Friday Recipe: Not your ordinary Oatmeal
Editor’s note: This post is this week’s Friday Fit recipe. The idea is to try “real food” recipes that can be prepared on the weekend. If you enjoy this article, please consider subscribing to my feed. Thanks.
In honor of a comment by Nico over at ProHealthBlog on my article about the terrifying truth of breakfast cereal (that’s a joke, by the way), this week’s recipe is a very simple variation on a traditional favorite - oatmeal. (You can blame my sense of humor on the jokes that I read on the back of the cereal box.)
All kidding aside, for a great article on the value of oatmeal in your diet, check out ProHealthBlog’s article on oatmeal, Oatmeal is healthy, delicious and can help fat loss.
As I’ve mentioned before, since I’ve begun to eat real food rather than the packaged faux alternatives, I’m creating a meaningful relationship with food now, versus the dysfunctional love/hate/hate-myself-for-loving-it relationship that I used to have. And believe it or not, homemade oatmeal is the perfect example of that change.
To give you some context, here is a description of my “old” breakfast ways:
As a commuter in L.A. at the time (2 hours each way to go 18 miles, thank you), my drive started by reaching out of my car window for a slab of questionable greasy sausage product (in which numerous times I bit down painfully on chunks of bone) with a slice or two of processed cheese, enveloped in a low quality buttered English muffin (hold the egg - just to prevent my heart from seizing up all in one morning’s session of stop-and-go traffic), wrapped in yellowish paper, stuck in a microwave, and then dropped in a paper bag (two of those sandwiches if you please my fast food friend), accompanied by a monolithic deep-fried hashbrown (or two) and a 44 oz. cup of Coke with a peel-off ticket for Marvin Gardens stuck to the side. (You know, for as many times as I played that McDonald’s Monopoly game, all I ever got was yet another sandwich. Great.).
Top that off with a Starbucks Venti Mocha when I got to work, and you can imagine how well my rear end was fitting in my ever-shrinking office chair.
Incidentally, I used one sentence to describe that “meal” for a reason: How it is written is how it felt to eat it. In a big hurry, kind of discombobulated, knowing that its all wrong, but finding it somehow comforting to throw the rules out the window and do what I want. Besides, frankly, I like run-on sentences. And sausage. And apparently, together.
When it came to oatmeal, my choices weren’t much better. I used to accept the glue-like powder in a coated paper pouch (nestled in an instant Quaker Oats box) that, when mixed with water and stuck in a microwave for 2 minutes, can be scraped from the top of the microwave back into the bowl and called a close approximation of oatmeal. It is kind of like mixing Elmer’s Glue with bits of cardboard. Although I will admit, with enough salt, sugar, butter and milk, it can be made to be somewhat tasty.
Of course, the same could be said about my running shoes where butter and sugar are concerned.
Friday Fit Recipe #4: Not Your Ordinary Oatmeal
This recipe is not all that uncommon, but it is easy to want to skimp on the things that make it so good - the toppings. Don’t skimp. Whole grain old fashioned oats are key - definitely avoid “quick” oats. April actually uses a good organic multigrain that includes barley, wheat, oats and rye.
Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 cup of oats
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. golden raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. brown sugar, packed and divided
2 tsp. sliced or slivered almonds, divided
1 tsp. butter, divided
1/4 c. whole milk, divided
Serves: 2
Preparation
Bring the water and salt to a boil. Stir in the oats, raisins and vanilla. Simmer over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. For creamier cereal, combine the oats, water and salt and bring to boil together.
Serve immediately.
To Serve
Divide the cereal into two bowls, top each bowl with 1/2 tsp. butter, 1 tsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. almonds, and 1/8 c. whole milk. Eat it hot!
Options
The options for this recipe are in what you put on top. There are many seasonal variations like fresh berries, sweet apples, and chopped apricots. As for eating this when many fruits are out of season such as cold winter mornings, dried blueberries are a favorite variation.
For a decadent twist, add a dab of crème fraîche and a drizzle of real maple syrup.
Tips
You’ll notice that as usual, I’m not suggesting low-fat alternatives here. There are some obvious candidates that could be substituted, but I recommend against it. The reason this oatmeal is so good in my opinion is because it feels like dessert for breakfast, but with a lot of fiber. Not to mention, the fat that is in this will help to satiate you with less, carry you through to your next meal, and is good for you as part of a whole food, which are all keys to enjoying real food in moderation.
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Related posts:
healthranker.com Says: 21.03.08 at 9:39 pm
Friday Recipe: Not your ordinary Oatmeal | AlmostFit.com…
When it came to oatmeal, I used to accept the glue-like powder in a coated paper pouch (nestled in a box) that, when mixed with water and stuck in a microwave for 2 minutes, can be scraped from the top of the microwave back into the bowl and called a c…
Tip: Cook a larger quantity of the oatmeal on the weekend….refrigerate it without the toppings and revitalize it in the microwave for breakfast the next day, too!
Lovely introduction to your recipe I must say :o)
I will try this recipe on sunday, though I will leave the salt out. I’m not very much a salty guy.
Also, thanks again for the links !
This sounds delicious, although one cup of oatmeal seems like an awful lot. I usually only have half of cup of it, and it more than satisfies me. I guess it depends on how big your appetite is in the morning.
