Do any otmeal eaters here mix in natural peanut butter with their oatmeal? I usually mix in 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter with 1 cup of cooked oatmeal in the morning. However, I feel bloated and wonder if the extra fat, even though it is good fat, is necessary. What does everyone else add to their oatmeal to improve the taste? Thanks.

Is it necessary? Really depends on what the rest of your diet is. I am lazy/have no time so I use instant stuff. I mix one packet of Nature valley hot oatmeal with some organic one from Ralys, since Nature valley is a bit too sweet for me.

I use a little bit of brown sugar and some honey.

I should mention I eat McCanns instant Irish oatmeal, not "cooked." The rest of my diet is in check, I weigh 125 lbs. and take in approximately 2200 calories on ride days.

Most times i add pure maple syrup.
Sometimes I add berries if I have them.
Occasionally I chop up a slice of apple, toss it in before you cook it, then sprinkle cinnamon on top.

adding peanut butter would make you a PB junkie, right? :)

i add nothing. my time is limited so i go with intant oatmeal, but the high end stuff. you know some organic this and that instant whole foods knock off brand. i love it. later.

I would like to recommend Steel-cut oats for the bikers here. The preparation time is long but they taste vastly richer and I greatly prefer the texture. They are a part of my morning routine most of the time. I would also bet that they are more nutritionally sound than instant oats or similar as they have been processed less. You will probably find that no extra sweetening or flavor is necessary.

Wikipedia: "they may be more nutritious than the more popular rolled oats"

I would like to recommend Steel-cut oats for the bikers here. The preparation time is long but they taste vastly richer and I greatly prefer the texture. They are a part of my morning routine most of the time. I would also bet that they are more nutritionally sound than instant oats or similar as they have been processed less. You will probably find that no extra sweetening or flavor is necessary.

Wikipedia: "they may be more nutritious than the more popular rolled oats"

There are a lot of maybes in the post.

Half and Half and honey.

I eat a cup of McCann's quick cook oatmeal (takes 5 min., don't have patience for steel cut) every morning, made with non-fat milk, 1.5 cups of fruit (blueberries, strawberries, mango, etc) and 2 tblsp. of ground roasted pecans. Makes a terrific breakfast.

A handful of raisins, a tab of butter, pinch of cinnamon, cooked together for 5 min with thick rolled oats. Let stand for 5 min. covered. Sweetness comes from the raisins.

I can eat this every day.

Steel cut oats for me. The nutritional value is a wee bit better than processed oatmeal. Plus it tastes better and has a nicer texture.
I mix a bit of cinnamon in it or fruit.

cocoa powder and peanut butter - peanut butter cup of oats

Another cocoa powder junky here. I also add in fat-free yogurt and artificial sweetner. It makes a half-decent after-dinner snack the night before a big ride too.

I cook thick-cut rolled oats (not the quick-cooking kind) in the microwave with water, then I add berries (frozen ones are convenient), a bit of cinnamon and ground flaxseed, and unsweetened soymilk.

At work or while traveling I will just use plain packets of instant oatmeal (the high-end stuff) without anything added unless I have fruit handy.

Steel cut is good but I'm usually too lazy. :rolleyes:
Trader Joe's sells frozen pre-cooked steel cut oatmeal, but unfortunately it's sweetened, which I don't like. :(

I just recently developed a taste for oatmeal after not having it in years. I have just been eating the store brand instant stuff since I can get a box of 10 packs for about $1. What are all of these other options? Rolled oats? Steel cut oats? Do they taste the same? Do I just add water and microwave?

Rolled oats plus honey, fruit, and skim milk. That, and a double shot of espresso forte, gets me out the door and on the road most mornings.

I put in a little wheat germ before I cook them and afterwards I add some chopped walnuts, cut up dates and a bit of cinamon.
I like the steel cut oats, but I find them very difficult to cook on an electric stove top, it's hard to set the temperature just right. I have a rice cooker that I can use and I can even set it up the night before with a timer so it's cooked and waiting for me in the morning, but I rarely use it.

