Three Square Meals... in bowls.

It's been cold and rainy this week, which has been making me crave warm, comfort foods.  It was really cold this morning, so when I got home from the gym not only was I chilly, I was ravenous.  I made a delicious bowl of Apple Cranberry Oatmeal with a side of scrambled egg whites that really hit the spot and kept me full.  For lunch I went back to that fabulous Spinach Salad with balsamic chicken, almonds, cranberries and goat cheese, and for dinner I had the steak and potatoes dinner leftovers, and ended with a scrumptious bowl of Braised Red Cabbage. 

Last weekend we had lunch at Houston's, and on the side of my veggie burger patty (the best veggie burger anywhere) I ordered the seasonal vegetable- Braised Red Cabbage with crumbled goat cheese.  It was so delicious, so when the server cleared my plate I asked what the main ingredients were.  She said balsamic vinaigrette and brown sugar.  Perfect, I went to the web and found Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage at simplyrecipes.com which was very similar.  With a few tweaks it was more WW friendly.

Since I've already posted the salad recipe, here's my oatmeal and braised red cabbage recipes.

Apple Cranberry Oatmeal

1/4 cup dry oatmeal (Quaker quick-cooking 2 pts.)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chunky apple sauce (no sugar added, I like the Trader Joe's brand best 1 pt)
1 tbsp. dried cranberries (1/2 pt)
2 tbsp. sugar free maple syrup (Maple Farms, 1/2 pt)
few shakes of cinnamon

Put dried oatmeal and water in microwave safe bowl and cook accordingly.  Add in all other ingredients and stir- delicious!

Braised Red Cabbage

1 head of red cabbage, chopped
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
6 tbsp. brown sugar
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

In bottom of large pan place oil and butter, and turn heat to medium high.  When butter is melted, add cabbage and saute 5 minutes until it's slightly wilted.  Then add brown sugar, toss to coat, followed by balsamic vinegar.  Stir, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low, simmering for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from heat and enjoy.  I estimate 2 pts per 1/2 cup.  To make it out of this world, top with 1 tbsp of crumbled goat cheese.

Have a great weekend and look for my Oscar party post!