The miracle of Porridge

Recently I've discovered how amazing porridge is, i have mine with water to lessen the cals...plus i don't really taste that much of a difference.

BUT i wondered what you all put with it? 

i've been having honey and cinamon...but i think this is causing me to crave sweet thing later on...any other ideas as to what I should have with my lovely bowl of porridge that's relatively cheap to buy?

You can pretty much put anything into your porridge (as you've probably seen by the other posts)

I use a wide array of fruits, such as oranges, apples, and even added prunes at times

I also add some brown sugar or maple syrup ontop along with skim milk

I love adding almond slices - adds to the heart healthness

I make mine with milk in the microwave for creamyness and to add to the nutritional aspect - need the Calcium for my bones as osteo runs in my family.

I am a fan of the thick cut - non of that instant powdery stuff - I like visible flakes.

other than that, since I liek mine just a touch sweet and I am cutting out natural sugar, I add a packet of Splenda. I've tried Stevia, but it is not to my taste. If using natural sugar, I'd prefer the dark brown sugar forthe added flavor or molasses.

I am new to oatmeal/porridge myself and tried this this morning, but it wasn't that great. What did I do wrong?

1/4 c Oats

1/8 c pumpkin

1 tsp pumpkin spice blend (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove)

1 packet splenda

I don't want to add many more calories to this, but why did this not taste like pumpkin pie? lol

Well, in my pumpkin oats, I usually use 1/2 cup pumpkin to 1/3 cup 5-grain hot cereal or 1/4 cup oatbran. I am on a gaining diet, but honestly - canned pumpkin is 40 calories to half a cup. Even if you used a quarter cup, its only 20 calories and would be more proportionate to the amount of oats you are using. Also, a lot of people find that artificial sweetener tends to taste a bit off in pumpkin. A teaspoon of brown sugar, or some sugar-free maple syrup would probably give you a better flavor without many more calories. Especially considering a packet of splenda actually contains 4 calories - your talking only 7 or 8 more for the brown sugar, less for the sugar-free syrup.

Check this out. :] I especially love the mock banana split, YUM. And crumbling bars or muffins into porridge also seems like a very nice idea.

I prepare my porridge the evening before containing 40 grams of Oats, 1 dried fig, water, cinnamon, a pinch of vanilla and ... SAFFRAN! Yummy! Very filling and it only contains about 150 cals! Super!

I love Chinese rice porridge.  Rice congee or tong sui.  Yum!!

Love my oats! Here are some things I love with mine (in various combos):

• bananas
• walnuts
• almonds
• apple slices microwaved with cinnamon
• CINNAMON!
• brown sugar
• flavoured soy milk
• raisins
• craisins
• figs
• nutmeg
• grapes
• tangerine and orange (serious!)
• peanut butter
• nutella
• java chips
• made with yoghurt instead of milk
• tiny carmel candies melted in
• crumbling a Quaker granola bar in

I could go on and on, I kid you not :o)

I see this is an old thread, and I don't know if anyone will read my reply. I looked through the others, and seems like people try different sweet things to put in porridge or oatmeal.

For several years, I've been eating porridge made with some chopped up sausage it it. I generally use half a link and throw it in the pot while the water is boiling, before I add the oats. The taste is totally different than adding sweets. Occasionally I'll sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top before I eat it.

My favorite additions are Basil Pesto or Andouille sausage, although this morning I put in some roast country style pork ribs, chopped up into bits. I've also tried it with leftover hamburger, bacon and steak.

it is an old thread, but no harm in reviving a thread of this type...

I also usually eat savory porridge (oatmeal) to the utter consternation of my coworkers, as they see me toss in spinach and shrimp (or kale, or broccoli, or asparagus, cheese, egg/egg white) -- to me, steel cut oats can be treated about the same way as rice, or grits...

Ah, you are much more adventurous with your porridge than I am. I hadn't thought of adding veggies. I'm not sure I'd want to... I mainly eat oats for breakfast, and veggies don't seem to fit. Any way, adding shrimp sound good. I might try that tomorrow.

Apparently, adding meat to breakfast grits or oatmeal is an old Southern tradition. I forgot what it's called, but when I crumbled up some breakfast sausage to mix in with some oatmeal at work one day, a co-worker said, "OH, you're eating ____! I haven't seen anyone eat that since I left Alabama. We call it _____ down South." But I can't for the life of me remember what she called it. Started with "g" I think.

It does sound good, but watch out for using up your daily sugar grams all during breakfast! That would make the rest of the day very bland...

;^)

Original Post by pollyalice85:

Nutmeg and cinnamon. I stopped eating oats I heard it caused weight gain .

They don't, and I'm sure you've been told this. How many times do you have to be told something before you absorb it?

This morning I cooked up some plain oats (in water) and then mashed 1/2 a banana into it and topped it with frozen blueberries, natural peanut butter and pure maple syrup. SO good.

It was kind of a variation of the oatmeal pancake that I make:

- 1/4 cup oats
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 mashed banana
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- stevia (optional)
- 1 tbsp milk of choice or water
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon

I cook it in coconut oil and I add frozen blueberries once it's in the pan and then I top it with peanut/almond butter and pure maple syrup. Seriously try this!

Original Post by pollyalice85:

Nutmeg and cinnamon. I stopped eating oats I heard it caused weight gain .

A long time ago, certain foods were known as "fattening." In general, they were foods that combined carbs and fat. Like donuts. French fries. Chips. Oatmeal got that reputation because people had the habit of plopping a big pat of butter in the middle of their warm oatmeal, then adding some milk and spooning in a teaspoon or two of sugar. Plain oat porridge has plenty of fiber and complex carbohydrates and has been shown to lower cholesterol, and nutmeg and cinnamon don't change that. It's really the butter and sugar that's the culprit.

I got hooked on oatmeal last year and made all sorts of crazy concoctions. Some of my favourite mix-ins were: pumpkin puree and maple syrup; fresh mango and spoonful of cashew butter; grated apple and raisins; and cherries and dark chocolate. Sometimes I cooked it in water, sometimes I used soya milk or almond milk for half of the liquid portion. 

My options at college are a lot more limited since my cooking process now consists of pouring hot water from the kettle on top of dry oats! I'm also on a tighter budget while at school, so I usually keep it really simple. Banana and blueberries is what I'm enjoying right now, but I have to admit, oatmeal is usually only a winter time thing for me. I'm all about the non-dairy yogurt during the warmer months!

I would only make sure I put some sort of protein like nuts and make sure I don't pour a huge portion. Apple, almonds and cinnamon is my favorite, or honey, flax almond and cranberries too ( do this last one on yogurt too sometimes.

I was looking for alternatives to my honey oat bar in the morning. It seems it is much less caloric and filling when you cook your own as supposed to a processed bar... thing is the time in the morning...

:)

If you have a microwave to reheat oatmeal, you can make it the night before by boiling the appropriate amount of water, tossing in the oats, turning off the heat and letting it sit, overnight, covered. It will be ready to eat when you get up, only wanting some warming in the microwave. Works best with steel cut oats, the rolled kind get mushy.