Training & Nutrition - Porridge

Is porridge a good think to eat for breakfast a couple of hours before a long ride? Seems to make sense to me, fair bit of protein and loads of low sugar carbs, what does everyone reckon?

A quality and slow burning carb like oatmeal is an excellent way to go. I prefer dry cereal and add lot's of fruit like blueberries (frozen). Quality fruit, particularly the dark purple ones and strawberries are not only quality carbs, but high in the antioxidants that are good for post-ride body repair.

Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness is an excellent source of info on how to eat well for athletes.

Al

Not so sure the carbs are slow, but it's good food! Should be excellent for "carb loading" before a long ride.

I think that j.foster is absolutely right. Porridge (we call it "oatmeal" here) is almost an ideal breakfast for cycling. I eat it every morning and I ride for hours.

I make the "heart healthy" portion size (3/4 cup dry oatmeal). I use either old-fashioned or quick cooking rolled oats. I add 1/2 cup raisins, 1 banana, brown sugar, peanut butter or chopped walnuts, and salt with 1 1/2 cups of water. I microwave it all in a large bowl for 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I like it with a little milk on it to cool it down a bit.

I think this one-dish meal comes out to 600 to 800 calories, which is a good breakfast for an active person. You will probably ride better if you consume at least 25 % of your daily calories at breakfast time. Porridge in particular "sticks to the ribs," as my mother always said.

oatmeal / porridge is my favorite energy meal. I have it sometimes the night before a long ride or run.

I use McCann's steel cut (slow cooking), add raisins and other dried fruit (figs, dates, whatever I have), add cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg. Sometimes I also add a grated apple during the last few minutes of cooking . . . and add ground flaxseeds right before eating. Sometimes I add a banana.

I usually put maple syrup on it or brown sugar.

When I eat it the morning of my ride, I like to have 1/2 of it before the ride, and 1/2 right after (before the shower).

Sandy

Yum!

I'm especially fond of it because it takes no especial effort to eat. I'm not a good morning person and don't particularly like to eat first thing in the day, but if I don't, I'll completely crash at work at about 9:30 a.m., so eat I must.

I usually throw in a handful of raisins or trail mix to make it more interesting. And a teaspoon full of brown sugar or honey, because I like the flavor.

And it's a great comfort food in cold weather. Warms you up, gives you energy, keeps you full . . . a perfect food.

Plus it lowers cholesterol. 3 months after eating it every day, my cholesterol went from 190 to 140 and eating oatmeal every day is the only change I made.

I'm going to go make some now.

Sandy

i love oatmeal... funny though, I never liked oatmeal cookies. But oatmeal is great- 2 minutes in the microwave, it's ideal.

Love old fashioned oatmeal. Cooked with skim milk and a little salt and cinamon. It has never let me down on a ride. I just hate to clean the pot after cooking.

I don't see how ya'll can eat oatmeal before a ride. Doesn't it sit in your stomach like lead?

I don't see how ya'll can eat oatmeal before a ride. Doesn't it sit in your stomach like lead?

Maybe your making yours to thick???????

Traditions:
Porridge used to be served with separate bowls of double cream. A spoonful of porridge (in a horn spoon) was dipped into a communal bowl of cream before eating.
Porridge is eaten standing up. While some people have suggested that this is out of respect for the noble dish, it probably arose from busy farmers doing other things while eating their morning porridge - or as an aid to digestion.
While some people frown at the idea of sugar on porridge others not only approve but suggest a tot of whisky. Each to their own!
Porridge used to be poured into a "porridge drawer" and once it had cooled, it could be cut up into slices. These were easier to carry than brittle oatcakes.

If in doubt as Goldilocks :D

It's a meal I really enjoy when I am able. Pots to clean and time to cook, etc argues for cold cereal though during the work week. Now that cold cereals are nearly all whole grain, I really prefer the convenience of them.

It's a meal I really enjoy when I am able. Pots to clean and time to cook, etc argues for cold cereal though during the work week. Now that cold cereals are nearly all whole grain, I really prefer the convenience of them.You don't have a microwave? The stuff cooks in a couple minutes, right in the bowl, and then the bowl is no harder to clean than a cereal bowl.

I like it because it only has one ingredient: "Oats". Anything you add, you know what it is. Do you really know what the stuff is in your cold cereal? Also, I enjoy partaking of the tradition. Like pasta and bananas, oatmeal is a real cycling food.

Porridge...where are we? 18th century London? Sir may I have another?

How about my favourite then - gruel? :)
Now, the word will probably have different meanings to different people, but the kind I'm eating is probably a bit like baby formula for adults... :)
Since I don't drink coffee or tea (my body doesn't react well to caffeine), I have long searched for a hot drink to warm me up on a cold morning, and gruel did the trick.

As an added bonus, it's quite nutritious:
(g/100 g)
protein 3
carbs 8
fat 1.5

Most of the carbs are lactose and maltose.

