a package, wondering if they tasted like perfume too. They did. A terrible, scented, chemical taste. Did I throw them in the trash at that point? No. I finished the bag. Then grabbed another bag, ran to the sink, RINSED MY SCENTED M&Ms, and sprinkled them on top of a 100 calorie pudding! Yes, I have problems. Problem #1: I should know better than to get all these “low calorie snacks”. What registers in my brain is “Yay! Now I can have three of these, and it’s only 300 calories!” . Problem # 2: I am obsessed with chocolate. I washed perfume off my M&Ms and ATE them, gosh darn it!

So what am I going to do about this? First, I am tossing these M&Ms when I get home. It was a sweet gesture on the husband’s part, but I am not going to keep them and use that as an excuse to eat them. Second, I am going to stop buying 100 calorie packs, low fat puddings, etc; I need fruit and veggies. I need grains and protein. Not low calorie useless gunk.