Fifty Plus (50+) - OATMEAL.....al a whatever...........

Since one thread asked about dinner foods and a friend suggested that I try oatmeal to help with cholesterol I thought I would ask this august assemblage
how they serve it up.

I won't say it will gag a maggot, but it is not on my list of favorite foods.

OK, water or milk, fresh fruit or not? Nuked or cold? What do you do to make it paletable?

Don't use the instant - too high a glycemic index! Use the slow cook stuff. I've heard that "steel cut" is the best. I just add some brown sugar when cooking then a little half and half and honey.
The fiber helps keep down the cholesterol. A heaping teaspoon of metamucil in 16 oz of water does wonders.

I used to eat oatmeal in the mornings. Even bought special organic oatmeal from the health food stores. But oatmeal has a lot of fiber and not much more. So try flaxseed because it has Omega 3 and oatmeal does not. Flaxseed has the fiber plus other stuff. So to me its better.

I grind the seeds in one of those small coffee grinders and put it in with my morning smoothie consisting of bananas, oranges, an antioxident like acai or pure pomegranate juice. So there's no cooking. Keep it simple.

Check this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=238744) out - I put up an oat pancake recipe (borrowed and modified from someone else) that's good. Was just thinking about trying it with peanut butter (halfway down) as a variation :D

I like the occasional bowl of oatmeal, I cook it in the microwave for one minute cooked in milk. Brown sugar, some raisins, and I'm good to go.

Steel cut oats with golden raisins and walnuts. Bananas or canned peach slices on top. First you brew the coffee, then drink the coffee while the oats cook. I like soy milk, my wife likes fat free milk.

This is how I do it.

Use the "Old Fashioned" type either Quaker, store brand or from the bulk food aisle. This recipe makes one large serving.

1. Boil one cup of water with 1/8 teaspoon of Mortons Lite salt.
2. Reduce heat to Medium low and add 3/4 cup of Oats, stir well.
3. Simmer until all water has been absorbed... about 3-5 minutes.
4. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of low fat margarine (Promise etc.) and 2 tablespoons real Maple Syrup.
5. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes
6. Serve with milk... I use Soy milk.

Sometimes I substitute 1 tablespoon honey or some raisins or 2 teaspoons of Molasses for the Maple Syrup.

Old Wessex Irish Style Oatmeal (5 min to cook - steel cut takes 30 min to cook!!!)
Tbsp Crushed Flax Seed
Tbsp Wheat Germ
Whole Honey (real maple syrup is good too)
Raspberries or Bananas

The "instant" oatmeal (Quaker, etc.) is just yuck. Flavored instant oatmeal is loaded with salt and sugar. Hotel oatmeal on business trips is overcooked, and tastes like wallpaper paste - I just eat eggs and bacon. I've never been a cold cereal fan.

I know what you mean about taste. Part is buying good quality oatmeal, part is getting away from taste of high fat, high salt foods. Also, you need a good pot to cook the oatmeal. Inexpensive "Revere Ware" type pots don't spread heat evenly, causing oatmeal to burn, stick, irritate you or your spouse when cleaning. Get a good All-Clad pot or equivalent.

Per RockHammer "First you brew the coffee, then drink the coffee while the oats cook." - that part is absolutely critical.

I put 1/2 cup of Quaker oatmeal in a big mug with 1 cup of water. Nuke it for 2 min 10 sec. Add about 1/4 cup half and half and eat it in the car on the way to work. It's simple and I've gotten to where I look forward to it and wouldn't think of doing without it.
I think its easy to overdo oatmeal. That's where it gets to be a chore to eat. Remember, moderation in everything - including oatmeal.

It's actually pretty good, and satisfies for a long time. But don't expect more than about a 10 point drop. More effect can be had by eating no red meat and no breads/potatoes/crackers.

