Do you eat oatmeal and if so what kind and why?

It’s delicious. I use steel-cut from the health-food store and cook up several days’ worth when I am not hungry. Then I MW a cup, add some nuts, dried fruits, ground flaxseed and cinnamon..Filling, local, green, fibrous, convenient and guilt-free.

I love it. I use Quaker with Maple Brown Sugar Flavor. It so good. Sometimes (this may sound gross) I may even put syrup on it and it tastes delicious!!!

I love it. In the winter, I put some oatmeal with milk (not water) in the rice cooker and let it slow cook while I shower. I add cinnamon and honey plus whatever fruit I have around (usually craisins).

By the time I get out of the shower, I have a warm, delicious breakfast waiting for me.

Like @gailcalled I love the steel cut oats. My kids like the Quaker cinnamon apple. We all like sneaking in a scoop of flax sprout powder with our oatmeal. Some times I get reminiscent of when I used to help my grandmother with my bed ridden grandfather an add things like Spam, Vienna sausage, you know things like that.

Gross, i like soup instead =]

Instant. ‘Cause I’m lazy in the morning. If it took more effort than dumping the contents into a bowl and pushing the button for hot water, I probably wouldn’t eat.
If I had to actually boil the water, I probably wouldn’t eat either.

And it doesn’t taste half bad.
AND it’s cheap.

I love my moms homemade oatmeal with lots of brown sugar! :)

Quaker oat instant oatmeal – apples and cinnamon! And Brown sugar and cinnamon tastes awesome too.

@Nimis: that is why I cook oatmeal in quantity and not at breakfast time. The slow cooker also works well, if you figure out the proportions of oatmeal to water correctly..

(The ingredients in Instant are scary.)

@autumn I know it does!!! I said the same. Even these are good. Very good for Breakfast…

Gail: Hmmm…good idea. The ingredients are scary.
(I’ve read them before, but my laziness usually wins.)

The real deal.

I don’t know why but sometimes I like to have one pack of BrownSugarCinnamon add extra water. Put in the MW for about 1 minute (time limits vary on MW) and take out and add another pack. Add a little syrup… FANTASTIC!

I like the coarse (steel cut) stuff and always cook it fresh. It’s better for you and tastes better than instant. I like putting a handful of walnuts and blueberries in mine.

I love oatmeal not only because it is warm, and fills my tummy like a lump of yummness, but because my wife thinks it is the most disgusting thing, and for her to just see it dangling, half-ready to plop on the counter, off my spoon, makes her run off, clutching her mouth.

I’ve actually had a can of this stuff sitting in my cupboard for what seems like forever now.
(Ever since I read the ingredients in instant oatmeal.)

Though to be honest, I don’t know which was the stronger motivation for buying it.
Eating healthier? Or that really cool throwback can? I’m a sucker for packaging.

Mmm, Hot-Oatmeal
*Raisins
*Brown sugar-
*Nutmeg or Ground Cloves
*Butter and Milk
*Toasted crushed Pecans
*Dried fruit’s Great in it!
(small bite-size pieces)
Yum-Yum
Enjoy my friend!
Enjoy

Emp: You’re making me wish we had winter here.
Mmmmm…cozy.

Title: Steel Cut Oats
Categories:
Yield: 2 servings

2 1/2 c water
1/4 ts salt
1 c Steel-cut Oats

You can cook this in a crockpot, or overnight in an oven set to 200°F

@cooksalot: What texture does it have when you do that as compared to instant oatmeal? And the consistency? (I like my instant oatmeal with just enough water so that I can’t feel the individual grains in my mouth, but a giant blob)

I love steel cut opats too—oatmeal without losing all the beneficial fiber. This is my favorite oatmeal. Stone cut organic from ChefShop.

@Nimis: The Irish oats are awesome and the cans are cool for all sorts of little things around the house. :^>

Yeah, I like oatmeal. My favorite is Scottish or Irish oats. They have a great consistency, unlike instant or rolled. Brown sugar, a bit of cream, maybe a dab of butter. Raisins and nuts are great in there, too.

Oatmeal is one of my FAVORITE winter breakfast meals. Because the only cooking appliance available to me is a microwave, (dorm life at a residential high school doesn’t allow anything else) I’m forced to use instant, so I prefer Quaker’s Strawberries n’ Cream (made with milk) and about a tablespoon of french vanilla coffee creamer mixed in, all topped off with fresh sliced strawberries and blueberries. Another delicious concoction of mine is mixing in some eggnog with Quaker’s Maple Brown Sugar oatmeal along with some pecans and cinnamon… mmmmmmmmmm… ;)

I love Irish oatmeal. Sometimes I cook it in apple cider instead of water. I throw in chunks of apple and plenty of cinnamon. For my boys, I’ll throw in raisins (I won’t eat those things). Other times, it’s just plain with some butter, cream and brown sugar or a little cream and blueberries or sliced bananas. YUM. I eat oatmeal almost every morning during the winter time.

