What is everyone's obsession with oats?

So? I don't know why so many people eat them. I've never had them before, so I won't say I don't like them, and I'm going to give them a try. So what are they?

How do I cook them? What with??

its basically porrage i add milk rasons and spices to mine and microwave its lovely satisfying and warming in the winter  h x

in the US it's called oatmeal. You can add different things to change up the flavor. It is very satisfying and allows me to go longer before getting hungry then a bowl of cold cereal. I add 2 tsps of peanut butter and 1 tsp of brown sugar to mine. Yum!

Original Post by waikkiki:

So? I don't know why so many people eat them. I've never had them before, so I won't say I don't like them, and I'm going to give them a try. So what are they?

How do I cook them? What with??

Oats, or oatmeal by it self and water I personally find disgusting. I get a half cup of oats, 2/3rds cup milk(Whole, Skim, 2% whatever aha), and a banana. It tastes really good, but you have to make it correctly. This is what I do,

Get the oats and 2/3rd's cup milk and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. In that two minutes I slice up a banana. I then take the oat meal out of the microwave take my ground cinnamon and sprinkle just enough(a little goes a long way, DON'T overdo it) in it stir it up then add a bit of water to get the top of it moiste but not to much. Then put it in the microwave for 15 seconds. After then I add the banana slices into the oatmeal stir it up and add it to the microwave again for additional 40 seconds. This gets the bananas nice and meltly and tastes really good with the kick with the cinnamon!

You just got to be creative when it comes to oat meal. Try adding fruit or some nuts to it as well. Oatmeal is not for everyone though. You just need to find the right flavor for you though

Is oatmeal the same as porridge oats, just a different name?

thanks you guys! That's awsome!

I mean, I've seen it in movies and stuff and thought it looked lovely, so I'll give it a go and let you know!

Thank you!

You can try looking in past threads as well, there's a ton on oatmeal and different ways to prepare it.

I think the reason why they're so popular (at least in the weight gain forum) is because it's so easy to make them pack in a lot of calories in relatively little bulk. I'll make mine with 2% or whole milk, sprinkle some nuts, and add in a mashed banana. That's easily over 600 calories right there!

Original Post by misscherryjane:

Is oatmeal the same as porridge oats, just a different name?

yes.

granola is SO good!

it's basically an unhealthier and sugary-er version of porridge, but so delish. porridge is good toot hough - and muesli =)

And in the weight loss forum because it's so easy to make them a part of a balanced day. hearty breakfast, sticks to your ribs, fiber to keep you full for a while, keep your digestive system moving; and an excellent way to sneak fruit in.

I personally quit eating oat meal (from oat flakes) because I thought it tasty too gummy.  But then my younger daughter sent me some steel-cut oats, and I found out that I really like them.  I like to undercook them just a bit, which gives them a nutty, chewy texture.  I eat 1/2 cup from dry (300 calories) with 1 tablespoon of real maple syrup (50) and 1/4th cup skim milk (20) for a low-calorie, highly nutritious 370 calories.  My biggest problem with eating steel-cut oats is that I either have to order them online and pay fairly high shpping charges or drive to a larger city to find a store that stocks them.

Well that sucks. I buy mine in Whole Foods or in Trader Joes.

The thing about oats/porridge is that it's very versatile. Too bad it got this rep as a sweet breakfast food in U.S. Personally like mine savory. For example last week I made some steel cut oats with water, mixed in some farmers cheese (tvorog), and some crab meat. I also added salt and pepper and a bit of soy sauce. I also mixed in mushrooms, garam masala, and cumin in to them and used it as stuffing for burritos.

UD

It is surprising to me how many people mention Trader Joe's.  There is not one any where near where I live, I mean not even within hundreds of miles, as far as I know.  The super Wally Worlds carry steel-cut oats, and we will be going to one in a week or two.  I will have to try some more variety with what I put in my steel-cut oats, but I can honestly say that as much as I love just slightly undercooked ones with the maple syrup and milk, come winter and the cold mornings, hot steel-cut oats will definitely be a breakfast I look forward to.

We are spoiled in California. I am in bay area right now, tons of options when it comes to food selection, from ethnic mom/pop markets to bigger chains that are all about organic and stuff like Whole Foods.

UD

I love fresh bluberries and some smart balance thrown in. I used to do it with raisins, brown sugar and evaporated milk, but I am cuttign back on sugar now. Mayne I will start using a little brown sugar in again with fat free evaporated milk?

Oatmeal can be bought in several varieties.  You can buy packaged instant (flavored or not), regular oats (semi processed), steel cut oats and I think one more kind that is the least processed.

What you can do with them:

-cook with milk or water (I cook mine with water and eat with milk)

-mix jam or jelly into cooked oats for color and sweetness (apple butter is amazing)

-mix peanut butter or nuts; yogurt; apple sauce

-add white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey

-mix in cut up fresh fruit (i slice up my banana and add it when i first start cooking my oatmeal so that I can mash them up and get a kind of semi-chunky paste...mix in cinnamon, top with milk...mm-mmm good!)

You can do anything or nothing at all with cooked oats

I'm Canadian, and I grew up calling the dish oatmeal porridge. Oatmeal being the main ingredient, and porridge being the mush you make with it.

I'm really boring. I have porridge once or twice a day and make it with water and then serve it with just some 1% milk (I'm not a weight gainer obviously).

Oatmeal porridge with skim milk/cottage cheese, peanut butter, apples, cinnamon, raisins.

It tastes awesome with peanut butter, trust me!

Yea doggie!  My wife returned from her trip to the big city and brought me 6 canisters of John McCann's Steel-Cut oats.  Yea doggie!  I also bought on my trip the other day 3 pint bottles of real maple syrup.  Now to attack that cholesterol--since oatmeal is regarded by some experts as a good warrior against that agent of evil.

I usually eat oats as part of my breakfast muesli that I sprinkle on plain yoghurt every morning.

I do like porridge with milk, raisins and brown sugar, but it never seems to fill me up... although stirring in a tbsp of bran helps a little.