(Ailsa's Apple Crumble Diet)

I'm Scottish, so it's not a big stretch that I love Oatmeal, like any Good Scot! We grow up eating tons and tons of Porridge, and then anything else with lots of Oatmeal in it. Oatmeal is like Soul Food for the Scots! After my Second Child (Aidan) was about Two, and I still hadn't lost that 'Baby Weight' -- not all of it, since there was a fair bit to lose... Anyway, I knew I had to come up with something that was tasty enough to make me want to eat it, and good enough to replace my delicious Chocolates. And it had to be something I could make quickly and easily, and that I could just incorporate into my regular daily diet. That's when I came up with 'The Scottish Diet', with the Apple Crumble for One Recipe.

And in case you're wondering, 'The Scottish Diet' is not "Eat Sweeties all day, then have Fish & Chips for Dinner" ... although that does sound good! ha,ha! No, no. It's all about the Oatmeal for this Diet. Oatmeal is a food that 'stays' in your system ("sticks to yer ribs", as they say in Scotland...), so it's a great thing to add to your Daily Diet to help you feel satisfied and full and at the same time control your hunger for a few hours. It's very filling, as well as being nice and tasty. Oatmeal is a Natural Whole Grain Product, so it digests slowly, which is good for maintaining your Blood Sugars (important for Diabetics or when you need to control your Food Intake and Cravings...).

Oatmeal helps with Lowering your Cholesterol and, of course, it's good for 'moving things through' your system. Sorry -- had to say it! Actually, if you or someone you know has IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), tell them about this Apple Crumble for One so they can give it a try. And the Bran & Barley in this Recipe are great for that, too. There have been some Studies to indicate that Cinnamon may help with Diabetes, so if you are dealing with that, add an extra Tablespoon or Two of Cinnamon in your Oatmeal Mix, or sprinkle it on each bowl of Apple Crumble.

There's a Full Serving of Fruit in each Bowl of the Apple Crumble for One, so that's very good for your overall health. It's nice and sweet, and you can change the Flavor of the Crumble Dish by adding different types of Fruit, and occasionally sprinkling some Chopped Nuts on top of the Crumble. Chopped Pecans with the Apple Crumble is very, very tasty.

Quick word about the word 'Diet'. Not a big fan of that word, except in the sense of 'what you might eat each day' in a nice, normal kind of way. I'm no' one for denying myself, if you know what I mean! ha,ha,ha! My take on depriving yourself is that it is a surefire way to prevent weight-loss, since then you're mad that you can't have what you really want (and feel you clearly deserve...!). I think you can still have a treat -- just keep it in moderation, and have your wee treat in the early part of the day. Maybe for a mid-morning snack, or in the middle of the afternoon. It's the Bedtime Cheesecake you want to avoid... If you eat the treats during your busy part of the day, you'll have 'used up' your treat by the time you go to bed.

Anyway, make up a giant batch of the Apple Crumble Oatmeal Mix, keep it in the Fridge with a jar of Apple Sauce, and have it at least once a day. More often if you are wanting to lose a fair bit of weight. I lost well over 30 pounds on this 'Scottish Diet', but some of it snuck back on, so now I'm back at it. Good thing I love it so very much!

If you want to lose 20 pounds or more, have the Apple Crumble for One for Breakfast, Snacks, and Lunch. When you get down to the last Ten Pounds, or to maintain your New Weight, have the Apple Crumble once or twice a day to keep things nice and stable. (And I feel like 'the last ten pounds' are your own personal decision about how much you think you should weigh, or how you want to look -- not some stooopid number in a book... you know when you look and feel good, so go with your 'gut instinct', so-to-speak, on that one!)

Pop into my Fitness Page to see some easy and very effective exercises you can do at home so you can start to Build Muscle, which is one of the other Big Keys to slimming down and staying in Shape. Remember never to 'Drink your Calories' -- try to drink Water, Tea -- anything that has no Sugar in it. I'm a 'Tea Jenny' (Scottish for someone who drinks a lot of Tea!), and I realized that I was adding a fair bit of extra Fat to my Daily Diet just from the milk in my Tea, so I switched over to Skim Milk Powder, which I love.

Oh, and here's my last wee Diet Tip: Eat what you Love. If you aren't enjoying the food tremendously, skip it. Enjoy every bite, or forget it. And Chew Slowly -- the wolf-like eating canny be good for you! ha,ha,ha! Plus, that's never good to look 'beastly' when you're eating, right? So take wee bites, chew well, and eat yer Oatmeal! Soon you'll be even more beautiful than you were before, if that's possible ... Oh, to be Gorgeous!!

Apple Crumble for One

Crumble Mix:

4 Cups of Oatmeal (Quick-cooking Rolled Oats)

1 Cup Flour (Regular, Barley or Whole Wheat... I use the Barley Flour all the time, now.)

1 Cup Bran Flakes

1/2 - 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar (Start with 3/4 cup of Brown Sugar, and gradually use less...)

