Why Overnight Oatmeal?

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Replies

  • wilmnoca
    wilmnoca Posts: 416 Member
    You dont cook it at all. It expands overnight in the fridge and I prefer it cold. Why are you so "freaked out"? If you dont like it, dont eat it:noway:
  • wilmnoca
    wilmnoca Posts: 416 Member
    I didn't know you didn't cook it.

    That changes everything. :huh:

    I will only eat it if I can put raw bacon in it, and it will cook overnight, along with the oatmeal.

    But, seriously, so, you don't ever cook it. It just soaks in something? It sounds gross. But, i'm sure it's sort of awesome, in it's own way. LOL

    Raw bacon??? And oatmeal eaters are strange?
  • anaboneana
    anaboneana Posts: 195 Member
    I just shove the contents of the packet in my mouth and wash it down on my way out the door.

    ha.. i do this.. or i just throw it in a cup of skim milk and stir it like crazy while heading out the door
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    Breakfast is not a meal to enjoy, just something to eat for nutrition. I enjoy foods later in the day.


    really? kind of a bold black and white statement, no? you sound like a nutrition nazi. isn't it ok if we enjoy each meal we eat (including bkfst)? I am looking at lifestyle choices for the rest of my life - I don't want to be stuck punishing myself every morning cuz of some macho-sounding self-flagellation mind-set.

    that being said, I think we should all have schedules that allow us 5 minutes to make oatmeal hot if that's how we like it. if you don't have that time, then something is wrong with your life and you will probably age rapidly with over production of stress hormones.

    I didn't mean it the way you took it. I just meant that that's how I look at it. I don't care about breakfast, I just eat. If overnight oatmeal requires milk or yogurt, I'm out of the discussion. I don't want that stuff in my breaky.

    But why in the world would you bother eating ANYTHING voluntarily that wasn't enjoyable??

    Nutritional purposes. I am training myself to ignore taste and preference and just eat for purely nutritional reasons. I fail everyday. But, that is my goal someday is to eat so perfectly, I don't even poo.

    That's just weird.

    And if you don't even poo, all I can say is, "Enjoy your colon cancer."

    I HATE cats.
  • Strangelyinsane
    Strangelyinsane Posts: 120 Member
    I'm late to this game but I prefer Bob's Red Mill 5 grain rolled Cereal. Much better than oatmeal. I've got a cup of it going in the refer tonight with some chopped apples that I have about 25 lbs too many of (bumper crop for apples here in Washington State).
  • lax75
    lax75 Posts: 118 Member
    Mostly you are referencing instant oats. Whole oats take a bit longer than 5 mins to cook.

    The more processed oats get, the quicker they cook. (So "instant" oatmeal has been crushed/rolled/etc..) For eating a bowlful, I prefer the texture of steel cut oats, which have been processed the least, which is different than rolled oats (whether "old-fashioned", "quick" or "instant"). (For baking I still use rolled oats.)

    Cooking ahead saves me a lot of time, since steel cut can take 20-30 minutes to cook. So I make 4 servings at once, overnight, eat one the next day and divide up the other 3 servings to put in the fridge for later in the week. In any case, I prefer mine hot, and just microwave whatever I'm eating that day. I bring the water to a boil, add the oats (and sometimes some milled flax seed), simmer for 2-4 minutes, turn off the heat and cover. Then I just let it sit there until morning, when I mix it up before dividing. (Usually there's a small amount of liquid that hasn't been absorbed, but once it's mixed up and heated the liquid is absorbed and the consistency is even.) So this saves me time, and means I don't have to keep watching a simmering pot to make sure it doesn't boil over or overcook and stick to the bottom! (which means I save time washing that pot as well! LOL)
  • Cordy1228
    Cordy1228 Posts: 245 Member
    My deal is that I LIKE my oatmeal cold. It's not about being lazy or having crap time-management skills, it's just better, IMO.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    Mostly you are referencing instant oats. Whole oats take a bit longer than 5 mins to cook.

    The more processed oats get, the quicker they cook. (So "instant" oatmeal has been crushed/rolled/etc..) For eating a bowlful, I prefer the texture of steel cut oats, which have been processed the least, which is different than rolled oats (whether "old-fashioned", "quick" or "instant"). (For baking I still use rolled oats.)

    Cooking ahead saves me a lot of time, since steel cut can take 20-30 minutes to cook. So I make 4 servings at once, overnight, eat one the next day and divide up the other 3 servings to put in the fridge for later in the week. In any case, I prefer mine hot, and just microwave whatever I'm eating that day. I bring the water to a boil, add the oats (and sometimes some milled flax seed), simmer for 2-4 minutes, turn off the heat and cover. Then I just let it sit there until morning, when I mix it up before dividing. (Usually there's a small amount of liquid that hasn't been absorbed, but once it's mixed up and heated the liquid is absorbed and the consistency is even.) So this saves me time, and means I don't have to keep watching a simmering pot to make sure it doesn't boil over or overcook and stick to the bottom! (which means I save time washing that pot as well! LOL)

    I didn't know that about oatmeal. It doesn't make any sense that steel cut oats are liek twice the price. Weird. Now, it just pisses me off and I'll probably never buy them. I'm not paying more for less. Why is everything like that. The raw unprocessed thing is really expensive. The fully automated rolled baked baged tagged item is half the price. It doesn't make any sense.

