Oats - Overnight oats that is!

[Luc]

In this week's overnight oats, I added a simple 50 grams of water to all 3 overnight oats. The interesting bit.

• Monday was more liquidy than usual
• Wednesday (today) was firmer than Monday but not far from the usual. So in between regular and Monday.
• Waiting to see if Friday will be as firm as usual

 

[FireDragon76]

I'm fond of Irish oats. They are a little more finely rolled and broken than Quaker oats. They also cook quickly. It makes for a nice creamy bowl of oatmeal.

 

[Luc]

This week, I'm using whole raw almonds that I ground using the cheese hand grater (largest blade). It was fairly un-even but, somehow, it tasted "fresher". I guess the process of having a blanched almond altered the flavor a bit. I never really noticed and I always try 1 piece once in a while to be sure they still taste good.

This morning was a peach cobbler since I received peaches in my odd-looking veggies box. They were really ripe so I had to use them when I got the box. It was really nice, no need to add any honey.

 

[Luc]

The Overnight oats quest is still on.

I bought the Spice Apple pie mix at the grocery (which is cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger). It was more to try it as I can easily make it at home. The jar was on liquidation so that's mainly why I grabbed it. I used 5 grams per bowl. I could possibly go up to 7 grams but now it's all over (I used it all).

I also got a pumpkin pie mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger) so more on this one next week.

I got some apples in my veggie box so... Apple pie-flavoured oats!

I've started including a banana in my Friday oats so it's more filling (lifting weights do that I guess, but I'm not building a bodybuilding muscle mass either).

I try to limit my fruits to 200 grams total. I often end up using everything that no one wants in my oats. I try to use berries first (like blueberries and strawberries that are currently in season and cheap). If not, I use everything else that I have around (plums, pears, grapes, peaches, etc.).

The combos are always changing!

 

[Luc]

The apple spice mix is better than the pumpkin spice mix. I could do my own but it's 2 seconds quicker to use the premix. There are no fillers or sugar in it which I what I like.

This week, I got some peaches, apples, and strawberries. I started adding a small quantity of bananas to my oats as I tried to limit my sugar intake. Since I'm making 3 bowls, I split a banana between the 3.

 

[Luc]

For the apple spice mix, my pre-mixed (store-bought) box was Cinnamon, ginger powder, and nutmeg.

I found that just cinnamon and ginger do the trick for me. Ceylon Cinanamon and fresh ginger are a bonus!

 

[Luc]

I was not able to find a Spice apple pie mix at my local store (I was visiting relatives when I got the other one). I bought the same brand that my local grocery store sells so it must be a matter of finding which local store has it (unless no one likes apple pie around me).

I found a jar of Star Anise and I've been playing with that one. It combines really well with pears + cinnamon. The peanut butter, banana, and strawberries combo was okay but it wasn't shining!

 

[Luc]

Looks like strawberry/blueberry season is over around here (they are expensive and mushy). So, I'm switching back to frozen berries for now. I was able to find a larger size bag(s) of frozen wild blueberries at Costco Enterprise (not the regular Costco). It's cheaper than regular Costco so I will be buying that next. It comes in a cardboard box but the label says it comes from the same company that I usually buy so it should be the same.

I am not a huge fan of chocolate but I tried raw cocoa powder (no sugar added, 100% cocoa) in my Wednesday oats (peanut/banana) and it was very enjoyable.

 

[Luc]

My overnight oat obsession (I think that would be the correct term) is still going strong! I'm slowly refining the sequence to assemble the dish.

Like many who meal prep, I do everything in a sequence. All bowls have to be finished before I move to the next step (i.e. I do step 1 for bowls 1-2-3, then move to step 2, etc.).
1-Assemble the base (oats+nuts+hemp seeds or flaxseeds).
2-Add Milk (almond here) and Greek Yogurt.
3-This step is flavoring so, this is where each bowl will be different.

I still use whole almonds that I chop into smaller pieces. I will possibly move to walnuts as they will be easier to chop and they are cheaper than almonds around here.

Every other day, I make the poor student sandwich. In case you missed it: The poor student sandwich (well, 1 pan breakfast) - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/the-poor-student-sandwich-well-1-pan-breakfast.637646/

I should post my French toast brekkie (Sunday only) eventually.