I have come to love steel-cut oats. They taste great, and have a much better texture than instant oatmeal. The best part, as you can see from many of the posts above, is the infinite ways you can customize it. I will throw anything into that pot while they are cooking: any kind of fruit (fresh, frozen, or dried), cinnamon, walnuts, flax seed, vanilla (even leftover chunks of dark chocolate), honey, PB, maple syrup, whatever.

I just wish it didn't take so long to cook.

I just wish it didn't take so long to scrub out the pot.

Rolled and steel-cut oats take about 11 minutes in my microwave on setting 5-6 out of 10. I eat out of the same container. No pot.

Put the steel cut oatmeal into a bowl the night before and cover with a half inch or so of water. The next morning microwave for around three minutes. You can then stir in maple syrup, milk, cinammon,
berries, whatever you happen to have handy or all of the above.

Steel cut oats almost every morning for me. I have the time, so I don't mind waiting for it to boil. 1 tablespoon of PB is a pretty good mix-in, though why not 2 tbsp? Whether or not the fat is bad depends on what the rest of your diet looks like. Fat is an essential nutrient.

Most of the time, though, I mix in a cut up banana and some raisins. Frozen blueberries now and again too. They defrost by the time the spoon is in my mouth.

I don't eat oatmeal all the time, but when I do, it's with a bananna cut up and some honey and a bit of skim milk. Sweetens it up nicely.

I like the Kashi oatmeal. One packet of that, a banana, and a glass of skim milk is my regular breakfast these days.

Equal parts instant oatmeal and Frosted Flakes. Add cold milk. It tastes like Honey Bunches of Oats and it's really easy and can be very very cheap. Fills you up right. I ate this for breakfast just about every day for 6 months and on days when I had more time, it was an egg white omlette with half a slice swiss cheese and cracked pepper.

On this diet I went from 220 to 175 in 6 months. Plus lots of basketball during the summer.

I add a mashed ripe banana to my oatmeal to sweeten it and it taste great. BTW I cook my oatmeal with sliced apples etc.

I just wish it didn't take so long to cook.

I cook up enough for four servings on Sunday nights. I cook it by brining the water to a boil, turning off the heat and let it soak overnight. On monday morning, I dish out the servings into containers which I keep in the fridge and bring to work. At work I add a little water and blast it in the microwave. No fuss, no muss.
I add a little salt usually. Sometimes I do the sweet angle with honey, I've also done peanut butter.

The overnight method really makes it easy.

New guy on the bf. But not new to oatmeal. I agree with alot of you that steel cut oatmeal is the way to go, but only do it on the weekends or days when I don't have to battle the traffic into the city for work. If its not steel cut I go with the Old Fashion. Add fruit if you cant handle the boring taste day in and day out.

for the past seven years quick oats with a sliced ripe banana. the best. i do like steel cuts oats, but hey who has 45 minutes in the morning!

There are a lot of maybes in the post.

No maybe about it... steet-cut oats are the way to go.

I recently have been having oats with "rice dream". About 2 minutes in the microwave with some wheatgerm. Perfect. The only thing is that the rice dream tastes so good it is hard to make do with water.

I was at the store today looking for steel cut oats to try and could not find any. What stores carry them? All I could find was regular quaker oats.

Thanks

D

I don't know about your area (MI), but here in NJ, Shoprite carries a brand called "The Silver Pallete, thick and rough cut oatmeal". It is the nice thick oats. You can see the grain in it ... not some powdered flakes that come in a paper bag.

It is distributed by: The Silver Pallete Kitchens, Inc., PO Box 512, Cresskill, NJ 07626.

This is not an add ... I do not work for SP, but I highly recommend there product.

I find mine at safeway. You can also try health food stores.

Albertson's Raisin Date & Walnut instant oatmeal, banana, and an o.j., berry, yogurt smoothie. 3,000 calories plus on riding days. I've learned to eat more for what my body needs and less than for how the food tastes. I guess that's why tofu doesn't bother me :-D

Before weekend rides I always have McCann's 5-min oatmeal w/ wheat germ, crushed flax seed, honey and a banana. I'm going to start adding fresh grated cinnamon.

Rolled oats + honey + brown sugar + almonds

Is oatmeal the same as what is in muesli?