Here's how you do it:

1 cup oatmeal
2 cups water
about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of
a- dried apricots
b- dried apples
c- any dried fruit, some like the papaya stuff
d- raisins
e- a sprinkling of cinnimon
f- maple syrup

I just put in cereal bowl and stick in microwave for 3.5 minutes and 1/2 power and it's perfect.

Regular quick oatmeal in a bowl
Pour in enough boiling water to just cover
Stir.
Mix in pinto or chili beans, 3 tablespoons
Go shower or read
Come back and it's cooked.

Lower cholesterol and lower blood sugar.

Make sure you chew the beans, though.

I like to use Quaker Old Fashion oatmeal. Cook it is a small pan: 1 cup of water, scant dash of salt, boil water and add about 2/3 to 3/4 cup of oatmeal (depending on how thick you like it), a level tablespoon of cinnamon, about 1/3 cup of raisins, reduce heat, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes.
Pour into bowl, add benacol and about 2 tablespoons of honey.

Hmm, hmm good, (and good for you) - - - can't wait till breakfast

Quick oats + a little sugar + walnuts + milk + water and either cinnamon or huckleberries. Nuke while coffee is brewing. Huckleberries are best, but you have to go out and pick them every year.

In a 1 gallon zip-lock bag I mix: 4 cups quick oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup wheat germ, 1/4 cup oat bran, and 1/2 cup shredded coconut. I then take out servings as needed, and add a few raisins to taste.

I also do the smoothie approach on weekends. In a typical smoothie I put: vanilla whey protein powder, non-fat milk or soy milk, 1 heaping tbs flax seed, a banana, 1/2 cup or so of brocolli, and ice. I have a vita-mix which blends it up nicely. I know, the brocolli sounds gross, but my kids sure like it (2 y.o and 4 y.o.).

Standard good ole Quaker Oats with a healthy dollop of sugar free maple syrup.

Every Tuesday and Thursday.

btw, instant oatmeal is not the same.

Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
Cooked in Skim Milk (not water - adds protein)
Sweeten with Splenda Brown Sugar
Cinnamon-to taste
Raisins-to taste
Add a dash of Real Vanilla Flavoring-to taste

Breakfast on many mornings!

My total cholesterol is 130 :D

Hot, spread about an inch thick on a plate with a layer of apple butter. Also need a cup of hot black coffe to go with it.

Scotts Porridge oats on a freezing cold morning and a full bowl 30 minutes before a ride and it gives an inner glow that lasts for about 10 minutes into the ride. By which time the Body temp has got up and the warm up is finished. Then think of all the energy it gives you with the Carbo- hydrates. Then it wears off and where's the real breakfast?

Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Glass of milk on the side. My favorite hot cereal is Quick Grits with peanut butter and honey, tho.

Old Fashioned oatmeal.

1. Place 1/2 cup oatmeal in a microwaveable cereal bowl.
2. Add 1 1/4 cups of water. Nuts if desired.
3. Microwave for 8 minutes at about 7-8 power on a scale of 10. You need to do two bowls of cereal or one bowl of plain water and one bowl of cereal, or it will boil over.
4. Remove, add fresh strawberries/fruit.
5. Add a bit of skim milk. Brown sugar if desired - although I use no sweetening, my wife uses artificial sweetener.

Enjoy.

A bowl of good old-fashioned oatmeal keeps me going for hours. I have it several times per week. But the instant stuff tastes awful to me.


http://abundant.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/050202d.jpg

I use instant (usually cinimon) mixed with water and nuked. Then I add blueberries and a touch of soy milk.

Folks, this is absolutely great. I had no idea that there were so many ways to enjoy oatmeal. I will start trying the various concoctions this weekend.

Who needs a food channel when we have this forum? A few more recipes and we can print our own cookbook.