When I was little, I loved oatmeal. I would melt a pat of butter all over the surface of the oatmeal, then sprinkle a thick layer of sugar over that, letting it harden into a “crust”. After I’d eaten about 1/4 of the oatmeal, along with the top crust, I would repeat the entire process. Since I am now conditioned to only like it that way, I don’t eat it anymore at all.

I was going to say Irish Oatmeal, but with gail’s link, I see it is also known as steel cut. I like mine with chopped up dates and/or date sugar from the California desert.

I eat oatbran everyday (no really. every. single. day) with a little butter. I love it!

After reading all these, I have to say that I am weird. I love oatmeal, but I hate sweet oatmeal. I cook my oatmeal with milk (not water) and when it is all done, stir in a tiny amount of butter and a little salt. Mmm….delicious.

Oatmeal w/ raisins, ginger, sugar, and butter – AMAZING stuff!!

@Les; My sister agrees with you. Steel-cut with a little salt and that’s it.

I only like it in the dry form, like a granola bar.

I WANT MY MAYPO®!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKd5AvGIKZk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ZrS0ZrMYY

@poof the oatmeal comes out with the oats having a sort of chewy texture to the grains. I like to have some bite to my oatmeal. Then I mix flax sprout powder into the oatmeal before eating that tightens it up some more.

OH! I forgot I always make my steel cut oats with at least half milk (that’s soy milk for me) or evaporated milk. Something else I picked up from my Grandma. Though if I remember correctly she used all evaporated milk.

You know, I once opened up a can of milk, and the can was totally empty!

I opened the other cans I had bought, and all of them were totally empty, too!

I went right back to the grocery store with the empty cans and asked to speak to the manager, and when I was ushered into his office (I didn’t even know that grocery stores had ushers), I showed him the 6 empty cans and said, “Look at this! All of them are empty! What the Hell is going on?”

The manager grabbed one of the cans, read the label, and replied, “Sir, it says right here that all of the milk EVAPORATED, so naturally, the cans would be empty.”

^^^^^ WOW! I’m almost afraid to post!

Steel cut oats in the slow cooker! YUM! I will add blueberries and honey – at times. My kids like raisins in them, too – I’m not a raisin fan!

Like Gail – I throw some flaxseed in, what a great added health benefit!

Cak, the removed posts were not about oatmeal.

I’m with you on the raisins, but blueberries and honey. Yum. What are the health benefits of flaxseed?

Strawberry oatmeal and cut up bananas…so good. Also what the heck is up with all the modded comments….looks like a oatmeal battle.

they were probably not about oatmeal, if one can extrapolate from the past

Flax seed

Another terrific source of Omega 3 oil..Best to buy whole seeds and grind every few days in their own personal grinder. (I use a Krups.) Do not try to eat the seeds whole. (However you can plant a fistful in the spring, after the last frost. They will grow and have the lovely blue flowers of the flax plant.) Add to oatmeal, salad dressing, cottage cheese, grilled tomato and cheese., etc.

Thanks gailcalled. I learn something new everyday.

Thanks Gail – I’m in and out of sleep, right now!

@mamasu, I’ve been throwing into things for a long time, now…hubby and kids didn’t know – until they walked in and saw me adding something new. :)

what on earth? i’ve never seen so many removed posts. and about OATMEAL, fer cyin’ out loud.

why can’t we all just get along?

Some folks have NO sense of humor.

@drhat77 – they were getting along fine – it was a joke duel. How it got on the oatmeal board, I’m not exactly sure…but I was a little shocked to see it at 5:45 a.m.! :+O

Not a thing about oatmeal in those posts so don’t worry about it.
Now the flax sprout powder I use seems to only be available at Costco. The sprout powder is supposed to be the most easy to absorb by our bodies. That’s what the guy at the nutrition center here in town told me. No matter what it’s a great add and no one really notices. Too much and not only are your nails strengthened, but they will become brittle and chip a lot.(can you tell I had to cut back?) Also your hair really GROWS!

Best to grind your own, however. The preground is old and may be rancid.

I just stick a spoonful of flax seed in my smoothie. You don’t really notice it there, and I’m already using the blender then.

[Fluther moderator] FYI, the removed posts were in fact, as others have suggested, completely off topic. Threadjacking for personal conversations that could easily be done via private messages or instant messaging (Gmail, AIM, etc.) is not what Fluther is about. Discussions about questions, and answers, is appropriate; having public conversations with offensive remarks that should be kept private is not.

