Back from my date with 'Mixed Oat Congee'

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I haven't been in the 'blogging world' in quite a long time. My excuse is not from lack of subjects to blog about-yes, I must admit it was just flat out laziness on my part.
Blogging takes a lot of dedication, especially when you don't really have a following, and the only person pushing you to blog is yourself. I mean, aren't blogs supposed to be an interactive space age kind of journal? One where readers can comment and leave a string of insults on your page, or lovely words of praise and virtual pats on the back?
Ok...So this blog really does have no incentive. No reason to be here, taking up precious space on the net...it just is.

So here it goes, starting up another post...

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Being on the run and constantly in a rush, I find it hard to eat healthy...Or eat meals...Or sometimes just find time to put food in my mouth and chew. Today I risked being a few minutes late for a meeting by popping into my local Asian grocery store.
I always love browsing their aisles, and I almost always just browse (because I have no idea what half of that stuff is on the shelves, nor do I know how to cook it or how it is to be eaten.) What I do know is it smells wonderful in there. The packaging on products are so colorful and unusual that I could spend a much longer time browsing than I intend.

Today I headed to look at the canned drinks, thinking of going for either mango or lychee juice. I came across a can of 'Mixed Oat Congee'. It looked interesting enough, and was super cheap. It appeared to be something that would either make you backwash it back into the container in discust or savore it to the point of dangerously licking the tin lid. I took the chance.

"Congee" is basically rice cooked in plenty of water, very similar to the Western rice pudding. Supposedly there is a bit of a legend behind it.
From what I've heard, the Emperor of the Qing dynasty ordered congee to be made when famine broke out. Cheeky folk would skimp out on the rice and hand out watery versions of each meal. When the Emperor heard this, he commanded that the porridge must be made thick enough that when one would stick chopsticks in the bowl, they would stay upright, and anyone who didn't follow these guidelines would have their heads chopped off. Now, I don't know if this story is true, but sure makes the food taste even better.
(I'm assuming this writing^ says that the can contains congee over and over.)

The main ingredients of the 'Mixed Oat Congee' I had today were water and sugar. No wonder it was so tasty. I enjoyed it so much, I didn't think to take photos until I'd finished off the can. It also contained oatmeal beans, oatmeal, lotus seeds, pearl barley, yams, red beans, rice and millet. It sounds like a very weird mix of flavors, but it was lovely. It was filling and savory, and only about 200 calories for the serving-(with 0 grams of fat.) The meal's only downfall is that it has a ridiculous amount of carbs and sugar. But I definitely got an energy surge and a full belly for a small price.

I also loved the little fold out plastic spoon that came consealed in the lid. >
This is now one of my new favorite snacks, all because I took a chance on something that looked like it could be thrown into the trash after one taste.

I promise to only have my congee occasionally though, for I fear my thighs will begin to have the same consistency as this treat. (o^.^o)