Another angle too look at this issue. A car needs Gas (does not matter much which), a biker needs food (it should not matter so much which). Oatmeal is Carbs plus milk and sugar. Cold or warm does not matter as fuel for your engine. Fruit is more sugar which your body also needs.
I eat most of the time in restaurants. I have learned to ignore taste and just carb up.
Do not get me wrong, I love good food. I get that at home. On a bike tour or on a business trip, forget that. Eating healthy is all that matters and that is tough enough to do.

I love oatmeal too, especially McCann's steel-cut, but like some have already said, it takes 30 minutes to cook from scratch. There's a way around this though (just call me Heloise)- soak the oats overnight in cold water. They will be ready for the microwave in the AM- just 3-4 minutes (depending on your power), and they taste like slow-cooked.

OK- that's oatmeal. Now for something a little different. About two years ago I tried oat bran, and was immediately hooked. It's nuttier, with a texture like cream of wheat, but it has muc, much more soluble fiber than oatmeal. It's astoundingly wasy to prepare:
1/3 C oatbran
1 C skim milk (I prefer soy milk, but whatever...
Dash of salt
Nuke for 2 minutes
Mix with dried fruit (dried cranberries or blueberries are sensational), some crushed nuts (walnuts or almonds) and 2TBS of ground flaxseed (golden is milder if you don't like the stronger taste of the brown flax). I stay away from sugar, but add it if you like. You'd be surprised how sweet this concoction is, though!
Pour on a little more milk to taste and enjoy. All told, about 325cals and a great breakfast for those AM quarter centuries!

On a bike tour or on a business trip, forget that. Eating healthy is all that matters and that is tough enough to do.

Man, isn't that the truth! Too many meetings away from home where "breakfast" is pastries and *maybe* some fruit. Yuck.

3/4 cup Quaker 1 minute oatmeal 1 1/2 cups Silk brand very vanilla soy milk,3 tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseed,and a handfull of blueberries.Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.The soy milk is sweet enough you don't need a sweetener.If you don't have fresh blueberries blueberry pie on the side will substitute.

I don't like Oat Paste either. Instead, I just dump about 1/3 cup of oat bran into my morning cereal.

1/3 cup of oat bran contains nearly 50% more fiber than a serving of oatmeal. For cholesterol control, it's the fiber that counts.

My typical breakfast:

one small or medium grapefruit plus two other pieces of fruit (bananas, apples, seasonal plums, nectarines, etc.)
OR: one large grapefuit plus one other fruit

lentil sprouts and/or tofu

steel cut oats (blame my Scots DNA; I love the stuff), cooked with flax seed and topped with wheat germ

I use Wheat Montana oatmeal, cant stand the steel cut as its too "twiggy" for my taste. Boil in water for 5 min, add banana, apple or strawberries, sprinkle with cinnamon, and try to enjoy it. I am fairly neutral about the taste, but it does stick with my all morning. Great pre-ride fuel too.

OK, water or milk, fresh fruit or not? Nuked or cold? What do you do to make it paletable?

Palatable? Palatable? I consider it tasty.

I spent years in search of the good oatmeal. I hated the glop that passes for oatmeal with most people I wanted something lighter and flakier. So my final recipe is.

I get a saucepan, a wire strainer made of steel with a handle that just fits into the sauce pan, a dish, a 1 cup measure, and a spoon, raisins and Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal.

First I put the strainer in the saucepan and I take a handful of the raisins and spread them in a single layer on the bottom of the strainer. (If you have kids, you can arrange the raisins into smiley faces etc.)Then I pour out a cup of oatmeal into the measuring cup.

I want to keep the oatmeal dust from getting into the boiling water so starch won't become a problem. I move the strainer to the bowl and pour in the oatmeal on top of the raisins. I rinse out the measuring cup and fill it with one cup of water. I put the water in the saucepan and put the saucepan on the stove, cover it and turn the burner on high.

