So two months ago, oatmeal was something I would not touch with a ten foot pole, but after again forcing myself to try it, it's really good. Now, mind you, I was eating the Quaker Cinnamon Roll instant oatmeal which has 13 grams of sugar a packet and I eat two packets in the morning. It tasted good and filled me up for hours!
So, when grocery shopping yesterday, I noticed a Weight Control brand of oatmeal with less sugar and I bought a box of it; cinnamon. What a disappointment! I even added a packet of Splenda to it and it was just kind of tasteless.
I love the flavor the other stuff and the bottom line is that whether I like the taste or not, it still fills me up, but I'd rather enjoy what it tastes like as well. What do you all do with oatmeal in the morning?
I use plain old quaker oatmeal. I add about a T. of splenda, T. of smart balance light spread, 1/2 t. brown sugar (the only sugar I still eat), 1/4 milk, a dusting of cinnamon and 35 raisins.
I do steel-cut and add my own flavorings: dried fruit (or sometimes fresh), nuts, ground flaxseed, wheat germ. Sometimes I even add peanut butter. I don't add sweetener, but my son adds brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, or honey.
I am an oatmeal lover! Here are some of my ways to LOVE-LOVE-LOVE it!
1) Make regular oatmeal (Old Fashioned or Quick oats). I just make it with water in the microwave. Add sliced fresh strawberries when the oatmeal comes out of the midrowave. Add a container of Yoplait Fat-free Boston Cream Pie yogurt on top. Mmmmmmm! If you like a sweeter taste, add a packet of Splenda to your strawberries before you add the yogurt. To me this makes the best breakfast you can have. It's about 350 calories and holds me all morning -even after my workout!
2) Make regular oatmeal or Quick oats in the microwave as above. Add a tablespoon of Crunchy peanut butter and half of a banana sliced. That's one fabulous breakfast that tastes like a really yummy nutbread! That one is about 300 calories.
3) Add brown sugar and raisins. Very good that way! I use a 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of raisins. I like to have this one before my six-mile walk! Gives me plenty of energy! This one is about 370 calories.
4) Make oatmeal as above. Chop up five or six dates and add them. Then add 1/8 cup walnuts. This one tastes like a warm cookie coming out of the oven! It's about 360 calories.
5) My son likes to add 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to his oatmeal as soon as it comes out of the microwave. That one is about 280 calories. If you add Cool-Whip on top it tastes more like a dessert and is about 300 calories.
I'd like to encourage you to give the regular in-the-canister oatmeal a whirl. It's less expensive and no more difficult to make than the packets. The Steel-cut oats (Bob's )are very yum, too, but more expensive. I like them, too!
YUM oatmeal...love it, but unfortunately it stimulates my apptite rather than suppresses it (weird, huh?!), so I gave up on it for breakfast and will have it for an occasional snack. Anyway, back to your question.
My favorite way to eat oatmeal is to microwave 1/2 c. Old Fashioned Quaker Oats and 1c. water for 2 minutes, stir in 1 oz. whole raw almonds, a little splenda, and 1/2 c. skim milk, then microwave 30 seconds more to warm the milk. It's just yummy, and very comforting...especially during the cold winter months!
I have also heard some people say they put diced apple in and microwave the whole thing (so the apples get soft), then add cinnamon...sounds tasty, but I've never tried it!
IMHO, making your own oatmeal tastes better, is healthier, and is much cheaper than buying the packets. Have fun!
I am lazy in the morning. I can just about manage to throw some water and oatmeal in a bowl and nuke it. Adding things is way too much work before I'm awake in the morning!
I used to eat the cinnamon roll oatmeal too! Then I tried the Weight Control oatmeal and, like you, just wasn't impressed.
But then I tried the low sugar apple cinnamon by Quaker, and found a good compromise. For reference, the cinnamon roll brand has 13 grams of sugar, the weight control (cinnamon flavor) has 1 gram sugar, and the low sugar apple and cinnamon has 6 grams.
I loved a particular Quaker "instant" oatmeal. It was one (cinnamon and pecan) that you had to microwave--not just add hot water. But no store near here or anywhere else carries it. I do make steel cut oats in a big batch and divide it up for later eating (I sweeten with stevia and add a few rasins). And I go for the higher protein instant oatmeal when I'm in a pinch.
I LOVE OATMEAL!!!! That said, I've probably got a strange way of eating it - I make it in fairly salty water and I put butter in it. Which of course, depending on how much I use, probably cancels out the great benefits of the oatmeal itself. But I try not to use too much. I have to say, salty and buttery is awesome - and I always use the steel cut, rather than "quick" oats.
Thank you guys for all of the interesting options you've given - I'm going to give some of them a try.
I like the Quaker reduced sugar maple and brown sugar. I eat it for breakfast and for a snack sometimes. I also did not like the weight control or the healthy heart varieties.
Everyone has had wonderful ieads I'm going to try as well! My favorite is adding fresh fruit, especially berries! Also I have mentioned this in another post but here it is again: If you put a banana in with the oatmeal before you cook it in the microwave once it's hot it mixes in and tastes great (apples too)! I add vanilla soy milk as well as cinnamon or stevia (a calorie free natural sweetener that has fiber and is good for you)!
I'm a plain oatmeal fan, too . . . just throw in some oatmeal, water, cinnamon and raisins (not sweetener or salt) and nuke it. Then add a little skim milk to cool it off a bit.
Although I'm definitely getting to love that pancake recipe that Tammy turned me on to -- with the cottage cheese and egg whites -- YUMMY.
I get mine at Trader Joe's but I'm sure most health food stores would have it as well, I was kinda disappointed that the normal markets dont sell it but what can you do? Maybe you can even find it online somewhere, but that might be a little extreme unless you REALLY want it. Good luck finding it!
Can we discuss oatmeal?
