Originally Posted by
Flip Flop Rider
some good ideas for toppers, thanks
when you say oats, is that like quaker oats right out of the canister?
for blueberries, is frozen okay?
There are three types of oatmeal. They are all the same oats actually, just processed differently.
Steel cut oats are oats that have been fed through a machine that cuts them into smaller chunks. You can either soak them overnight and cook quickly (or eat cold). Otherwise you can prepare them in the morning by simmering for 20 minutes with a 2:1 water/oat mixture. They are chewy and probably give a more extended release of complex carbs than the others as they take longer to digest.
Regular oats are the same oats that go through a roller instead of a cutter, that's why they look flat. This exposes more surface area when cooking so they simmer for about 5 minutes.
Quick oats are the same as regular oats (roller) but they also undergo a steam treatment that partially cooks them. That way they only need minimal simmering. I just add boiling water to my bowl and wait a bit. Some people think they are "bad" but perhaps they associate them with the sugary packet forms popular for kids breakfast cereals. What's bad there is the huge amount of sugar added, not the oats.
Some people think steel cut oats are "better" for you but they are all the same product. Cooking does not leach out nutrients because the water is absorbed back into the oats by the end anyway. Some people think raw food is more nutritious but that's largely unproven and comes with the additional risk of food poisoning (but that's not usually a problem with cold soaked oats).
My thoughts on blueberries is that if you live somewhere where fresh fruit is available year round that's great but many people don't. In Canada we have a finite blueberry season in the summer only. So, you have to weight the potential loss of nutrients from using frozen fruit vs the absolute loss of not having the fruit available at all if only choosing fresh.