What Would You Have Done?
A story about failing forward
An Oatmeal Disaster
How can you wreck oatmeal, one of the easiest meals to make? Well, I figured out how. To oatmeal’s defense, it wasn’t the oatmeal’s fault. You see, I have a pantry stocked with organic ingredients of dried, dehydrated, or freeze dried food and spices from my days of formulating meals for my retired Eat Me In A Pinch soup business. In an effort to consolidate some of these ingredients, I mixed organic quinoa flakes in with my container of organic oatmeal. Bad idea!
I then made oatmeal with this mixture expecting a delicious warm and tasty experience. Sadly, it tasted like a bowl of mildly sweet flour that fluffed and filled our mouths with an undesirable taste. My husband slogged his way through a bowl as he was “hangry”. Bless him! Afterwards he explicitly told me not to make our daughter eat it. Yes, it was that bad.
Wasting food in this house, however, is not acceptable, especially considering we strive to eat food as medicine, and this oatmeal was organic and gluten free. I had also added other organic ingredients like MCT oil, butter, whole milk, chia seeds, shredded coconut, maple sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt. This may have been a pot of slop I was staring quizzically down into, but for damn sure, I was not going to toss it.
Perseverance
My mind swirled in a short lived pity party realizing that I still had a mostly full storage tub of this dry mixture in which to consider it’s future function. For now though, as I contemplated what to do with my botched meal, the idea of adding new ingredients to it in an attempt to transform this healthy goop into something tasty began to ruminate in my mind.
Opening up the baking pages in one of my reliable cook books, I browsed ideas and landed on an oatmeal cookie recipe. Upon estimating what remained in my pot after my husband’s valiant effort, I added organic eggs, more maple sugar, more spices, rising agents, and organic white chocolate chips. Oven on! Baking sheets out! Fingers crossed! I was either going to waste so much more, or it may just work.
A Life Lesson
To my delight, the cookies came out soft and delicious, like a perfect cross between a cookie and a scone. They disappeared in no time, and even the neighbors loved them. Sharing a treat that gets positive feedback? Definitely a win!
Looking back, this experience feels like a reminder of how we show up in the world. We can wallow when things go wrong, or we can find a way to turn a failure, a tragic event, or a challenge into something sweet—like turning failed oatmeal into oatmeal cookies.
It takes concerted effort, yet happiness is a conscious choice. Fortunately, we can Solve For Happy. I just finished reading this book by Mo Gawat and appreciated Mo’s view on how to work with one of our biggest obstacles in life, our own thinking. From someone who transformed his grief over losing a son into joy, he offers helpful insights from an engineer’s perspective. A good read for sure!
Why You Shouldn’t Eat Cereal or Oatmeal
Wait, what? But I just wrote about making oatmeal! Yes, oatmeal, and cereal for that matter, should be consumed with caution. We used to eat a few kinds of organic cereal in our family, yet over the years we have reduced it to granola snacks for our daughter and the occasional oatmeal with added nutrients.
Starting the day off with cereal often leaves the body unfocused, with spiked blood sugar, and starving for grounding nutrition. Not to mention, the toxic ingredients, excess sugar, and neurotoxic food coloring in most cereals ignites inflammation putting the immune system in over time and the day has just begun.
I had my years of making poor choices and eating Lucky Charms as a teenager. As I matured and dove deeper into health and wellness, I steered our family far from all the colorful pretty packaging of boxes of toxic waste. My daughter has grown up eating uncolorful organic cereal to almost none at all.
Despite what health experts may tell you, oats contain anti-nutrients like phytic acid, saponins, and flavone-C-glycosides, that steal your minerals. They are also not very high in fiber, having only 4 grams per cup. Additionally, most oats, sadly even organic, have high levels of glyphosate, an herbicide linked to cancer. For these reasons, our oatmeal consumption is limited.
It’s best to start the day, for kids and adults alike, with a high protein and high micronutrient breakfast, like organic pasture-raised eggs accompanied with low-toxin and high-nutrient carbohydrates like organic berries. And don’t forget to supplement nutrition with vitamins!
Little Gems I Recommend
I love to share what works for me on my health and wellness journey. May you too find what best serves your body. ☺️
We have been loving Fatty15. We’re all noticeably sleeping better. It also reverses cellular aging, promotes healthy metabolism, balanced immunity, and supports gut health.
My husband and I also love Timeline Mitopure and can feel the difference. It helps cellular energy, strengthens muscles regardless of workouts, and boosts energy through a science backed, power house packed, pomegranate Urolithin-A supplement. Use code BRITSIMONE for a 10% discount. Try it too!
Traditionally January beckons new beginnings, fresh starts, and cleaning up the body, mind and spirit. One of the most important places to start working on your new health goals begins with supporting the gut microbiome. This supplement’s natural ingredients focus on eliminating bacterial overgrowth, restoring balance to your microbiome, and help your body heal itself from the inside out.
With love, health, knowledge, and not much cereal, may you live abundantly. See you again in the next post.
Warmly,
Brit-Simone
I Am Grateful For Your Support!
When you Upgrade to Paid on Substack, donate to Buy Me a Coffee, or utilize an affiliate link on any of the Cool Stuff included in any of my content (at no extra cost to you and often with a discount just for you), you are supporting an independent writing mama who balances each day with family life, homeschooling, and developing this entrepreneurial endeavor. I am grateful for your support.
