Hi everyone, I'm pretty new here and am so glad to have found, and be part of this forum.

There are two foods I need to eat, but don't like (oats and yogurt). I'm determined to learn to eat both of them because they are just too healthy not to eat. So, I'm starting with oats.

I know I don't like the pre-flavored ones. They're too sweet. I've been working on rolled oats. I was able to eat about five bites with just a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon. Tomorrow I'm going to add just a few pieces of pecan and try that.

Taste and texture are a problem, but I *am* determined. I have read that the steel cut oats are less "gummy" than the rolled ones and that would make a huge difference to me. As for the taste, well.... I've got more work to do.

I *hope* oats are like cottage cheese, in that there are lots of different ways to eat them.

Do you like oats? Do you do anything special with yours? Any tips or ways for me to try them? I'm a woman on a mission here! *grin*

Who woulda thunk I could write this big long post about such a short food?!

Thanks so much in advance!

Welcome to 3FC!

Oats and yogurt are great, but there are lots of whole grain choices and low-fat dairy choices. I don't think that you should make yourself eat stuff you don't like. For my life, bananas would be great. Portable, available year-round, & great for after distance events. The problem is that I despise bananas and cannot ever even consider choking one down. Bleh.

But one way you might enjoy oats is in protein pancakes. Blend equal parts of cottage cheese and oats (not the instant kind)--I use about 1/4-1/3 cup of each---eyeballing is fine. Blend them with an egg + 2 egg whites or with two eggs. Cook on a griddle like pancakes. You can add fruit. I add blueberries. My kid likes bananas in hers.

But I don't and never will.

I love oats, but NOT cooked in oatmeal. It's the gummy, mucky texture. I use oats in baking (muffins), and I love granola. I use them in meatloaf instead of bread crumbs.
For yogurt, try making a smoothie, or ice cream.
Good Luck!

if you feel you MUST learn to eat foods you don't like.....

what about oatmeal bars I make some that are oatmeal, non-fat milk powder, applesauce or mashed bananas, and you can add nuts and dried fruit.

it's listed in the south beach recipe area as a phase 2 breakfast

called Nessa's Oatmeal Bars....

I love oatmeal, but the way I make it, it isn't gummy. I put my rolled oats in a microwave-safe bowl and add water -- a little above the level of the oats. Then I zap on high for about one minute. The water should get pretty much absorbed. I add a little NF milk to re-moisten. I often add defrosted frozen blueberries to sweeten it.

Regarding the yogurt -- I found out than a friend of mine from India never eats it sweetened, but likes it with a sour/hot pickle chutney. I tried adding hot salsa to my yogurt and it's a nice change from the sweet variants.

This thread is certainly an example in how much taste varies.

I love oatmeal. I cooked the old fashioned oats in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes according to the directions on the box. I cook the steel cut oats in the microwave for 5 + 3 minutes (with a rest in between) according to directions online. I add fruit (blueberries, raspberries) as the sweetener.

I hate oatmeal in meatloaf. When I made it that way, the oatmeal soaked up all the grease that normally would have cooked out into the pan. I thought it was disgusting.

I've read somewhere on this site where someone adds raw oatmeal to their morning smoothie. And of course a smoothie is another way to use yogurt. If you don't like the tanginess of yogurt, how about cottage cheese?

There are too many good tasty healthy foods to spend too much time trying to like foods you don't like. I give you credit for trying some different ways to see if there's some way you will like these foods. If you try some of these and still don't like yogurt or oatmeal, as midwife says, try some alternatives.

I wouldn't, honestly, try to make yourself eat foods you don't normally like. I just see that as contributing to a "Deprivation/dieting/eating icky food" mentality, which, IMO, causes people to go off of their eating plans to get some "good" food. Low calorie, healthy food can be delicious, and what is delicious will depend so much on your taste...there's no reason to make yourself eat something you definitely DO NOT enjoy when there are so many healthy foods out there to like!

That being said, lots of folks make the Oatmeal Protein Pancakes, which are fairly un-oatmeal-like. And I'd hate ANYONE to write off yogurt without first giving Greek Yogurt (a good brand is Fage) a shot, particularly sweetened with a little bit of the sweetener of your choice with some fresh berries tossed in. Greek yogurt is thicker and richer tasting than regular, and I find the two VERY different. I also have quite a collection of sugar free syrup flavors, and will use those to sweeten up both oatmeal and yogurt. Vanilla syrup is good in both. Pineapple, coconut, peach, and lemon are good in the yogurt, and brown sugar cinnamon is good in oatmeal (and in coffee!).

I really don't care for oats. If act I hate them, but.....my Dh has high cholesterol and oats are good for him, well and myself. So I've been making them in the pressure cooker or cooking them overnight in the slow cooker. They are not "gritty" or "chewie" and I sometimes add a few unsweetened cranberries or apricots, english toffee stevia and some homemade yogurt. Even my DH will ask for these if I haven't made them in a while. I picked up 10 grain cereal, I think it is, Bob's Red Mill and I cook them inside a pot in my pressure cooker and it only takes three minutes. Same as oats, only way I can eat them. I made oatmeal brownies for DH and he said I could leave out the nuts next time. It was the danged oats. Noticed them when pretty well with his protein ice cream. LOL!!!

*reading with a smile*

Wow... not exactly the responses I expected... but ones that are definitely welcomed.

It does make a lot of sense to just try to find alternatives instead of trying to learn to like oats (and yogurt). It just seemed to me that the two items were so healthy that it was worth a real attempt before letting them go.

I am pretty good, for instance at finding healthy things to eat for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is actually the hardest meal for me. For some strange reason, I just enjoy something hot. I always thought oats was the perfect answer. I'm also going to try the make ahead breakfast burrito recipe I found here earlier this week and see if that helps.

As for the yogurt - thanks Mandalinn82, I'm going to look for the Fage. I actually had this in Greece and really did like it there. I forget now what it was served with, but it was really good. nanj, I also appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks everyone for the ideas and the thought provoking discussion. I really appreciate it!

a few thoughts:

I eat both regular rolled oats and steel cut oats, but I *don't* like sweet things in the morning. I often add 1/4 cup of shredded cheese to my oats. Or salt and pepper. Or something savory and spicy. It changes the whole "feel" of a bowl of oats.

Yogurt - I don't eat store bought any more. I make my own. I can make it as tart and as thick as I want - in large or small batches - and it's much more yummy. Most of the time I have it with frozen fruit, but as with oats - why limit it to sweet? A lot of middle eastern dishes rely on savory yogurt sauces - I make a tomato and cucumber salad and mix yogurt in - add some paprika and salt and pepper for a spicy bite.

If you really can't stand oats, maybe you can try something like quinoa? It might be too "oat like" and you might not like it, but some people like one and not the other. You can fix quinoa just like oats - sweet or savory - and they're chock full of nutrition!

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