Thursday, November 20, 2008

CREATIVE OATMEAL: other things to think about #2

[free or nearly-free happy things]

Perhaps not the most exciting subject, but a favorite breakfast for cold weather.  And it provides many options.

Here's my recipe.  It makes about 6 servings.  I eat one immediately and refrigerate the remainder to reheat on subsequent days.

Basic:
  • 2 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (slow cooking)
  • 4-5 cups Water
  • 1/4 tsp Salt (adds approx. 100 mg sodium per serving)
Bring to a boil.  Cook about 5 minutes over medium heat or until thickened.  Stir occasionally.

Additions:
  • Dried Fruit, chopped (If you want them plumped, add at the beginning of cooking with oats.)
  • Frozen Fruit, thawed while cooking
  • Nuts, chopped (If you want them crunchy, add at the end of cooking.)
  • Flavorings:  cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves ... use your imagination
  • Sweeteners:  brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, molasses, jam, fruit juice
Once it's served up on a bowl, I also pour on a little soymilk to make complete proteins.  (legumes + whole grains)

Cost:
  • 15 cup container uncooked Store Brand Rolled Oats = $1.75 US (on sale)
  • 3 Servings per cup (with additions)
  • $1.75 US for 45 servings per container
  • $0.04 US per serving + cost of optional additions and soymilk!
Time:
  • 10-15 minutes once a week to cook 6 days worth of servings.  
  • 2 minutes once a week to packaging in a resealable container for the frig
  • 2 minutes each day doing other things while the microwave reheats (stir in a little water to thin)
  • 1 minute once a week to scrub out the pan (if I don't remember to let it soak it takes longer)
  • less than 1 minute once a week to wash the resealable container
Favorite Creative Addition Combos:
  • chopped dried apples, brown sugar or maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, chopped walnuts
  • chopped dates, chopped pecans, cinnamon, vanilla
  • chopped dried apricots, honey, slivered almonds, almond extract (tiny amount)
  • frozen blueberries, maple syrup
  • frozen raspberries, honey
  • strawberry jam, almonds
  • blond raisins, pecans, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup
Yum!  Now you can tell someone they are as interesting as oatmeal and mean it as a compliment.

And Mom was right.  It does "stick to your ribs."

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:23 PM

    yum I have mine very pain with a mixture of sugar and salt (one on one side and the other on the other half) I call it ying yang porridge!

    Mary
    www.creativevoyage.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love oatmeal too, and have it like you do with lots of addition, my favorites are: cinnamon, turmeric, walnuts, raisins and frozen blueberries stirred in at the end. Yummy!

    ReplyDelete