@River: Its funny - we actually do this (should have mentioned that) — its a great idea, and works well. It’s a good breakfast to make on a sunday and then have for monday, which is typically (for me, at least) not my easiest day to wake up early enough to make a smart breakfast. Thanks for the tip!
@Bella: You are absolutely right on this one, and I didn’t even think about it until you said it. Lately (in the last couple of months), for me about 1/2-3/4 cup is just fine for me, particularly with a cup of coffee and some fresh fruit on the side. And it kind of ties in with River’s comment in that we often have leftovers that work well the next morning.
Love your recipes! Can’t wait to try a few…I am not an oatmeal fan, although I try to think of ways to make myself one other than oatmeal cookies and granola with oatmeal but this definately sounds good. I am also going to try the stuffed mushrooms which sound yummy. I’ll let you know what I think!
Give steel cut oats a try sometime… even better taste and texture! They do take a little longer to cook, but it’s worth it! Or, you can start them the night before, and just warm them in the morning if you need a quick solution.
All kinds of dried fruits can be good in oatmeal, though some may need to be chopped first… I sometimes add Goji Berries for an extra anti-oxidant boost and another fun alternative is frozen blueberries, raspberries or blackberries (unsweetened) or banana slices. Just mix them in towards the end, they defrost just fine! Walnut pieces also make a good addition… and if one is looking to add protein, add a little good quality whey or whey/casein to the milk. Canned pumpkin is surprisingly good in oatmeal with almonds as well!
And don’t forget the cinnamon!
There’s definitely a difference in serving size between the rolled oats and steel cut… I use the recommended quarter cup serving of steel cut (to one cup water) and that is very filling! But I just looked at my container of rolled oats, which I use less often, and a serving is a half cup dry.
On the plus side… I never did fast food breakfasts much and never, ever did instant oatmeals. I rather hated the stuff until I found the steel cut oats. Now I’ve learned to tolerate the rolled oats in a pinch.
@Susan: Thanks for the kind words - It’s funny when it comes to these recipes - I’m essentially raiding my wife’s recipe book (which is part written and part virtual storage in her brain). We have been eating them for a quite a while now and enjoy them. Definitely give them a try and let me know how it goes!
@Cynthia: Such great suggestions. Goji berries are one of those foods that I haven’t gotten into yet, but only because I always forget to buy them at the store. Definitely adding them to my shopping list. On the walnut pieces, we do that as well! And the pumpkin idea sounds really interesting too. I typically like my oatmeal now as less of a mash and more like whole oats with milk, but I will definitely give that a try.
And thanks too for the info on portion size for different types oatmeal. Good to know!
Id need a bigbig scoop of protein powder in there or Id CRASH had after from the carbs (complex or not :))
you?
@Mizfit: For me I’m not a huge fan of protein powder, though I have tried to like it
— it always tastes “chalky” to me, so I’ve kind of given up on it.
The trick for me is to a) not use much sugar, b) use whole milk so I get the benefit of the fat combining with the protein, and c) not overload myself on coffee. At the same time, I know exactly what you’re talking about here with the crash sensation. For some reason since I’ve cut back on all things (that is, cutting back on the processed stuff and bumping up eating more whole foods, in particular), I don’t seem to have this problem as much, but I really don’t know why. I think one other factor is I tend to eat this later in the morning, closer to lunch maybe?
This is actually somewhat of a mystery to me - how has changing my habits to eating only real food in moderation reduced this crashing effect? Is my blood sugar more in balance? Thoughts? In fact, I may swing this question over to IowaAvenue and ask our resident Dietician (which I recommend for anyone reading here, actually).
Thanks MizFit! You’ve really got the wheels cranking this morning in my brain!
Great post. I love your writing style!
We have oatmeal every other day. It’s good with frozen blueberries or raisins/cinnamon. One thing I like to add is freshly ground flax seed. I buy it whole from the health food store and then grind up a couple teaspoons or so in my coffee grinder as I need it. It’s a good source of fiber and omega 3 fatty acids and you can’t really even taste it! Butter is totally a vital addition to oatmeal! It actually helps you absorb the nutrients in the oatmeal! I add butter to just about everything I eat (especially veggies). Yay and yum!
Your recipe sounds great, but I’d still probably use some of the lower fat versions of food. I can’t remember the last time I bought whole milk. In fact, when I was growing up, my mother, who was on a very tight budget, used to give up milk made from powder, and I got used to the taste. So used to it in fact, that when I was 10 and in the hospital, they gave me whole milk, and I hated it. Oh, well, the lessons we learn early in life do stil with us………………….:)
I love the old-fashioned oats, but cook them in the microwave (too lazy for the stove thing, plus another dish to wash! I add dried or frozen fruits unless fresh fruit is in season. I do sometimes use brown sugar. I don’t follow the recipe and use a half cup, instead I cook 1/3 of a cup. (Just add two waters of whatever measure you use for the oats and the recipe will be right.) I like just a quarter cup or less of 1% or 2% milk on mine and I’m going to start adding a few dashes of cinammon. I like cinnamon but didn’t realize the health benefits, so going to add that every day, now. I also throw in some flax and ground flax seed. It’s yummy!
Real Food in Moderation: Weight loss results for month 3 | AlmostFit.com Says: 04.04.08 at 1:06 pm
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