With the sauce pan heating, I put the bowl into the sink and fill it full of cool water. Then, taking the strainer and the spoon, I plunge the strainer into the water, and use the spoon to push all the oatmeal under the water. I pull the strainer up and let the water drain. When most of the water has drained, I lower the strainer back down to just above the bowl and pull it up quickly to get all the water out. I usually repeat that several times till the dripping stops. This removes the dust and makes sure that all the oatmeal is wet for best heat conduction.

Then I take the lid off the sauce pan, put the strainer into the sauce pan so it's supported by the rim of the saucepan above the water and put the cover back on. So all the oatmeal dust is now in the bowl. I pour out the water in the bowl, rinse it and have it and the spoon ready for use.

I let the water boil, until its almost completely boiled away. You can check by lifting the strainer handle and seeing how much water is left in the sauce pan. While this is going on, I usually make my lunch and pack it and eat a banana. It just takes a few minutes to cook.

When the water is almost gone, I remove the strainer and run the spoon around the edge of the oatmeal to free it. Then I turn the strainer over the bowl and the oatmeal falls out into the bowl with the raisins on top. I like it this way, the oatmeal is light and flaky and the raisins complement the oatmeal, but you can add whatever you want.:D As an added benefit, the steam has broken down the raisins enough that they don't cause any unpleasant noises later on.

Take the sauce pan and strainer, fill the saucepan with soapy water and put the strainer in and let them soak while you eat.

When you are done eating and ready to clean up. You can keep the strainer in the water, turn it 90 degrees so one edge is deep and one is out of the water and use a scrub pad to gently fan the oatmeal under water out of the strainer and to the bottom of the sauce pan. Then work around the strainer, fanning the oatmeal under water into the pan. Rinse off the strainer and then clean the sauce pan.

Palatable? Palatable? I consider it tasty.

I spent years in search of the good oatmeal. I hated the glop that passes for oatmeal with most people I wanted something lighter and flakier. So my final recipe is.

I get a saucepan, a wire strainer made of steel with a handle that just fits into the sauce pan, a dish, a 1 cup measure, and a spoon, raisins and Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal.

First I put the strainer in the saucepan and I take a handful of the raisins and spread them in a single layer on the bottom of the strainer. (If you have kids, you can arrange the raisins into smiley faces etc.)Then I pour out a cup of oatmeal into the measuring cup.

I want to keep the oatmeal dust from getting into the boiling water so starch won't become a problem. I move the strainer to the bowl and pour in the oatmeal on top of the raisins. I rinse out the measuring cup and fill it with one cup of water. I put the water in the saucepan and put the saucepan on the stove, cover it and turn the burner on high.

With the sauce pan heating, I put the bowl into the sink and fill it full of cool water. Then, taking the strainer and the spoon, I plunge the strainer into the water, and use the spoon to push all the oatmeal under the water. I pull the strainer up and let the water drain. When most of the water has drained, I lower the strainer back down to just above the bowl and pull it up quickly to get all the water out. I usually repeat that several times till the dripping stops. This removes the dust and makes sure that all the oatmeal is wet for best heat conduction.

Then I take the lid off the sauce pan, put the strainer into the sauce pan so it's supported by the rim of the saucepan above the water and put the cover back on. So all the oatmeal dust is now in the bowl. I pour out the water in the bowl, rinse it and have it and the spoon ready for use.

I let the water boil, until its almost completely boiled away. You can check by lifting the strainer handle and seeing how much water is left in the sauce pan. While this is going on, I usually make my lunch and pack it and eat a banana. It just takes a few minutes to cook.

When the water is almost gone, I remove the strainer and run the spoon around the edge of the oatmeal to free it. Then I turn the strainer over the bowl and the oatmeal falls out into the bowl with the raisins on top. I like it this way, the oatmeal is light and flaky and the raisins complement the oatmeal, but you can add whatever you want.:D As an added benefit, the steam has broken down the raisins enough that they don't cause any unpleasant noises later on.

Take the sauce pan and strainer, fill the saucepan with soapy water and put the strainer in and let them soak while you eat.