@cyndyh: the seeds don’t stick in your teeth, only to be felt when you smile broadly at someone you love?

No, they go in the blender first and then the other ingredients go in. I tend to be more bothered by blackberry seeds than flax seeds in my teeth.

I don’t think I’d put flaxseed on oatmeal, but you can get the oil. You have to keep it refrigerated and you don’t want to cook it, but it makes a good substitute for butter after the oatmeal’s been cooked.

Trying to bring it back to topic and discuss the new topic we’ve morphed into. I hope that’s ok.

Ground up, on oatmeal (to stay on topic) flaxseed has a mildly nutty flavor and is barely discernible.

My mother used to make us oatmeal in the winter time…butter and sugar were the things necessary to make it palatable. What a nice memory of that!

My kids don’t even eat breakfast. It’s a coffee on the go or “no time!” Not that I make oatmeal like my Mom did….

@autumn; (easy and magical in a slow cooker.)

@ gail, i love a little fresh ground flax on my oatmeal.

i also really enjoy any mixture of fresh fruit or berries (whatever is available), dried cranberries or raisins, drizzle of honey, sprinkle of bee pollen, and/or a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg. the brand i really like to use is Old Wessex. it can be found at health food markets.

stay away from the instant stuff. it strips all the nutrition away from an otherwise wholesome meal.

@gailcalled, we’re steel cut fans too. Buy them at our local food co-op, soak them overnight, and after cooking them in the morning add butter, half and half, and brown sugar. Pretty much ruins the reason for having them, but they certainly are good.

The key to steel cut oats (also called Irish oats) is to melt the butter in the pan first and toast them until they get a nice nutty fragrance before adding the liquid. I’m fond of adding maple syrup at the end

I’ve always wanted to try toasting them up first. Just the oven is so much easier. That way my husband can get his own when he wakes up early.

@Marcia; Stop the presses. Bee pollen? Tell me more, as it relates to oatmeal, of course..

@kruger, I just read a recipe from Alton Brown that called to saute(spelling) the oats before cooking them. I’m going to try that next time.

Okay, so let me get this straight: If I tried these steel cut oats, they’d taste and look nothing like instant oatmeal?

@Poof; and best of all, they are “real food”. Instant oatmeal was not harvested, but processed (which is a very scary word these days.)

The mighty oat

Yep, it doesn’t help you, healthwise, to have instant oatmeal.

@gail: I like instant oatmeal… that’s why I asked. Let me put it this way… I’m sort of weird about texture and consistency. For instance, if I bite into something and I feel an odd texture… like a chewy part of ham lunch meat or gristle in a hamburger or an egg shell in egg salad… my meal is over, that’s it, I’m done. If when I make this oatmeal, it has a weird texture to it (the look of the dry oats makes me imagine bugs, for some reason), it will go to waste. I know I’m probably not making any sense, but I have a strong gag reflex for “the thing that should not be” in my food.

Poof, I’m like you. One bite of the wrong texture, and I’m done. I like instant oatmeal too, but I like steel cut much more. It feels better in my mouth and is satisfying in a way that instant just can’t match.

My gag reflex is near mutant in it’s power and I never have an issue with steel cut oats.

@Poof; My gag reflex kicks in with liver and lima beans (not served together-that would be TOO much.) I can’t tell you whether old-fashioned oatmeal will have a weird texture or not. To me, it looks and tastes like one of the most benign foods imaginable. In the cold months I eat it every AM. And I am not a fan of lunch meat, gristle or egg shell (which are unfood, of course.)

Try one serving of steel-cut. If you hate it, throw on compost.

@gailcalled – OMG! Liver and lima beans! Those are two of the most disgusting things I have ever eaten. And when I was younger, they were served up a lot. We didn’t have a dog either. YUCK!

besides not being able to even smell it cooking – I think no one should eat liver. It’s a FILTER, people!

I’ve got to say I’m a fan of the paté though.

Sure, you mix in enough good stuff with the bad, we can tolerate anything, right?

Liver?* GAG!

Not just liver—smooshy liver!

GAAAAAG! So much for my appetite.

LOL :)
Off subject!
To say the Least
Hilarious!
Non the Less

Removed by Fluther moderators

[Fluther moderator] The answer above, by swimmingdude2496 was NOT removed by the Fluther team. You can tell because the Great Answer and Flag as links are still there. This is just swimmingdude trying to make a point.

Dammit he got me again…

You know I think I’ll try out the oats sauteed in butter first tonight and then just toss them in the oven to finish up. I’ll see how they do tomorrow morning for breakfast.

