The oatmeal thread

[Rywill]

Okay, I know there are some oatmeal aficionados around here (I'm looking at you, VegasRobb). My doctor recently told me I should start eating oatmeal because my "good" cholesterol is getting close to the "too low" point. So what's good? I thought oatmeal was pretty basic, but it turns out there are a zillion different kinds and a zillion ways to prepare it, which calculates out to one hajillion ways to have oatmeal.

I generally don't like gluey stuff, so I started out with "rough cut" oatmeal from some company called "The Silver Palate." It's actually a lot better than I expected it would be, which is nice. I think it's basically the same as steel-cut oats--it takes eight minutes to cook and after cooking it's a bunch of distinct, chewy oats (not a mush). Seems good. Way too bland on its own, but I recently started putting brown sugar in it, which makes it good (white sugar didn't help much). I tried cinnamon and brown sugar the other day, and that was good too. What else do people try? I've heard "milk" but haven't tried that yet (just regular milk?). I don't like fruit. What other stuff is good? What other sorts of oatmeal might I like? Are any brands particularly good? Is the basic Quaker stuff just as good as anything?

[Marcus]

Oat meal rules.

I like putting butter and brown sugar in mine. Some people use maple syrup and some use honey and rasins.

Lots of people put milk in it but I never got down with that. Brown sugar and butta ftw!

[Lunch of Kong]

Cow's milk sweetens oats and also removes the blandess, but you want to dilute the milk with water, otherwise your oatmeal will bubble up and overflow very easily. Half water half milk works fine. Still quite creamy, but it's easier to manage the boiling.

The overall soupiness of oatmeal depends entirely on your oatmeal to liquid ratio. I don't like soup either, so I tend to use slightly less liquid than the cooking suggestions call for.

If I were making oatmeal for myself:

1. bring a solution of water and milk to boil
2. mix in the sugar or honey. not too much.
3. throw in the oats
4. halfway through the cooking cycle, throw in a pinch of powdered nutmeg and stir, then sprinkle a shake or two of powdered cinnamon and stir.

[Lunch of Kong]

Also, you asked about oatmeal, but oatmeal is made from oats, aka "muesli", aka "horse feed".

I used to make my own breakfast cereal by mixing bulk oats from the supermarket with other grains (rye, barley, wheat), and a very modest amount of nuts (hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds) and dried fruit (banana chips, dried cherries, raisins). The supermarket made it easier for me later by offering oats in grain blend, saving me a mixing step.

I would throw all the ingredients into a tupperware container, then shake it up to mix them around. I'd eat them with milk like cornflakes.

[BooTx]

Butter and roasted pecans.

Haven't tried it, but it sounds good.

[Chris Nahr]

Also, you asked about oatmeal, but oatmeal is made from oats, aka "muesli", aka "horse feed".

Ahem. I don't know what you heathens call muesli but over here and in Switzerland itself, muesli is just the tasty grain-nut-fruit mixture you describe below. And you can get a great variety ready-made at your local supermarket, with or without artificial ingredients. It's eaten with milk, as you say, and I'm sure it's much tastier and just as healthy as oatmeal... why on earth would anyone eat pure oatmeal!?

I used to make my own breakfast cereal by mixing bulk oats from the supermarket with other grains (rye, barley, wheat), and a very modest amount of nuts (hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds) and dried fruit (banana chips, dried cherries, raisins).

[TomChick]

Rywill, there's no need to skimp on some sort of instanty oatmeal. Take the time to cook up a great big batch of steel-cut oats, mixing in your brown sugar and cinammon when you make it. Then freeze what you don't eat. You can microwave it, splash it with a little milk for better consistency, and enjoy it in much less time than it takes to cook up every morning.

Also, Trade Joes sells 30oz. cardboard cannisters of Country Choice steel-cut oats for a couple of bucks. They're just as good as the more expensive stuff you get in the smaller metal cans.

-Tom

[Dean]

I could swear we talked about this before.

Check here (http://www.foodsubs.com/GrainOats.html)

Found in this thread:

http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16466&highlight=oatmeal

Also here's (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17138,00.html) what Alton Brown has to say as far as a good oatmeal recipe, and, as we all know, if Alton says so, it's good geek food. Note he also has this (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_17140,00.html) recipe, and you might want to look for the episode of Good Eats called "Oat Cuisine" where he gives his general Altonish take on all things oatey.

[Marcus]

Also, Trade Joes sells 30oz. cardboard cannisters of Country Choice steel-cut oats for a couple of bucks.

