Porridge help.

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Replies

  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    Thanks all - definitely going to try standard porridge oats and take the ingredients with me to work.

    Do I need to soak the oats in water overnight before eating? Or can I just add water/milk and cook straight away?
  • bwcetc
    bwcetc Posts: 2,827 Member
    I eat steel cut oats most mornings that I have made previously and frozen into individual servings. Out of the freezer they take about 2 minutes to warm up ... if you took them to work, they would be mostly thawed and just take a little time to heat up. I add just a touch of pure maple syrup. Holds me over til lunch.

    See organizeyourselfskinny.com for her "Clean Steel Cut Oats" recipes. I'm sure they could be adapted to whatever oats you have available in the UK.
  • Rosie_McA
    Rosie_McA Posts: 256 Member
    PS.. do not microwave.. it cooks the oats direct rather than letting them break down in the milk. Better to actually boil them on a stove for a few minutes. Cleaning tip... soak the pan in a little washing liquid, and the mess will just float away, so no scrubbing required.

    Tricky for me as I eat my porridge and fruit around mid-morning at work and only have access to a microwave. I'm going to buy a big packet of cheap oats and then fill some little bags with 30g servings in future.
  • minnie116
    minnie116 Posts: 8 Member
    Quaker 100% wholegrain oats, skimmed milk and a few blueberries...job done.
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    PS.. do not microwave.. it cooks the oats direct rather than letting them break down in the milk. Better to actually boil them on a stove for a few minutes. Cleaning tip... soak the pan in a little washing liquid, and the mess will just float away, so no scrubbing required.

    Thanks - unfortunately I don't have the option to boil the oats as I will be cooking it at work and there is only a microwave. However, will perhaps boil if I ever had porridge at home :smile:
  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
    Cook a batch at home and freeze. By the time you get it to work it will have thawed enough to micro. It'll still taste really good.

    I freeze mine flat in zip-lock bags, but people also do ice cube trays. I like mine flat because, if it isn't thawed, I can just run it under the hot tap for a few seconds and it'll thaw in a jiffy.
  • Tanteee
    Tanteee Posts: 80 Member
    I agree with every one who has said use the porridge oats from scratch - just add whatever fruit/nuts you want water bit of milk and in the microwave for about 2 and a half minutes. I don't really like using a microwave (we don't have one at home) but it is useful for my breakfast at work.

    You could also try "Overnight Oats" put all your ingrdients into a container the night before and put it in the fridge, and take it to work in the morning, slightly different consistency to cooked oats but quite nice,
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    So, I took all of your advice and bought myself some porridge oats! I decided to go for Flahavans Porridge, at the recommendation of many of you, and added cinnamon and raisins. It was pretty good, but tasted a little bland. Is there a healthy way of adding more flavour to the oats?

    Also, the texture was quite 'gloopy' - is it just a case of adding more water to rectify?
  • PollyVB
    PollyVB Posts: 1 Member
    We have pure Veda that we buy at our local organic store
  • SunKissed1989
    SunKissed1989 Posts: 1,314 Member
    Quaker Oat so Simple is what I use - to cut back on sugar just use the original flavour sachets and add cinnamon/raisins/sweeteners afterwards or before putting it in the microwave.

    I like to try the different flavours as well though :smile:
  • Tanteee
    Tanteee Posts: 80 Member
    Just add or remove what you want to get the flavour you want, I use hazelnut milk in mine and a banana thats fine for me, oats in themselves don't have a lot of flavour.

    Not sure what you mean by gloopy but the texture of the oats is a personal thing, maybe more or less water/milk, more or less time to cook you have to play around with it until its how you like it.
  • nikibean123
    nikibean123 Posts: 81 Member
    Special K Multi Grain Porridge is amazing. Don't know if it fits your criteria but it's in my food diary for yesterday if you wanted to look :)
  • HelenDootson
    HelenDootson Posts: 443 Member
    Plain porridge oats - buy them from any of our uk supermarkets
    I have 30g of oats, 130mls water, microwave for 2 mins and then I add either fresh fruit or frozen fruit (stick it in frozen, stir and then an additional 30sec in the M/W)

    Hope it helps
  • algwynt
    algwynt Posts: 76 Member
    all the health shops in the uk sell very healthy porridge its not as tasty as the sugary ones but just add something to it to spice it up.enjoy,good luck.
  • Trishsimon
    Trishsimon Posts: 129
    I live in Ireland too and use Flavahans as suggested but when I can't get that I buy the porridge oats from Lidl or Aldi which I know are in the UK.
  • Rosie_McA
    Rosie_McA Posts: 256 Member
    PS.. do not microwave.. it cooks the oats direct rather than letting them break down in the milk. Better to actually boil them on a stove for a few minutes. Cleaning tip... soak the pan in a little washing liquid, and the mess will just float away, so no scrubbing required.

    Tricky for me as I eat my porridge and fruit around mid-morning at work and only have access to a microwave. I'm going to buy a big packet of cheap oats and then fill some little bags with 30g servings in future.
    Just bought a big bag of Sainsburys SO Organic oat flakes and a load of small tie-wrap serving bags to meaure out my 30g portions. From what I can find out these oats have no added sugar, salt or presevatives.
  • shutterbug282
    shutterbug282 Posts: 588 Member
    I just buy a big box of Scotts rolled oats and add milk to it. :)
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
    So, I took all of your advice and bought myself some porridge oats! I decided to go for Flahavans Porridge, at the recommendation of many of you, and added cinnamon and raisins. It was pretty good, but tasted a little bland. Is there a healthy way of adding more flavour to the oats?

    Also, the texture was quite 'gloopy' - is it just a case of adding more water to rectify?

    Porridge can be a tricky thing as we all have our own preferences. I like mine really thick so I take 50g of oats, add milk and give them a stir so they're covered but not too sloppy, zap them for 1 minute, give them a stir and then zap them for another minute. I like to keep it simple so just add 2 tsp of sugar and another dribble of milk over the top. Sugar is natural and I don't have a problem with it.

    For you it's probably just going to be a case of trial and error with the amount of liquid you use, as all microwaves are different, but it shouldn't take too long.

    Other people have mentioned overnight oats, and that's a great way to add more flavour, though I don't know if it can be heated or how it might taste warm. I take the oats, add a small tub of flavoured yoghurt, grate an apple, squeeze an orange, give it a good stir and then leave it overnight. You can do a couple of day's worth at a time. Again, amounts of fruit, yoghurt, etc. come down to your preferences and a bit of trial and error.
  • HilsScott
    HilsScott Posts: 10
    My local Sainsbury stocks the Special K porridge in sachets - just add milk and microwave. 173 calories for 30gm serving of red berry flavour with 125ml of semi skimmed milk. Bought some at the weekend but haven't tried it yet.
  • vickismum
    vickismum Posts: 1
    just buy porridge oats. all you need is access to a microwave. third of a cup of oats in a bowl add a cup of cold water and cook on full power for 2mins. Then you can add what you like.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    Just the normal Tesco own brand bags of oats should be fine. Just weigh out your serving, add milk/water and flavouring of choice and microwave.

    EDIT: If you find the texture is too thick, reserve some milk or water for AFTER microwaving and stir it in. Will cool them down and make them a bit runnier for you.
  • tessgetsfit
    tessgetsfit Posts: 21 Member
    Back when I was living in England I would buy the 1kg box of Scott's oats and would vary it up by sometimes adding honey to sweeten or just frozen berries (which don't contain much sugar for the amount you'd be adding). I cooked it on the stove using water and then would add a small amount of milk for that creamy consistency without adding too many calories.
    The combinations you can have with porridge are endless!

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