    Like whole milk and non-fat milk. Non-fat milk should be way more expensive than the kind you pretty much dump in a carton from a cow.
  • sarah3333
    sarah3333 Posts: 222 Member
    I eat really slowly and so hot oatmeal gets luke warm fast and then it's gross to me. I eat a lot of oatmeal and I always eat it cold. I like it that way and I can eat it slowly and enjoy it. I even cook my breakfast oatmeal at night and put it in the fridge so it's cold in the morning. I'm not trying to save time, I just think it's delish!
  • summergrl17
    summergrl17 Posts: 75 Member
    You mix the ingredients up and let it sit overnight. It is easier than cooking it and you can get better tastes. If this is freaking you out, then you might want to go lay on a couch a little bit.


    LOL - good answer. I wasn't expecting the go lay on a couch response!
  • summergrl17
    summergrl17 Posts: 75 Member
    Last night I threw 1/4 cup steel cut oats into a jar. I added a 1/4 cup greek honey yogurt and 1/4 cup (maybe 1/2 cup) strawberries that I had sliced up a few days ago. This morning, i took it out of the fridge and tasted it. Yummy! This will be a staple in my diet. I also added a little almond milk to thin it a bit and little cinnamon. I'm going to make it tonight and add the cinammon and milk tonight

    Thanks for all the great ideas i got from this post!
  • lovingvampiress
    lovingvampiress Posts: 23 Member
    sounds good will have to give it a try..:-)
  • lovingvampiress
    lovingvampiress Posts: 23 Member
    Id love some good recipes of this
  • Figjeti
    Figjeti Posts: 7
    Hey for all you oatmeal-in-the-microwave-wasters...... i'm an oatmeal fanatic... here is my secret!

    put your oatmeal in the bowl, put the power setting on microwave to "3" and cook for 10 minutes... perfect oats every time, and just add me when you find out that this works and you love be because of this magic i have just enlightened you with !

    Just remember... with great power comes great responsibility!
  • Tazdevil3
    Tazdevil3 Posts: 1
    Although it is true that it takes to minutes to cook oatmeal, I don't like working in the morning before I go to work. Every 5 minutes is my time. I also eat it cold. It's a grab and go thing because I eat breakfast at work. Another tip is to add 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein for a chocolate oatmeal flavor. 56g of protein for workout days. Also, no one said you had to eat it for breakfast. It's a great pre workout meal.
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
    Google overnight oatmeal and you will find many different variations. The crockpot version calls for steal cut oats or oat groats. The fridge version calls for quick or old fashioned oats. See the two examples I posted below.

    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/overnight_oatmeal.html

    http://www.pinterest.com/explore/overnight-refrigerator-oatmeal/
  • Amestris
    Amestris Posts: 152 Member
    Bumping for later
  • spg71
    spg71 Posts: 179 Member
    Its been my staple workday breakfast for the past 10months and it just so damm tasty (has to be cold even better if its frozen fruit and still a little crunchy) Such a time saver and filler if you work out in the mornings.

    Oats
    Yogurt
    Almond milk
    Whatever fruit is on offer the past week or frozen
    Chia Seeds
    Protein powder
  • MrsBooBear
    MrsBooBear Posts: 12,618 Member
    oats
    vanilla or coconut yoghurt
    tinned pineapple
    dessicated coconut
    mixed spice

    YUM
  • myrtille87
    myrtille87 Posts: 122 Member
    I just mix a small amount of oats with Greek yoghurt and blueberries in the morning and eat it straight away. Is there something wrong with that? I don't find it excessively dry (but I do a 5:1 ratio of yoghurt to oats) so don't see the point in leaving it for longer.

    Now the weather is cooling I'll probably do porridge more frequently though - I can go in the shower while it cooks, or do some sit-ups or something. I make it in a saucepan with mostly water and a splash of milk. I don't have a microwave, but when I did (at university) I tried making it in there and it made a huge mess so I've stuck to the traditional method ever since!

    I don't know what these different types of oats people are talking about are - I just buy regular porridge oats (Tesco value).
  • jazzie_red
    jazzie_red Posts: 180 Member
    http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-oldfashioned-oatmeal-2536.html

    Oatmeal

    Freshly harvested whole oats have a fiber-rich, protective outer coat called bran. Beneath the bran, an oat kernel contains a starchy endosperm, which surrounds a tiny, vitamin- and mineral-rich reproductive structure called the germ. For some foods, the bran and germ are stripped from the oat grains, leaving just the starchy endosperm that is often pulverized before use. In old-fashioned oatmeal, however, the entire oat grain is flattened with rollers, producing rolled oats. As a result, old-fashioned oatmeal is a whole-grain food that contains oat bran along with the oat germ and endosperm.


    http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-oldfashioned-oats-3692.html

    Whole Grain Oats

    Old-fashioned oats are a whole grain food. According to Mayo Clinic, consumption of whole grains has been linked to a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that at least half of the grains you eat should be whole grains.

    Just saying....

    I like old-fashioned oats because they are in my budget. I love refidgerator oatmeal, because it is in my time schedule. :)

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