Good morning. It's raining here, so best stay indoors for a while untill it brightens up. I see the meter reader man has parked his van outside so I've stuck a note on my door to say please knock loud I am in. I don't have a door bell and often miss people because I can't hear them knocking.
So, what's for breakfast this morning? I have opened a new bag of porridge oats, and wondered how many portions there are in 1kg. It says on the back of the bag that you should weigh out 50g per portion, and as I don't have any scales I measure mine in dessertspoons.
Porridge oats are so versatile. To make breakfast more interesting I sometimes add a handfull of raisins, or a few peach slices, this morning I added a couple of spoons of stewed apples which my neighbour gave me. Sometimes I add a banana, and sometimes seeds. You could use any fruit you like. I add oats to stews to bulk them out, and a spoonfull in a smoothie makes it thick and creamy. I don't just have porridge for breakfast either, it's a lovely tummy warmer in the middle of a cold wet miserable winters day.
Oats can also be used for making a face pack. If you really wanted to you could mix it with honey or yogurt and slap it on your face, personally I would rather eat it.
There are loads of good reasons why porridge oats are classed as a superfood. I'm not going to write a big article about the benefits of eating them, you can look it up yourself by googling, Are oats good for you. Here's a site for starters to get you going.
http://www.formerfatguy.com/articles/oatmeal/oats.asp
Feel free to add your own porridge oats recipe suggestions, and let's get everyone eating oats. I am certainly getting my fair share of oats these days, are you?
Toodle pip.
I love oats but am not very creative with it besides baking with it and making porridge. Thanks for the suggestion to put it in my smoothie. Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteI sometimes chop an apple and cook it in with the oats. Josie Dew, the intrepid cycle traveller and author, always used oats with lots of fruit, to start her arduous day. She was on TV once and it showed her making a huge amount of oats with apples and sultanas thrown in and maybe a banana on top. Personally I couldn't eat so much, more like the portion you would have, but I'm not travelling daily with a heavily laden bike!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAn oat milk bath is brilliant for eczema. Put a generous handful of oats into a muslin cloth (or the foot end of an old pair of tights). Tie under the hot tap when filling the bath so the water runs through it. When the bath is full squeeze the milky liquid out of the oat bag into the bath. Worked wonders for my children's skin.
ReplyDeleteI've just started doing this after trying every other eczema treatment possible, including steroid cream on prescription. The oat milk bath is the only thing that has cleared it up - it's fantastic and very cheap. I used the tights method. After I'd squeezed the oatmeal tights bag in the bath, I then rubbed it all over like a sponge and then rinsed with warm water.
DeleteMust try that as both my children suffer with eczema; one worse than the other and it can be very debilitating. Thanks very much.
DeleteI eat porridge every day with three chopped up dried apricots. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteI know you're a veggie but I hear people use oats to bulk out mince dishes like spag bol. I love porridge for breakfast as I don't need anything else until lunch because it's so filling. There is something really comforting about hot porridge on a cold, dark morning.
ReplyDeleteA fascinating treatise on the wonders of oats.
ReplyDeleteUsually soak mine in green-top milk for half an hour or so, then in the microwave for about 3 seperate 1-minute blasts, add milk if necessary.
Never weighed it, it's eaten sprinkled with ground cinammon.
I got a load from Approved Foods ages ago, a bit coarser than Tescos, but very filling.
I have oats every morning but cold not cooked. I make my own muesli with them and store it in jars. In a large bowl mix oats, chopped dates, chopped dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, a teaspoon vanilla essence, grated nutmeg (I use lots of this)
ReplyDeleteEvery night before bed I put 4 dessertspoons in a bowl and cover with either water or milk then cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
In the morning it's ready, just top with a handful of berries.
Keeps me full until lunchtime.
Yes we're porridge eaters, (I measure them with a soup ladle) and add all sorts of fresh and dried fruits. I like the idea of adding them to a smoothie.
ReplyDeleteMy mother ate porridge every day summer and winter until the day she died at 96 ! I make granola with oats also - the jumbo are best for this - I roast them in the oven and then add nuts, dried fruit, seeds and coconut , makes a lovely snack, quite healthy as I dont add sugar and only a tablespoon of safflower oil. Totally wonderful food.
ReplyDeleteHi Ilona, We like oats/oatmeal here too. I measure some in a pan and leave them to soak overnight in milk and then cook them up into porridge. The kids like to have diced apple in theirs, or a little drizzle of single cream with a sprinkle of sugar, a little milk and some tinned raspberries occasionally, makes Cranachan. Stewed apples sounds nice too. If I make up some stewed apple, I put in a teaspoon of cinnamon, or to your liking and a bit water, then once cooked, you can put the whole lot on top of your porridge and the apple cinnamon flavoured juice over it, it is very tasty. I came across this recipe for Chocolate Orange porridge, it sounds quite nice but not sure about the Nutella, maybe some grated dark chocolate on the top instead with the segments, or Seville orange marmalade.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hgca.com/minisite_manager.output/1667/1667/Farmhouse%20Breakfast%20Week/2007/Chocolate%20Orange%20Porridge.mspx?minisiteId=30
Dessicated coconut and a good dollop of plain unsweetened yoghurt is good too.
