I hear ya, oatmeal isn’t food that people go to for something tasty. Something filling, nutritious, inexpensive, healthy. Yes, but yummy? Not so much. I love it in the morning after my large glass of water, for all those reasons. No matter what I’ve eaten the night before, I wake up needing food and oatmeal is a quick fix after which I can exercise (if I’ve got enough time) or get showered without being distracted by hunger pangs. & I definitely prepare it so it’s tasty.
With origins in the Fertile Crescent oats, avena sativa (hello Aveeno!), were one of the later cereals to be domesticated, roughly 2000 BCE all the way over in Europe. It was thought to be an inferior grain because it grew as a weed alongside wheat and barley. Despite its humble origins oat is praised for two reasons: it is high rich in a soluble fibre called betaglucan which helps in reducing blood cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels and it has the highest protein content of the cereals, 10-15%. Bonus–oats are also high in iron and magnesium, so all around fantastic food for everyone but especially those who prefer a plant based diet.
I don’t use any sugar in my oats and because I don’t use sugar most of those instant packs are out of the question. I do make my own instant packs in a Ziploc (which I keep and reuse) if I know I’ll want some later (or camping or something like that). Because they have a lower glycemic index I know a lot of people who use the steel cut oats, which are less processed than instant or rolled oats. Steel cut oats take a long time to cook so most people let them soak the night before and then deal with the long cooking time. The other thing people I know do is they cook a plain batch for the week and keep it in the fridge and when they’re ready to use it they then do their prep. For my part that’s too much work (and so far my blood health is good, knock on wood) and so I use rolled oats or instant oats. They can be eaten raw (since they’ve already gone through a processing period) so I’m not too concerned about making sure they’re ‘cooked’ for a super long time because they already are.
Bubbly Swish’s Morning Oatmeal
- Half the cup you’ll be using of water, into a small pan on the stove, heating on medium.
- Couple of tablespoons of oats, thrown into the hot water. How many spoons will depend on how thick you like yours. I like mine drinkable so I put about 5 table spoons in a 450 ml mug.
- Dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom to taste.
- Stir all together, you’ll see the water become a thick beige colour quite quickly (1-2 min) at that point, or when you’re ready, pour into your mug. Top with non-dairy or dairy milk and ground flax. Mix together & that’s it!
- If you need some sweetness you could add honey, agave, maple syrup or sugar.
- For the portable Ziploc version, I put the oats and spices together and keep the flax separate (heat degrades it) so when I’m ready I throw it together. Super easy. Super tasty.
How do you make your oats tasty?
PS Have a visit to Geograph (where the June oat field photo, taken in West Berkshire, above is from); they’re taking photos of every square kilometer of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man!
Bubbly Swish 