When the nutritional info give a serving size (eg: 1/4 cup or 40 grams) on something that needs to be cooked(I am making steel cut oats) do I measure before or after I cook it? And does anyone have any good ideas as to how to flavor it? I would love to smother it in brown sugar and milk!

i've always assumed that nutritional info to mean as it exsists in the package. we shall see what the folks in the know have to say.

with my oats, i typically do use a little brown sugar (2-3 teaspoons). other things i like to add are spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc., fresh fruit, toasted coconut, banana, and sometimes a splash of fat free condensed milk (not the sweet one). my gosh, possibilities are endless. really its about moderation.

I use steel-cut oats and on my package, it calls for water in the recipe. Water has no calories, so I use the amount on the package to calculate the amount per serving. If I add anything to it, I just figure out the points for what I'm adding and add it to the oatmeal total. I like to sweeten mine with agave nectar [which I have in different flavors] and I add in different spices or fruit or nuts to add flavor. You can use the liquid flavorings to add flavor as well Hope that helps.

The WW information is sometimes confusing on this cooked vs. uncooked issue. For the oats, you want to weigh it dry unless it says "cooked" in the WW book. For a long time I thought that the weights they gave for meats were for raw meats, turns out it was for cooked meat, though. They really ought to be clearer about this in the books, although I think the e-tools is a bit better about this.

As others noted above, it's just easier to use the package info, which usually gives the nutritional info for the food in its uncooked state. Some give it for both cooked and uncooked (cake mixed sometimes do this, don't they?).