@ gail, i get bee pollen at the local farmers market from the honey vendors. it looks like small round colored beads in hues of yellow, orange and brown, its taste is very subtle, and it is highly nutritious. it is supposedly a better preventative measure against allergy than local honey. essentially, its an all natural allergy vaccine. i definitely use it as both a colorful garnish to my yogurt and oatmeal and as medicine.

oh and for the record…. its not Marcia… it is Marc… Marc Is My Hero. :)

Here is a link to a photo of one of my bee pollen topped fruit bowls:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcevan/516675150/in/set-72157600073347141/

We generally eat the steel-cut oats (when I remember to start them in time) and i don’t mind them leftover and microwaved, either. For my son, I add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and sometimes raisins, blueberries or chopped up apples, then top it off with a little half and half or milk. It’s like a dessert! We’ll add the flax powder when we remember it. I usually just use some brown rice syrup and soy milk, unless I’m feeling indulgent.

Here’s the yummiest way, though…

Make either steel cut or slow cooked oats according to directions, but add cinnamon and vanilla to the cooking water. Add whatever fruits and nuts you like. Stir in butter and sugar to taste. Top the whole thing with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. WOW!

@marc that looks really good. Too bad I’m too poor to hit the Farmers Market today and see if the honey vendor has any bee pollen. Maybe I’ll check the co-op next week if I have any $$.

I forgot about bee pollen! Years ago, I used to mix a spoonful of bee pollen into a glass of orange juice. I always thought it had a bit of a “mildewy” taste or smell, and the OJ covered it up pretty well. It did help with my allergies, as I remember. I think it’s time for bee pollen again.

Thanks, marc!

@ McBean, i like the OJ idea, but then i don’t get to see all those pretty colors. The way my food looks just might be as important to me as the taste and nutrition. Put it on some fresh fruit…the taste should be barely noticeable or at least compatible.

I am addicted to the oatmeal they have now at Starbucks! You can get it with up to 3 toppings including: raisins/currants/craisins
Chopped mixed nuts
brown sugar. I don’t know if they use instant or not (probably) but it goes great with my latte and they serve it all day, meaning I can get it for my breakfast at 4/5 pm.

I COMPLETELY second the Starbucks oatmeal! It’s GREAT!!

Haven’t been in Starbucks in like forever! Face it my DSL connection comes before the Mocha’s. LOL!

I love oatmeal. I never make it myself so I prefer picking it up on the way to work. Steel cut is the best with raisins and a touch of brown sugar. I always think it’s healthy, but I never know these days.

anything but quick cook or instant oatmeal…those taste like maybe plaster might taste. Steel cut is the best but I don’t always have the time in the morning to cook it. butter, brown sugar and raisins.

Xraygirl; I have suggested this elsewhere; boil up three or four days worth of steel-cut while you are having dinner. Then nuke a cup in the AM when you are on the run.

I like the Jungle Oats brand, which you probably don’t get over there by you! :)
I LOVE oatmeal! And it smells delicious while cooking! :D I love it with sugar and lots of butter….oh YUM! And sometimes i’m in the mood to have it with sugar and cold milk. It is truly delicious.

Strums Organic Old fashioned oats,
*Oats+water+a little salt+microwave for 90 seconds= Perfect To-go breakfast for a typical college student! . :]

—i use to HATEEEEE oatmeal till my junior year of highschool. (it took me literally an hr to finish a quarter of a cup)

Whole Grain Oats with Flax. One pack a day. I add < tsp of cinnamon, and three tsp. of sunflower seeds, and <two tsp of organic cane sugar. I fix it with Horizon Fat Free milk, which I date stamp and change every 7 days if I have not drunk it yet.

I eat oatmeal every morning as this is the only food that seems to make me last until Lunch.
Instant lightly sweetened apples and cinnamon , peaches and creme the best.
Also wild berry medley has High fibre, but a little too much! So keep that in mind should you decide to leave the house for any period of time.It is like a laxative.

An ancient but good thread.

Steelcut oats/water with nutmeg, raisins or craisins, diced apples, a pinch of salt in the mini slow cooker.

In the morning (or whenever I’m ready to have some), I serve my bowl and add a spoon of crunchy peanut butter and swirl some jam through. Lately I’ve been having wild blueberry jam. pb and j oatmeal. Makes me happy (and healthy) !

I tried a variant where I used cider instead of water and swirled apple butter in the next morning. That passed decadent – it was more like cake than anything. Super delicious.

A friend has suggested cooking the steel cut oats with onion and sage so it would be like having stuffing for breakfast. I’m going to give that a try before winter ends.

Boy, has mine changed!

@Ltryptophan – what’s the new regimen?

No more milk. Only a tablespoon of brown sugar. No sunflower seeds… lol

Copious cinnamon. A little salt. Frozen blueberries.