Oatmeal for breakfast

 I've seen a lot of very negative ads about oatmeal flash buy on internet ads, and I have a friend who is always pushing something healthy and he says oats are not good for human consumption.  He says they are sprayed with something (isn't everything?). Before moving to The Estates (aka The Forum) I rarely ate oatmeal, but now that someone else makes it and serves it, I do have it about once a week.  Sometimes I take a small amount of walnuts and raisins with me and add those, plus about 1/4 C whole milk. So I looked it up.

Half a cup (40.5 g) of dry oats (from USDA website) Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry - Nutrients - SR Legacy | USDA FoodData Central

Manganese: 63.9% of the daily value (DV)
Phosphorus: 13.3% of the DV
Magnesium: 13.3% of the DV
Copper: 17.6% of the DV
Iron: 9.4% of the DV
Zinc: 13.4% of the DV
Folate: 3.2% of the DV
Vitamin B1 (thiamin): 15.5% of the DV
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): 9.1% of the DV
smaller amounts of calcium, potassium, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and vitamin B3 (niacin)

The nutritional profile of one cup of prepared oatmeal (one half cup dry oats with water) also includes:
27.4 grams (g) of carbs
5.3 g of protein
2.6 g of fat
4 g of fiber
153.5 calories

Dear EWG, This Is Why Real Scientists Think Poorly of You | American Council on Science and Health

Can you really cook meme?

I saw this oldie on Facebook today. Thought I'd give it a whirl. I don't cook at all anymore, so digging deep into the memory for this.

Who can really cook? Who can cook real food, not stuff prepackaged or in a box? (No Kraft Mac N Cheese or Stouffer’s Lasagna). I look forward to seeing your surveys, on YOUR OWN blog. I thought it would be fun! Thank you

My score: was 39, however I couldn't claim that after I made it that it was all eaten! Like the pot of beans--never got good at that and gave up after several tries.
What's your score?

 
HAVE YOU EVER:
1. Made bread from scratch? Yes
2. Cooked fresh okra or squash? Yes
3. Made homemade soup? Yes
4. Fried chicken? Yes
5. Made spaghetti sauce from scratch? Yes
6. Made homemade rolls or cinnamon rolls? Yes
7. Baked a cake from scratch? Yes
8. Made icing from scratch? Yes
9. Cooked a pot roast with all the veggies? Yes
10. Made chili from scratch? Yes
11. Made a meatloaf? Yes
12. Made potato salad? Yes
13. Made mac/cheese from scratch? Yes
14. Made any pies from scratch? Yes
15. Made sausage from scratch? No
16. Made fudge? Yes
17. Made cookies from scratch? Yes
18. Cooked a pot of dried beans? Yes
19. Cooked a pot of greens? Yes
20. Made cornbread from scratch? Yes
21. Made a pie dough from scratch? Yes
22. Cooked a whole turkey? Yes
23. Snapped green beans & cooked them? Yes
24. Made mashed potatoes from scratch? Yes
25. Prepared a meal for 30 plus people? Yes
26. Made homemade tortillas? No
27. Made pancakes from scratch? Yes
28. Roasted vegetables in the oven instead of boiling them? Yes
29. Made pasta from scratch? Yes
30. Made tamales from scratch? No
31. Made tuna or chicken salad? Yes
32. Fried fish? Yes
33. Made baked beans? Yes
34. Made ice cream from scratch? Yes
35. Made jam or jelly? Yes
36. Zested an orange or lemon? Yes
37. Made grits from scratch? Yes
38. Made an omelet? Yes
39. Made homemade pizza? Yes
40. Lived in a house without a dishwasher? Yes
41. Apple sauce from scratch? Yes
42. Biscuits from scratch? Yes

After thought--not part of meme. I think our idea of "from scratch" probably differs from our grandparents or our great grandparents. If you look at a recipe for grits, someone has done a lot of work on that corn before you bought the package! And anything from a "fresh" egg isn't fresh at all. If you've ever had an egg that hasn't been refrigerated, it tastes like nothing you've had before. Although I grew up with margarine, I only use butter now, and even the packaged butter you buy isn't like fresh butter. So, "from scratch" can itch your curiosity.

Affordable. We've heard this before about health care.

Although President Trump is best in his field as a business man, he's fast becoming a politician. The latest plug about cars being affordable if the government gets involved is a page out of Obama's book on affordable health care. Barack gave us neither affordable nor healthy and left it to others to write the gazillion rules and stab us in the back. With cars, remember what they did the last time to make them "green?" They destroyed the older non-green models so there were no used cars to be "affordable." Only the rich benefitted. What will they do now? Manufacturers are owned by investors, and although it always looks like they go along with whoever is in power, they need to dance with the one who brought them.

https://youtu.be/ZCPId-2CABs?si=nvfIOwpJ-8kAsPAEAsPAE

You got to dance with who brung you
Swing with who swung you
Don't be a fickle fool
You came here with a gal, who's always been your pal
Don't leave her for the first unattached girl, it just ain't cool

You got to dance with who brung you
Swing with who swung you
Life ain't no forty-yard dash
Be in it for the long run
In the long run you'll have more fun
If you dance with who brung you to the bash

I had a friend in Texas
He really had some style
He sang that good old Western Swing and drove 'em wild
Then a talent scout from Vegas said,
"Boy, play and sing this way"
And in one short year he was broke in L.A

You got to dance with who brung you
Swing with who swung you
Life ain't no forty-yard dash
Be in it for the long run
In the long run you'll have more fun
If you dance with who brung you to the bash

You gotta be real careful what you wish for
'Cause you just might get
The whole darn thing
Be sure what you want is really something you can use
Or you might wind up half dead
Just singing the Blues

You got to dance with who brung you
Swing with who swung you
Life ain't no forty-yard dash
Be in it for the long run
In the long run you'll have more fun
If you dance with who brung you to the bash (yeah)

Dance with who brung you to the bash (yeah)

Who wants to be 18? Not me.

I haven't heard anyone at The Estates (formerly the Forum) say this--"I wish I were 18 again." But I've enjoyed listening to some of the men (widowers, usually) talk about their kids when they were little--how cute they were, lessons they learned, crazy risks they took. I think I've seen men in a whole new light. If you're young, don't miss that part. https://youtu.be/81FjrGwkhi0?si=DR9jjtonqwH4ULmn Burns was about 85 when this was made.

First Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 40, Pastor Joe Valentino

 https://youtu.be/Tm6lUWcSVkY?si=2U7b39QEumfP95xE