Is Your Oatmeal Boring?

Oats are fabulous! You don’t have to be great cook, you don’t need a complicated recipe, you don’t even need fancy kitchen gadgets. Oatmeal can be a blank canvas for any creation you dream up. On the flip side, they can get redundant and boring.  Same spices, same bowl, same cooking method 😴.  Sound familiar? Is your oatmeal boring?

Tara’s Tuesday Tips:

Is Your Oatmeal Boring?

I love oatmeal! I must admit, I do let my oatmeal get boring now and then.  Whether you eat oatmeal every day or are looking for a new breakfast or lunch or brunch idea, having a few extra oatmeal ideas in your repertoire is going to really pay off 💛.

A word of caution, oatmeal toppings can pack on the calories.  Keep track of what you sprinkle on or in your oatmeal! Nuts, coconut, dried fruit, seeds, all add up to a lot of extra fat and/or calories if you are not careful. Sprinkle a few of each to your liking and you will be ok!

Ready to end the boredom? Let’s rock the oats!

What is so great about oats and why you should be eating them?

• Vegan!
• Gluten Free
• High in soluble fiber
• Have been found to reduce cholesterol and blood sugar, promote healthy gut bacteria
•  With their high fiber content, they increase the feeling of fullness
• Can help with constipation
• High in antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals
• One of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet!
• Low glycemic index – no blood sugar roller coaster 👏!!
• One cup of cooked steel cut oats contains: 170 calories, 5 grams fiber, 3 grams fat, 7 grams protein.

Types of Oats:

1. Steel Cut Oats
   • Close consistency to rice
   • Highest in soluble fiber
   • Perfect food to help lower your cholesterol (more cholesterol tips here)
   • Easiest to make a big batch ahead and divide out for meal prep
   • Perfect for your instant pot! Follow my recipes here.
2.  Quick Cooking Oats
   • Quickest cooking option
   • Least amount of fiber
   • Perfect if you don’t want to cook your oats for a long time
3. Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
   • Perfect for overnight oats, great to soak in the milk + flavor it up for a breakfast ready to go in the morning without any fuss (Perfect Pumpkin Chia Overnight Oats recipe here).
   • These oats are the oats you would most likely bake with.
   • See below for my overnight oats magic formula.

Is Your Oatmeal Boring? Follow These Tips to Change It Up:

1. Replace the water in your oats with milk of your choice or yogurt (plant-based alternatives work perfectly such as coconut milk, almond milk, hemp, or oat milk).
2. Sweeten it up with maple syrup, coconut palm sugar, jaggery, brown sugar, blackstrap molasses, or turbinado sugar. Looking for more healthy ideas on refined sugar alternatives? Check out my article here.
3. Go nuts with slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almond butter (my favorite), or peanut butter.
4. Fruit is a fabulous topping such as bananas, apples, or berries, even a scoop of pureed pumpkin or unsweetened applesauce works.
5. Spice it up with cinnamon, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, nutmeg, or even vanilla.

Tara’s Magic Formula For Perfect Overnight Oats:

Overnight Oats are ideal for meal prep.  These last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. So, make 5 jars on Sunday evening and you are all set for the busy week. Typically these are served cold.  If this is not your thing, make steel cut oats ahead of time that you can heat up when you are ready to eat them.

Place the following ingredients in a one-pint mason jar or equivalent size glass bowl with lid in the order they are listed:

1. 1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats (preferably organic!)
2. 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional but boosts fiber + texture + increases satiety)
3. 1 tbsp nut butter
4. ½ tsp cinnamon or other spices from the list above.
5. ½ cup milk of choice – add a few spoons of milk and stir the chia seeds and nut butter well before adding the rest of the ½ cup.  The chia seeds need the liquid to thicken so adding a little at the beginning helps this process happen first.  If you find your mixture is too thick with just ½ cup, add another few tablespoons. Stir well.
6. Add your fruit: If you like your fruit to soften up and combine with your oats, stir them in at this point (such as apples, pumpkin puree, or blueberries but bananas won’t work to soak).  If you prefer a fruit topping (bananas, berries) that maintain their texture, cut them up ahead of time and have ready to toss on top after you pop open your jar in the morning.
7. Place the cover on, give it one last gentle shake, refrigerate overnight or for up to 5 days.
8. There you have it! Easy overnight (not boring) oatmeal!

What is Muesli?

Rolled oats + dried fruit + seeds + nuts.  Typically, muesli is mixed with milk or yogurt (dairy or plant based). Can be eaten for lunch, brunch, or a snack.  We buy a muesli mix but you can easily make up your own creation. Muesli and granola differ in that muesli is not sweetened or prepared with any oils.   It is also already loaded up with nuts, seeds, and fruits making it a perfectly packaged oat preparation without any fuss.

Baking With Oats:

Not boring! Woo hoo! However, this one typically needs a recipe.  So, if you are a no-recipe-no-measure kind of person, stick with overnight oats and follow the formula to make it up as you go along.  I am a recipe kind of girl.  I also LOVE baking with oatmeal. Here are my favorite recipes:

Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Three Ingredient Cookies

Meal Prep Cookies

What Else Can You Do With Oats?

• Make oat flour! I substitute oat flour in lots of recipes for a lower glycemic index, more unrefined flour.
• Boost the fiber in your smoothie but tossing in ½ cup while blending, yum!
• Make Seitan! Yes, seitan! (My Seitan Roast recipe right here)
• Granola (My Healthy Homemade Granola Recipes here and here)
• Granola bars (My Very Popular Homemade Granola Bar Recipe here)
• Power energy bites (My easy + yummy recipe here)

Don’t Let Your Oatmeal Be Boring any more! Hope this helps!

All the best,

Tara 💚👩🏻‍🍳

📸I love to see your creations! Follow me on Instagram @myvegetarianfamily 

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