Shall I cut out Porridge ?

13

Replies

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
    Afura wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I find oatmeal to be not filling at all and quite calorie dense. I love the stuff but don't touch it. I need about 5 servings to be happy. I'd personally choose something with more protein and less carbs.

    I'm really glad I'm not the only one who is unfilled by a single serving of oatmeal.
    My friend showed me a recipe for overnight oatmeal in the crockpot and I had to have at least 2 servings to make me minimally satisfied, which completely negated being a low calorie breakfast option.

    I need oatmeal with protein. I usually stir in some yogurt.

    That would be better but the volume is still so small.

    I used to like zoats though. That really bulked the oats up for little added calories.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
    I feel like by the time people finish adding crap to their oatmeal there's this like 600 calorie tiny serving. I'd rather have a bagel and cream cheese for that.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited March 2017
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I feel like by the time people finish adding crap to their oatmeal there's this like 600 calorie tiny serving. I'd rather have a bagel and cream cheese for that.

    Might have to do with the way you like your oats too. I like my oats mushy, kind of like those powdered baby foods like Cerelac, so the amount of liquid I add is large making the portion large. Overnight oats don't fill me up because they don't dissolve nicely into a pudding-like consistency, neither do steel cut or oven prepared. Today I have pre-logged a huge bowl of oatmeal (about 2.5 cups): 80 grams of oats (300 calories) + 30 grams of canned sour cherry (85 calories) + 10 grams of cocoa powder (22 calories) + 3 packets of splenda (12 calories). That's 420 calories for more than a pound of food. The calorie density of my oatmeal is always less than 1 calories per gram unless I add lots of peanuts butter or nuts. No bagel and cream cheese even comes even close to this amount and to how filling oats are for me.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I feel like by the time people finish adding crap to their oatmeal there's this like 600 calorie tiny serving. I'd rather have a bagel and cream cheese for that.

    Might have to do with the way you like your oats too. I like my oats mushy, kind of like those powdered baby foods like Cerelac, so the amount of liquid I add is large making the portion large. Overnight oats don't fill me up because they don't dissolve nicely into a pudding-like consistency, neither do steel cut or oven prepared. Today I have pre-logged a huge bowl of oatmeal (about 2.5 cups): 80 grams of oats (300 calories) + 30 grams of canned sour cherry (85 calories) + 10 grams of cocoa powder (22 calories) + 3 packets of splenda (12 calories). That's 420 calories for more than a pound of food. The calorie density of my oatmeal is always less than 1 calories per gram unless I add lots of peanuts butter or nuts. No bagel and cream cheese even comes even close to this amount and to how filling oats are for me.

    Same here, when I do the individual packets I'd put two in a big bowl of hot water, mix, and let sit. It's real soupy to start but after 5-10 it's more of a thick pudding. Then I have the volume that helps me feel full.

    I've been experimenting with pre-made steelcut oats this past week. I like the texture better but now the portion size is smaller.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited March 2017
    mmmpork wrote: »
    Whole milk is fine, whoever said to switch to low fat is misinformed. Whole milk is more satisfying and the calorie difference isn't significant.

    Whole milk is 146 calories/cup. Skim milk is 80 calories/cup. Nearly twice as many calories for whole milk. I'd call that a significant calorie difference.

    Yes, whole milk is fine. Full of nutrients. If you enjoy it and find it more satisfying (and have space for it in your calorie budget), great. Personally, I can't stand whole milk; it's like drinking cream. It also gives me nasty digestive issues. All milk except skim does this; I have a "dairy fat" issue. However, the OP's symptoms sound nothing like mine, so I'm not suggesting that's her problem.
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    Theo166 wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I feel like by the time people finish adding crap to their oatmeal there's this like 600 calorie tiny serving. I'd rather have a bagel and cream cheese for that.

    Might have to do with the way you like your oats too. I like my oats mushy, kind of like those powdered baby foods like Cerelac, so the amount of liquid I add is large making the portion large. Overnight oats don't fill me up because they don't dissolve nicely into a pudding-like consistency, neither do steel cut or oven prepared. Today I have pre-logged a huge bowl of oatmeal (about 2.5 cups): 80 grams of oats (300 calories) + 30 grams of canned sour cherry (85 calories) + 10 grams of cocoa powder (22 calories) + 3 packets of splenda (12 calories). That's 420 calories for more than a pound of food. The calorie density of my oatmeal is always less than 1 calories per gram unless I add lots of peanuts butter or nuts. No bagel and cream cheese even comes even close to this amount and to how filling oats are for me.

    Same here, when I do the individual packets I'd put two in a big bowl of hot water, mix, and let sit. It's real soupy to start but after 5-10 it's more of a thick pudding. Then I have the volume that helps me feel full.

    I've been experimenting with pre-made steelcut oats this past week. I like the texture better but now the portion size is smaller.

    Me too. Volume is the key to fullness. I usually take just a half cup of dry oats, blend in water to make it a fine flour and then cook for 3-5 minutes. The resulting thick porridge makes 4 cups which is filling and it's only 150 calories. Even with a tsp of sugar/cup, that's a 210 calorie meal that will keep me full for several hrs.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited March 2017
    Theo166 wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I feel like by the time people finish adding crap to their oatmeal there's this like 600 calorie tiny serving. I'd rather have a bagel and cream cheese for that.

    Might have to do with the way you like your oats too. I like my oats mushy, kind of like those powdered baby foods like Cerelac, so the amount of liquid I add is large making the portion large. Overnight oats don't fill me up because they don't dissolve nicely into a pudding-like consistency, neither do steel cut or oven prepared. Today I have pre-logged a huge bowl of oatmeal (about 2.5 cups): 80 grams of oats (300 calories) + 30 grams of canned sour cherry (85 calories) + 10 grams of cocoa powder (22 calories) + 3 packets of splenda (12 calories). That's 420 calories for more than a pound of food. The calorie density of my oatmeal is always less than 1 calories per gram unless I add lots of peanuts butter or nuts. No bagel and cream cheese even comes even close to this amount and to how filling oats are for me.