He maybe Australian, it's called that over here :thumb:

Here in the U.S. after Thanksgiving Day, the leftover bones are thrown in with Rice Porridge for mostly Chinese American families. If you're in a large city with a Chinatown, or a Little Saigon, go to the local Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant and it will be listed as Congee, or Porridge, or Jook.

Home made rice porridge has soy bean sheets, ****ake mushrooms, dried oyster, dried scalops, thousand year old eggs, raw fish that's cooked in the hot porridge, etc. Really nutritious, and maybe kind of fat depending on the turkey. Some use pork neck bones.

He maybe Australian, it's called that over here :thumb:

True. Oats made into porridge.

However, in the UK, porridge also has connotations to jail.

I have been eating porridge/oats for years. I have tried various other off-the-shelf breakfast cereals, but they don't provide the long-term energy requirements either for my work or riding.

I do suffer a little from indigestion when setting out on rides if I have eaten only just beforehand.

If I am making it for just myself, and I use a pot on the stove, I just add the milk and sugar and eat it from the pot. Saves on washing up a bowl and the pot is easy to clean under running water with a dish brush.

Why cook oatmeal? Just add cold water and maybe a few raisins. (From Wikipedia: Muesli ['mju:zli] is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts.) I've been eating uncooked oatmeal with cold water added for over 20 years.

Because... you know... like... I prefer it cooked.

Because... you know... like... I prefer it cooked.

+1.

BTW, rolled oats have already been cooked, so if you don't cook them, it doesn't mean you are eating them raw.

I find highly processed oats, like rolled oats just make me more hungry. I prefer steel cut oats and I don't get even hungrier after eating them.

Scottish Oatmeal w/raisins walnuts ricemilk. 1/3 cup oats 1 cup water 4min microwave.

Home made rice porridge has soy bean sheets, ****ake mushrooms, dried oyster, dried scalops, thousand year old eggs, raw fish that's cooked in the hot porridge, etc.

Oh, for chrisake, do we really need automated censoring that prevents people from talking about s-h-i-t-a-k-e mushrooms???

Yeah, I was a bit surprised by what they did with the mushrooms. Wait till they find out about Mr. Yama****a.

Oh, for chrisake, do we really need automated censoring that prevents people from talking about s-h-i-t-a-k-e mushrooms???

Do you you think we really care about mushrooms? Of course not. The filter cannot tell the difference. If it was possible for us to modify the system so that it recognized when a "bad" word was used in a ok way then we would. Until then it is what it is. Sorry that it bothered you to the point that you felt the need to ***** about it......

Do you you think we really care about mushrooms? Of course not. The filter cannot tell the difference. If it was possible for us to modify the system so that it recognized when a "bad" word was used in a ok way then we would. Until then it is what it is. Sorry that it bothered you to the point that you felt the need to ***** about it......

It was clear from my posting that I understood it was automated.
The question is *why* censoring needs to be done at all.
I participate in other forums for other sports that have no such censoring, and fail to see the need for it.

The question is *why* censoring needs to be done at all.
I participate in other forums for other sports that have no such censoring, and fail to see the need for it.

With almost 140,000 members of all ages it is a necessity. If we allowed the use of curse words many users would be blocked by firewalls while at work from accessing the forums. On top of that we do want this place to be family friendly. Why would a bike forum need to allow curse words anyway?
I do not want to derail this thread any farther. Ill be more than happy to discuss it via PM with ya.

If you have never tried savory oatmeal, give it a shot. Even healthier than the sweet oats.

1/3 cup to 1/2 cup dry steel cut oats per serving
1 part above oats to 3 parts skim milk or water (soaked overnight in pan)
1 t granulated onion
pinch granulated garlic or 1 clove slivered garlic
1/4 t coriander seed
pinch dried rosemary or small sprig fresh rosemary
pinch celery seed
cardamom seeds (about 6-7 per serving)
fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
1/2 t aleppo pepper (goes really well with fruit)
small handful of dried fruit
1 t butter
Optional: grated cheese, ground flax seed, poached egg

Soak oats and liquid overnight in the pot you will use to cook it. A heavier bottomed pan will be easier to clean. In the morning bring this to a boil and then quickly reduce heat to very low. Add dried fruit. I like dried blueberries and sour cherries, but anything will work. Don't walk away while the heat is on high or it will boil over and you'll be sorry.

Lightly toast the spices in a dry pan for about 60 seconds on medium heat until the spices become fragrant. Remove immediately from the pan and grind in spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Add spices and sliver of butter to the pan. Continue cooking on low for about 20 minutes adding additional liquid when it gets thick enough to glom together. (Buttermilk is another option for additional liquid.) It is done when it has the consistency you like. Add optional cheese and ground flax seeds at the end. Poached egg on top is another high protein option.