Time for a lunch trip to trader joes! I need some mac and cheese from them anyways :)

[Talisker]

Here's my favorite one, courtesy of Alton Brown:

Overnight oatmeal (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_17138,00.html) -- fire up the crockpot before you go to bed, ready to eat when you get up. Takes about two minutes. Haven't actually tried it with dried figs and cranberries -- raisins, dried blueberries, just about anything works. If you leave the fruit out, you'll want to cut back on the liquid, obviously.

Tastes good, makes your house smell good when you wake up, and you don't have to do any work in the morning -- it's just ready.

[Rywill]

Great tips, thanks guys. Particularly the "make it and freeze it" one. I sort of worked the whole thing into my morning schedule (like, get out of shower, put oatmeal on, go get dressed and pack stuff for day, come back and it's been cooking roughly 8 minutes), but it would be a lot easier to not have to worry about it.

[beecubed]

here's another alton recipe (since dean and myers already stole my other possible contributions):

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31335,00.html

regarding the overnight oatmeal, i also make it. i think you will like it rywill, if you are looking for oatmeal with some texture to it. i don't follow the recipe exactly, though. i use 1 1/2 cups fruit, 5 cups water, and only cook for about 6 hours. my current favorite is adding dried apples, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.

also, they sell this stuff at GNC called "colon pure" (god, do i ever hate shopping at GNC...). i'm not sure what the soluble vs insoluble fiber content is, but it definitely has a TON of fiber.

[Rywill]

Look, the doc says "eat oatmeal," I'm willing to eat oatmeal. But I draw the line at thinking about my colon.

"This far, no farther!"

[Bull]

I hate oatmeal, but I read threads like this specifically to find jewels like this one:

Look, the doc says "eat oatmeal," I'm willing to eat oatmeal. But I draw the line at thinking about my colon.

"This far, no farther!"

[shift6]

Don't worry Rywill, if you eat enough oatmeal Wilford Brimley will think about your colon for you.

[VegasRobb]

Mmmm Oats! Great thread with some really good ideas. I'm going to try out quite a few of them.

It seems I cook my oats very differently. I boil water using my Chef Choice's electric kettle and pour it into into a bowl filled with steel-cut oats. Let it cool down a bit and I'm ready to eat.

Hm ... I use blackstrap molasses and sometimes ground cinnamon for flavoring.

I was mixing in a scoop of ground flaxseed everyday, but I've started to cut back on using that much. It's a good change of pace because it brings a different flavor to the meal.

If I'm going to be really busy, I'll mix in a scoop of pea protein or rice protein.

I picked up a couple cans of vanilla and chocolate flavored whey protein for the guys at work who don't buy into my eating habits. They enjoy the steel-cut oats much better with "traditional" flavors.

I like the Country Choice brand.

[Jason McCullough]

An.....oatmeal thread?

[BooTx]

http://blogs.salon.com/0001444/images/2004/12/02/brimley%20despondent.jpg

I knew I was forgetting something.

[Lunch of Kong]

The question is, will we be able to keep Tim Elhajj's penis out of Rywill's oatmeal thread?

[XtienMurawski]

I just want to say I'm so very pleased with all the Alton Brown love in this thread. As I read the first post I thought, "Oooh! I know this one! I'll just link to Good Eats!"

Yeah. Right. Welcome to the party, pal.

-Amanpour

[beecubed]

Look, the doc says "eat oatmeal," I'm willing to eat oatmeal. But I draw the line at thinking about my colon.

"This far, no farther!"

i think the reason you are supposed to eat oatmeal is that it is high in soluble fiber. just trying to keep you healthy. :twisted:

[beecubed]

so, i just tried the freezing oatmeal tip (usually, i make a half batch of the overnight oatmeal, but made a full batch by mistake). i have to say, i'm not a big fan. it was only in the freezer for a week, but it still ended up with a slight freezer taste. and the texture got a little slimy.

[steve]

Also, Trade Joes sells 30oz. cardboard cannisters of Country Choice steel-cut oats for a couple of bucks. They're just as good as the more expensive stuff you get in the smaller metal cans.
After reading this thread, I went and bought some of this stuff and tried one of the recipes. (Our local place called Cheese Trader, or as I like to call it "The Place Where Health Food Goes to Die," had those cannisters for .99.)

Anyway, what's the texture of this stuff supposed to be? Mine was slightly, er, rubbery.