When you are done eating and ready to clean up. You can keep the strainer in the water, turn it 90 degrees so one edge is deep and one is out of the water and use a scrub pad to gently fan the oatmeal under water out of the strainer and to the bottom of the sauce pan. Then work around the strainer, fanning the oatmeal under water into the pan. Rinse off the strainer and then clean the sauce pan.


Wholly crap! And I thought I was anal! :D

I do not know how to cook it but this morning I had fried oatmeal with real maple syrup and eggs and sausage and fruit and ...

it was good! :D

Another angle too look at this issue. A car needs Gas (does not matter much which), a biker needs food (it should not matter so much which). Oatmeal is Carbs plus milk and sugar. Cold or warm does not matter as fuel for your engine. Fruit is more sugar which your body also needs.
I eat most of the time in restaurants. I have learned to ignore taste and just carb up.
Do not get me wrong, I love good food. I get that at home. On a bike tour or on a business trip, forget that. Eating healthy is all that matters and that is tough enough to do.


Eating healthy is the most difficult.

When My daughter Graduated from Uni. She took us to a Restaurant that she used in Brighton. The prices were very respectable and the Starters were large enough for me. The prices were what I liked. They obviously gear up for the Student population- where Cost is a big factor. To get the cost right and have a superb "Healthy" meal is a bonus.

I slice an apple in a bowl then add the water and slow cook oatmeal with some bran and nuke it . Then I mash a ripe banana in another bowl then add the hot oatmeal . I eat it almost every morning.:)

Trogon, what the hell is sugar free maple syrup? Maple syrup is sugar. bk

Steel cut oats with Turbanado brown sugar and Sun Maid mixed jumbo raisons + Italian Roast coffee from the french press - ..make you slap your grammaw...

Wholly crap! And I thought I was anal! :D

Not anal, I just have spent several years doing technical documentation and my mother raised me to be efficient. So I detailed what I had learned. I think it takes longer to describe it than to cook it.:p

Trogon, what the hell is sugar free maple syrup? Maple syrup is sugar. bk

Whatever it is, I'm sure it isn't Maple Syrup! Grade B is the way to go! Good flavor, kind of like dark rum!

Not anal, I just have spent several years doing technical documentation and my mother raised me to be efficient. So I detailed what I had learned. I think it takes longer to describe it than to cook it.:p

Sorry - we all voted, and you ARE anal!

Since my wife works nights I get the gang up in the morning, first the dogs are fed, then our son of 7, then grab a shave and shower with 10 mins to spare for bkfst beore bolting to work. So the plain instant oatmeal is choice #1 w/ raisins and almond slices added and a drizzle of Billy Bee honey on top.

Sorry - we all voted, and you ARE anal!

Get a life!

Steelcut oatmeal with sugar free maple syrup and blueberries...mmmmmmm...tastes like blueberry pancakes!:love: Frankp

Get a life!

OK :D

Steelcut oatmeal with sugar free maple syrup and blueberries...mmmmmmm...tastes like blueberry pancakes!:love: Frankp

As has been pointed out previously, "sugar free" and "maple syrup" are mutually exclusive terms.

Get a life!

No need to be ashamed of being anal...many of us are.

Embrace your inner Sphincter Boy, and be proud! :D

Someone mentioned blueberries. I know they are good for you but I quit eating them. I was putting them in my oatmeal every morning. Next time I went to the dentist for a cleaning he had to scrub like hell to get the stain off my teeth.
I no longer eat blueberries.

I have become an oats freak, but not with oatmeal. I eat a bowl of granola for breakfast, have two granola bars with a banana for my morning break, YoCrunch yogurt, which has granola you add, after lunch, and my afternoon snack is a raw foods cacao fudge recipe which has more oats than anything else. The end result? 112 over 63 (that would be my blood pressure).

sknhgy,

Now that's a lot of Blueberries!