This recipe has won at the Porridge Making Championships; hazelnut honey swirl porridge.
http://www.goldenspurtle.com/recipes/honeyed-hazelnut-porridge-swirl/
All this talk of porridge is making me hungry. Cheers for now, Christy.
I love my oats, I use a very small glass to measure and then same measure twice of water....2 minutes popped in the microwave and that's it. add a bit of soya or ordinary milk and it's a great filling breakfast and cheapy cheapy
ReplyDeleteflapjack
ReplyDeleteI add cinnamin, a splash of vanilla, a dash of ground cloves and raw apple to mine. I have also added raisins, or other dried fruit such as dried cranberries. I love oatmeal. Cheapest healthiest meal of all.
ReplyDeleteLOL I'm the odd one here! I do not like rolled oat porridge. Rolled oats are for bathing in or for oatmeal cookies(biscuits). But I will eat steel-cut oats as a porridge with lots of dried fruits and nuts in it.
ReplyDeleteI add 3 handful of oats to make beef mince (1kg) go further, e.g. for bolognaise sauce; after several hours in the slow cooker, it makes it creamier, too.
ReplyDeleteI can't manage porridge with no sweetening, so I cookit with 4 dried dates chopped up; they break up in cooking and give it a sort of toffee sweetness.
I'm not keen on porridge, but I do have oatmeal, with is very good and tastes creamier than porridge, and is excellent for lowering cholesterol. I sometimes add berries, but like it plain too with a bit of sugar or honey. I love my oats, ought to have them more often!
ReplyDeleteI`m all for oats!! Come and read my blog entry:
ReplyDeleteIn praise of good old porridge oats. I also baked with oats and my own oaty flour mix. Two recipes are included in the Favourite Recipe Page by the side of my blog. Come and check it out! I`m happy for you to link to it, if you like.
I'm a Scot and I like oats the traditional Scottish way--made with proper oatmeal with a bit of salt and only water. Then eat it with a separate bowl of milk. Dip the spoon of hot porridge into the cold milk--delicious!
ReplyDeleteIt's the salt that makes oatmeal palatable. You haven't lived until you've seen a Canadian in Tim Horton's stare at you when you add the salt.
Deletewith Lyles Golden Syrup....
ReplyDeleteGill
I am not sure what porridge is, but I love oats. I use the whole rolled Quaker Oats or any off-brand that is cheaper. I use a half cut of oats and a cup of water, microwave two minutes, give the little salt shaker one shake, add two much sugar, and margarine. Stir and eat with a huge glass of milk. It may have too much sugar and margarine to be healthful, but it is such a comfort food for me at any time of the day.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up we ate it cooked in a pot on the stove. Then, we had less sugar and real butter that I use, plus some milk mixed in. When anyone did not finish their oatmeal, it was put into the refrigerator for later. My four younger siblings always left some in the bowl on purpose so they could eat it hours later, ice cold. YUCK! They all thought it tasted as good as ice cream. I tried it and found it to be gross. Some of you might like it very cold. Have any of you deliberately gotten it icy cold before eating oats?
+1 for oats. They're cheap here also. I usually add a banana to mine. So easy, so simple and nice and cheap :)
ReplyDeleteIn summer, I love Bircher Muesli, but you need a *little* bit of advance preparation. Steep the oats in a mixture of milk and yoghurt and/ or quark (if you have it) and leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning add berries, nuts, seeds, a little bit of chopped apple (i have seen recipes that ask for apple juice and grated apple but i've never seen that done). For extra laziness, if you have regular muesli you can add that in with the oats for steeping because sometimes it has dried fruits and seeds etc in it already. The result is a lovely cooling breakfast that will keep you going until lunchtime :) I love it!
ReplyDeleteI put oats in smoothies too and like porridge for breakfast in the colder months. I also add them to a crumble mix.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that porridge and oatmeal were different but they are! Porridge is the whole oat (or can be peas or barley too) and oatmeal is processed and they take the outer bran off so it's not as nutritious as porridge. Actually oatmeal doesn't have much to it at all except for the fiber you're getting from it. I have never seen porridge in the supermarkets here where I live (Northeast US).
ReplyDeleteSounds good and good for you too. I would love it with chopped apples and cinnamon.