I love oatmeal, but have taken it off my menu while losing weight because the only way I love it is with a ton of sugar and whole milk--not exactly a great use of my calories. To me, oatmeal without piles of sugar is just gruel and makes me feel like a sad Dickensian orphan.
So I was searching for another fairly quick, but warm and satisfying breakfast to enjoy while it's cold outside and I remembered what my mom always fed me before school during the winter: grits.
Turns out, yellow corn grits have only 140 calories per cup when cooked in water the standard way. It doesn't have the fiber that oatmeal packs, but neither does it have oatmeal's calories. Grits have iron and a little protein and a nice helping of folate. Plus, grits aren't eaten sweet, so I have none of that "where's all the sugar?" deprived feeling that oatmeal gives me.
I was so happy to discover a "new" breakfast food (even though it's one I've been eating since I was a toddler) that I had to come here and share it.
Fellow southerners probably know how good grits are, but anyone who hasn't yet tried them might really enjoy them too. They're carb-rich so they won't really work for low-carb plans, but for those of us who count calories, they could be a real boon. SO glad I remembered grits exist.
ah grits, the part of special occasion breakfasts that my sister and I always skip, though out parent love them
I have to admit though, I was hoping to give them another try this winter, but not the instant type that my mom tends to short cut with. I like cornbread and I like polenta, so there really isn't a reason that I shouldn't like grits
Oh, if you want to up the protein for your grits, my mom always mixes hers with scrambled eggs and just a little cheese.
To me, oatmeal without piles of sugar is just gruel and makes me feel like a sad Dickensian orphan.
Ha!!! Thank you for my biggest laugh of the day!
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Originally Posted by Nola Celeste
Turns out, yellow corn grits have only 140 calories per cup when cooked in water the standard way.
I would I never have guessed that! Of course, my favorite way to eat grits is with a big ol' pat of butter, but maybe I'll try them plain and see what that's like. If anyhing, they might be a nice addition to my (higher-calorie) Saturday morning brunches.
I like cream of wheat. I make it with 1/2 milk, 1/2 water. Sometimes I put a little bit of butter and brown sugar or cinnamon & raisins. A drizzle of maple syrup may work also or dried cranberries
mmmmmm....grits! I miss them. Unfortunately, I can't seem to eat them without a couple slices of cheese, sausage (turkey is ok), salt & pepper. Hmmmmm...may have to do calorie count?
That's my "treat" breakfast that brings me back to my happy childhood days!
Oooh..love me some grits..and I still do indulge from time to time..I always eat them with a good protein (egg or turkey sausage) because grits are VERY high on the GI scale..if I was to eat them alone I would definitely be poking around for something else to eat in an hour or so
I love grits, but I love them with sugar and milk lol darn it...
You and my husband both! He's lived here in New Orleans all his life and I was shocked to hear that he always ate sweet grits as a kid. When I found this out, I was like, "Who is this man I married!?"
He learned to like salty grits, though, when I showed him some recipes for grits and grillades and he tried them that way. Hmm...I wonder if I can make a light take on that? Going to have to give it a go, I think!
GRITS!!! I love them. I grew up and was born in Atlanta, Georgia. My Mom was Southern and my Dad is Mexican American. So we used to combine those two things in our food-- for instance, you put the grits in a tortilla and eat it that way. People think I'm nuts, but it is good. I'd love to do it in a wheat tortilla with an egg.
I grew up eating grits, but my dad (Italian) called them polenta. I like them with a fried egg, with red sauce and cheese, and plain. They are a favorite with me, too.
I love oatmeal, but have taken it off my menu while losing weight because the only way I love it is with a ton of sugar and whole milk--not exactly a great use of my calories. To me, oatmeal without piles of sugar is just gruel and makes me feel like a sad Dickensian orphan.
Northerner here, speaking up on behalf of unfairly maligned oatmeal.
Put less liquid in it, use rolled oats that keep their texture better when wet, and then it's more like oatmeal cookie dough. (And don't tell me you don't like cookie dough. I will not believe you.)
I use Torani or DaVinci sugarfree syrup in mine, plus two tablespoons of plain peanut butter, & sometimes a couple of raisins, maybe even some cinnamon. Or I mash a ripe banana in it along with with the peanut butter.
Then I don't need to eat for another four hours, practically, as that stuff stays in my gut for a while, working its anti-cholesterol magic, or whatever it does.
I know grits as polenta. I buy it in preformed logs (like cookie dough; see previous cite) & cut it in circles & make a kind of lasagna out of it, along with roasted eggplant cut in similarly-sized circles, lowfat ricotta and my own sauce, with some aged Parmesan on the top.
To me, oatmeal without piles of sugar is just gruel and makes me feel like a sad Dickensian orphan.
LMAO. When I read this all I could picture in my head was a little kid looking at the Quaker man and saying: "Less please."
I am a Northern girl but have had grits in the Southern style and cooked as polenta because of my Italian mom. It's so good, and I didn't know it wasn't so calorie packed when cooked without all the extras.
I too am not an oatmeal fan unless its sugary and bad for me as well. But Jenny Craig, which I am on, paired it with an maple seasoning that I actually like. Perhaps you could try "baking" an apple in the microwave with cinnamon, a little maple syrup and some diet soda then stir the pieces up in the oatmeal. The apple chucks will be sweet and it will keep it from tasting bland. If wanna give the oats second chance.
Grits, y'all!
To me, oatmeal without piles of sugar is just gruel and makes me feel like a sad Dickensian orphan. 
I miss them. Unfortunately, I can't seem to eat them without a couple slices of cheese, sausage (turkey is ok), salt & pepper. Hmmmmm...may have to do calorie count?