    Same here, when I do the individual packets I'd put two in a big bowl of hot water, mix, and let sit. It's real soupy to start but after 5-10 it's more of a thick pudding. Then I have the volume that helps me feel full.

    I've been experimenting with pre-made steelcut oats this past week. I like the texture better but now the portion size is smaller.

    You could grind a small portion of them in a coffee grinder. The texture would still be there from the whole ones, but the ground oats are able to thicken a larger amount of liquid, so you get a pretty successful compromise between texture and volume.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    Puzzled what people are doing to their porridge, I've never hit 600 calories even when adding nuts, chocolate and double cream.

    I agree with others about volume, I make my porridge with 3 parts liquid to 1 part rolled oats by volume, rather than the 2:1 on the packet. I like it smoother.
  • margotlovesyou
    margotlovesyou Posts: 102 Member
    Porridge always made me feel bloaty too - I go for greek yogurt with 12gms toasted almonds, tsp of honey and some fresh fruit like strawberries or blueberries. Keeps me full, tastes delicious and is pretty low in calories :)
  • Makeitso39
    Makeitso39 Posts: 51 Member
    I have Ready Brek (instant porridge) made with water instead of milk + 5 g cacao). Keeps me full till lunch. Today is avocado and bacon on toast. Nom.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    Puzzled what people are doing to their porridge, I've never hit 600 calories even when adding nuts, chocolate and double cream.

    I agree with others about volume, I make my porridge with 3 parts liquid to 1 part rolled oats by volume, rather than the 2:1 on the packet. I like it smoother.

    I can hit 600 easily, but that's because 450 of it is from the oats. 120g oats+2.25c water+2 whole eggs beat in+cinnamon, cumin and tumeric comes really close to that. About 596 iirc, depending upon egg weight.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    It's funny how wildly different our servings of the oats themselves is. My 30g seems piddly compared to everyone else! I do add 250ml of semi-skimmed milk to that though, 15g dried fruit, 10g honey/maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon. About 300 calories. Makes a hearty bowl that fills me up. If not cutting I probably add a bit more to 40g oats but I honestly don't need it.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    I find that dairy in general makes me bloat so I avoid it.
    One of my favorite go too breakfasts is 3-4 scrambled egg whites with whatever variety of vegetables you have on hand and I add one or two tablespoons of plain cooked oatmeal... this makes the eggs creamy and delicious and doesn't change the flavor. Between the protein and the fiber (slow burning carbs), keeps me full for hours.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2017
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I feel like by the time people finish adding crap to their oatmeal there's this like 600 calorie tiny serving. I'd rather have a bagel and cream cheese for that.

    Mine are 350 or so, like all breakfasts I have. But I'm not promoting them, as I don't think they work for everyone.

    Current favorite way: about 150 calories of oats (steel cut, seriously this seems like a reasonable serving to me and if I didn't want a more balanced/diverse meal, it plus berries would be seem like a full breakfast to me), 2 eggs (about 150 cal, I do them sunny side up and mix them in), some vegetables, maybe a tiny bit of feta cheese.

    Sweeter way: same amount of oats, vanilla whey protein powder, blueberries, some veg and cottage cheese on the side.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Puzzled what people are doing to their porridge, I've never hit 600 calories even when adding nuts, chocolate and double cream.

    I agree with others about volume, I make my porridge with 3 parts liquid to 1 part rolled oats by volume, rather than the 2:1 on the packet. I like it smoother.

    Just for the kicks, I made one my higher calorie oats for dinner today (that's oatmeal twice in one day!) and it did not reach 600 calories.

    I used 400 ml of liquid (homemade cashew milk, finally found a nut milk I like but sadly it's higher than full fat dairy milk in calories). The oats are thicker, so I rubbed them with my hands a bit to crumble some of them and make the oatmeal creamier while keeping some of the texture because I was too lazy to wash the grinder. It worked! Total weight of the prepared dish: 431 grams or nearly a pound of food. It's 3 hours later and I feel like I've just eaten.

    This is how it looked and that's the consistency I like. It turned out super creamy too, probably because of cashew milk. This is a 2 cup bowl. It may not look like due to the angle of the picture, but the oatmeal fills it up to about 1.5-1.75 cups.
    fcizidd0j2dg.jpg

    This is how the calories look:
    4x2cl00xb6o8.png


  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
    I don't know if you can get it, but I really like Bob's Red Mill 10-grain cereal as an alternative to oatmeal/porridge. I make it with unsweetened almond milk in the microwave. I add blackberries, Splenda and chopped walnuts to it.

    Something tells me some of these ingredients might be rare in Honduras.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Do I dare to eat a peach?
  • eveholder4898
    eveholder4898 Posts: 4 Member
    Wow can't believe the amount of response I have had. Sorry for the late response, I'm still trying to work out how this all works!
    I am defiantly going to try cutting out the milk, or at least minimising the amount I use. Thank you all so much for your help. I will report back to you if I notice a change in bloating !!!
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    BeChill73 wrote: »
    I make mine with water then add a bit of milk over it to serve. Also try traditional rolled oats instead of quick oats.

    I've done this too.
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    I used to love porridge, but I gave it up because I would get hungry again in about 2 hours. I decided to force myself to like plain Greek yogurt, and now I really do like it. I sprinkle it with chopped walnuts and frozen blueberries and sometimes cinnamon. Can you get Greek yogurt where you are?