 

[Rushman2112]

On BBC's Saturday Kitchen, this was offered in place of ONO:
Mango and Chia Pudding

• 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk (preferably organic)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 200ml/⅓ pint tinned mango pulp or purée
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom (or the seeds of 3 crushed pods)
• ½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• 75g chia seeds
• 1 tbsp full-fat live Greek yoghurt or plant-based alternative
• handful fresh or tinned mango chunks

1. Ccombine all the ingredients, except the chia seeds and yoghurt, in a bowl and whisk well to combine. You want to make sure that any coconut solids are well emulsified into the mixture and no lumps remain.
2. Add the chia seeds and stir gently for a minute or two. You will notice the mixture will start to thicken. Place it in the fridge for a few hours before serving. (You can also make this the night before for breakfast the next morning.)

The recipe comes from Dr Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed who is a nutritionist. I plan to try it but we are out of chia seeds(!)

 

[Rushman2112]

Not very pretty, but quite tasty and very filling for breakfast.

 

[Luc]

It sure is an alternative. Chia adds an interesting texture.

So yesterday I made a detour to a grocery store that I don't usually go to get 3 pears (and other things, save the planet!) as they were on special there (half price per pound compared to everywhere else).

So I did my usual combo but I now split 2 bananas between my 3 portions of oats.

So it's something like this:

• 40 grams of quick oats
• 150ml of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 10 grams of chopped almonds
• 10 grams of flaxseeds
• 200 grams of plain Greek yogurt (I use lactose-free and 0%)
• 1 pear (around 140 grams)
• 50 grams of blueberries
• 2/3 banana chopped
• 10 grams of unsweetened cocoa powder (100% pure)

Since I live with a few elves at home that mix up my pots in the fridge I made the same 3 times. I started using the cinnamon to number my oats (crazy right?) and then I thought it would be easier to be 3 times the same instead of searching for 1-2-3 lines on top of the containers!

 

[Luc]

This is still going on at my place! Since I started this thread, I'm almost at the 2 years mark! I believe that's a new habit that will stick at this stage. I now have my oat corner in the fridge so everyone knows those are off-limits. On Monday, it's great to go directly to the espresso machine, grab the container, look at the birds, and eat. There's nothing else! I might be close to the "get off my lawn" headspace... I don't know...

This no-cook, dump-in, and mix preparation, cannot be easier. If you haven't tried it, try it once. I get the One Degrees oats at Costco now since they are labeled glysophate-free. I have not ventured into the oat-based pancake mix yet. Making oat flour is probably my next step...

 

[blethenstrom]

We like our fermented foods and my dear wife started making fermented oatmeal in the mornings. She puts it all together the night before. She adds a little of her sourdough starter to the oatmeal soak. We also found that we preferred steel cut oats for this rather then rolled because the rolled oats became too mushy. She ferments it on the countertop rather then in the fridge. In the morning you just cook the oats for like 5 min and it is good to go plus you get all the probiotics from the sourdough starter. My favorite is a bit of peanut butter in the oatmeal and then some fruit or jam to it.

 

[Old Hippie]

We like our fermented foods and my dear wife started making fermented oatmeal in the mornings.

Interesting! Yes, you would need to cook it to kill the yeast or you could end up with a problem. One of today's bread projects is a sourdough buttermilk oatmeal bread. I bring that up here to say that I always make an overnight "soaker" of a cup of buttermilk and a half cup of oats for this bake. Soaking the oats in buttermilk or in whey drained from fresh yogurt (both of which we usually have around here) would let the lactobacillus work on the oats, and if you ate it without cooking it would have active probiotics in it.

Edit: Also, soaking without the yeast would probably lead to a sweeter porridge, as the sugars unlocked from the starches would not have been partially consumed by the yeast.

O.H.

 

[blethenstrom]

Interesting! Yes, you would need to cook it to kill the yeast or you could end up with a problem. One of today's bread projects is a sourdough buttermilk oatmeal bread. I bring that up here to say that I always make an overnight "soaker" of a cup of buttermilk and a half cup of oats for this bake. Soaking the oats in buttermilk or in whey drained from fresh yogurt (both of which we usually have around here) would let the lactobacillus work on the oats, and if you ate it without cooking it would have active probiotics in it.

Edit: Also, soaking without the yeast would probably lead to a sweeter porridge, as the sugars unlocked from the starches would not have been partially consumed by the yeast.

O.H.

Yeah and try some sourdough pancakes and you will never go back either.

 

[Luc]

Interesting concept indeed!

 

[Old Hippie]

Yeah and try some sourdough pancakes and you will never go back either.

Now you're talking my language, as my father used to say. Gather around, kids; Old Hippie has a story.

On second thought, rather than hijack this thread any further I'll just start a new topic and tell it there.

O.H.