1 - 2 tbsp. Cinnamon

3/4 to 1 Cup Butter, melted or soft (I always pop it into the microwave for about 30 seconds to melt it.)

2 tsp. Vanilla

Fruit Base:

Apple Sauce Just keep a jar of Unsweetened Apple Sauce in the Fridge -- the 'Fruit Base' goes in a regular Bowl right before you add the Crumble Topping, don't add it into the Apple Crumble Mix(!)...

Optional: You can add any other fruit -- peaches, stawberries, blueberries, raspberries or any other Fruit Mix are delicious. This Dish uses a Full Serving of Fruit, so it's very good for you, too!

I like to put some chopped Pecans or Walnuts sprinkled on the Apple Crumble, and that's really tasty.

You can mix 'n match so you always have 'new' treats!

Directions for the Crumble Mix:

Blend the Dry Ingredients, then mix in the Butter and Vanilla... I use a Pastry Cutter to mix up a big batch of the Crumble Mixture, but you can use a Spoon and Fork just as well.

Put it in an Air-Tight Container or a Large 'Zip-up' Freezer Bag and pop it in the Fridge.

I put in a 1/4 or 1/2 cup measuring cup -- those plastic ones -- right in the container so I can easily measure out a 1/4 cup for a small serving of the Apple Crumble Treat, or 1/2 cup of the Crumble mix if it's for your Breakfast or Lunch.

(Add a wee bit more Cinnamon if you are dealing with Diabetes, since there have been some studies to indicate that Cinnamon may help in managing your Blood Sugars.)

How to Make Apple Crumble for One :

Pour about a 1/2 Cup of Applesauce into a Bowl (or Peel and Cut 1 Apple into little pieces and put on a plate)

Sprinkle 1/2 a Cup of the Oatmeal Topping over the Fruit.

Pop it in the Microwave for 1 Minute on High

The Cut Fruit will probably require between 2-5 minutes, depending on how soft the apple is, so the Apple Sauce is much faster and easier.

Voila! You're done and now you have Apple Crumble for One! Good luck with the 'One' bit, though, since it often seems that someone comes into the kitchen just as this comes out of the Microwave who 'just wants a wee bite', then they take at least half of it! ha,ha,ha! But at least they're all eating something tasty and healthy! Now, that's a real treat!

I developed this Recipe to help me to lose some weight -- about 30 pounds! No kidding! Check out my Apple Crumble Diet Page if you want to find out how you can lose weight with Apple Crumble, too! It really works!

Another name I considered for this Scottish Diet -- "The Chin-Be-Gone Diet"... do you like that?? How about, "Oh, Hey! There's my feet!"... you'll only get that if you've been through the stage where you look down and really can't see yer feet, then one miraculous day, there they are -- in plain site! And, oh, that's a joyous day, ain't it?? ha,ha!

One More Thing (fer sures, this time!): I've heard a lot about psyllium lately. I hear it's fantastic for weight loss, so that's enough for me to run out and buy two boxes of whatever I can find that might mention 'psyllium' on the Label... Anyway, I found All Bran Cereal with Psyllium at Walmart, and now my favorite breakfast is Special K sprinkled with the All Bran with Psyllium, topped with a lot of Blueberries. Yum! It's sooo crunchy and delicious... really!

And then I've started to occasionally sprinkle the All Bran Cereal (with Psyllium, of course!), onto the Apple Crumble for One, after it's been in the microwave, so the 'Bran Buds' (oooh, that sounds tasty, don't it? Bran Buds??) don't get mushy. Gives the Apple Crumble, which I love, a little crunchy texture.

Dwight Tidbit: One morning I was having this for breakfast, when I said to Dwight that I couldn't see the Psyllium listed as an ingredient when it was written right across the Cereal Box.... well, Dwight looks at me like I'm an idiot and says in a not-very-nice voice, "Psyllium is part of the Bran, Ailsa..." Hmmm. So I says to him, "Mystery Man, don't talk to me like I'm the moron...". I said it mostly to amuse myself, but now you can see how lovely it is around here in the mornings! ha,ha,ha!

Oh, and if you're wondering how I got from 'Dwight' to 'Mystery Man', it's very clear in my own head -- Mister to Mystery plus man.. Mystery Man... seems about right, since there's more than one mystery around here!

Ailsa Forshaw is a Writer currently stuck in Alberta, Canada, but with great aspirations of 'living somewhere warm'-- and Publishing many items! Ailsa's website, http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca (http://www.theScottishDiet.com), came after years of Teaching, Building & Writing. She has Two lovely children, 17 & 5 (very careful planning), and is still married...with one gorgeous wee dog. http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca