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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Oatmeal. Liberated.

I never really could warm up to the childhood tradition of oatmeal drowned in milk and brown sugar.  Even worse was packets of instant oatmeal, which are nothing but slimy.  Nothankyouverykindly, goodsir.

It reminds me of Oliver, except in reverse.  Please, sir, may I not have another?   

We all know we should eat oats, because they're crammed with ridiculous amounts of nutrition we all need.  Oats are a magical grain. 

Horses everywhere are nodding in agreement.

But how do we get past the gruel factor... and the slime...? 

It turns out there's a whole world of oatmeal out there.  A million types, cooking methods, and toppings.  It takes two minutes to make, it's totally customizable, and it's great on-the-go food.  You probably already knew that, and I'm probably the last one to this whole liberated oatmeal party.  You're so much cooler than I am.

But now that I'm here, at the oatmeal party, I can tell you I like my oatmeal thick and textured, nutty and sweetened only by fruit.  It's my oatmeal avatar.

The catalyst for my oat-freeing epiphany was Kath Eats Real Food, where Kath Younger posts amazing pictures of a million variations of oatmeal, along with some awesome recipes. Kath eats it cooked, raw, stirred with banana, topped with fruit, granola, cereal, nut butters, crumbled muffins....

Oatmeal.  It's what's for breakfast.

My favorite oatmeal:
1/2 c oats
2/3 c skim milk (add more if you want it thinner)

Microwave for 1 minute, then stir in:
1-2 T raw oats (for better texture than all cooked.  No slime!)
1/2 banana, chopped
1 scant T peanut butter
1 T flax seeds
1 T raisins

Put in a mug to eat at stoplights on the way to work (in between talking to the toddler in the back seat), or share a bowl with your favorite small person.  Small people like oatmeal, too.  Seriously. 

4 comments:

  1. I never enjoyed oatmeal either, but then I discovered overnight oats. It's my favorite way to eat oatmeal. I just mix some oats with a little yogurt, almond milk, and a splash of maple syrup. Then, I top them with frozen blueberries or raspberries and let them sit in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I stir everything together. They are so delicious!

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  2. I haven't tried overnight oats yet, Willow. Planning breakfast the night before requires a level of organization I am not capable of. Or cognizant of. Or something. But one of these days... *pointing at sky* ...one of these days...

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  3. Katie, I'm with you: oatmeal's slime factor is a huge turn-off. To avoid the hassle and ick altogether, I love 1/2c uncooked steel-cut Irish oats in yogurt. No cooking necessary (which is good because they require a lot more time to cook than even regular Quaker oats...).

    Find these oats in many stores, include World Market of all places, or online here: http://www.mccanns.ie/

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  4. Thanks, EVERYONE. I should eat oatmeal regularly. I like regular oatmeal but tire of it! New recipes should help with the oatmeal duldrums!
    Mom

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