POM Pumpkin Oatmeal

How many of us have made resolutions to lose weight? Eat healthier? Increase whole grains/fruit/veggies/water etc?  Yes, yes, and yes.  Soooo, as much as I would like to post a decadent muffin or cake or cookie, I'm going to share with you my breakfast from yesterday.  I have to say, it tasted way better than it looks.  It was actually delicious!  Well, you know, as delicious as it can be without chocolate ;)

 POM Pumpkin Oatmeal

Am I the only one who has never had a pomegranate?  I've seen them in years past, but had no idea what to do with them.  This year however, I saw several recipes and talk of the POM, and they looked so bright and interesting.  So, I bought one.  Then it sat for about a week before I got the courage to cut it.  See, the pomegranate kind of intimidated me because there was so much "talk" in blogland abt how to cut a pom.  Quite frankly, any fruit that needs a tutorial to get into was not really worth the effort in my book.  However, (after reviewing the tutorial) I decided to cut that bad boy up, b/c....well, b/c I'm the boss of my kitchen.  And poms are expensive, I wasn't going to let it go to waste.  (Not so bad right now, they are in season until the end of January I believe.)

Anyway, it was not nearly as hard to cut into and retrieve the seeds, called arils, as I thought it would be.  And, they are quite good.  Even my girls liked them.  Number One has requested I buy them more often!  Considering the health benefits, this is great.  I just wish I had started buying them earlier, b/c they will be out of season soon.

My recipe inspiration came from here, however, b/c I'm lazy I made some short cuts!

I used a packet of Sugar Free Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal (however, old-fashioned steel cut oats are better).  I cooked (read 'nuked') it according to package directions and added 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, 1/4 cup arils, and a teaspoon of sugar on top.  Broiled it unti the sugar started to bubble and I was scared I was going to burn it.  It could have stayed under the broiler a little longer, but I was getting hungry.  It's supposed to carmelize on top.  (The "after" broiling pics were blurry.)

To learn more about the pomegranate, and other uses for...check out this post from The Candid RD.  I'll be using her suggestion today and adding arils to my yogurt! 

And speaking of yogurt, go check out my review and enter the giveaway for a Yoplait Fiber One gift pack, with lots of cool stuff that will help with your health related resolutions!!

I'm linking up with these great blogs today....