Why is oatmeal only good with 300+ calories of topping?

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Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
edited January 2015 in Food and Nutrition
A couple weeks ago I posted that as much as I want to like oatmeal, I'm disappointed every time...

Well, this was the bomb. Unfortunately, 520 calories and I was hungry 2.5 hours later. But anyway, 1.5 serving of oatmeal, 1/4 cup of milk (added after cooking), 1 tablespoon of almond butter (which really weighed pretty much as much as a 2 tbsp serving, yay food scale), 1.5 serving of strawberry jam, and 2 tsp of sugar.

It was fantastic. I guess I'll have to reduce the quantities by 1/3 next time and be ready to be hungry 2 hours later though.

I guess it will be a once in a while thing... Kinda a bummer though. I keep trying lower calorie recipes, but it just doesn't cut it (and I hate sugar free stuff).
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Replies

  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
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    I mix in one scoop of protein powder (~130 calories, 24 g protein) with oatmeal occasionally and it adds good flavor and substance without adding a lot of calories.
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
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    Have you tried unsweetened almond milk vs regular milk? Yes, it is not a large difference in calories BUT a calorie is a calorie.

    Plus I am anti dairy.
  • nickatine
    nickatine Posts: 451 Member
    edited January 2015
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    try this is what I usually do for quick hot breakfast, 1/3 cup oats , tablespoon peanut butter , 2/3 scoop of whey , and half cub berries. about 320 ish calories 25 grams of protein 6 plus grams of fiber.
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
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    nickatine wrote: »
    try this is what I usually do for quick hot breakfast, 1/3 cup oats , tablespoon peanut butter , 2/3 scoop of whey , and half cub berries. about 320 ish calories 25 grams of protein 6 plus grams of fiber.

    ^^ This

    Although I am boring and just do oats & vanilla whey.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,136 Member
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    I use 8 grams of sugar for 30 grams of quick oats oatmeal. Something like 150 calories, but I eat it mixed with water so it's more of oatmeal cookie texture. Whatever it takes to get you to eat it if you actually want to eat it. Learned that from my paternal grandpa.
  • EmilyJackCO
    EmilyJackCO Posts: 621 Member
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    I mix in 1/2 a cup of liquid egg whites. It makes them fluffy and makes them stick for 6-7 hours. I also mix half water & half vanilla almond milk, and sweeten with Stevia or Torani sugar free syrups.
  • reachingforarainbow
    reachingforarainbow Posts: 224 Member
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    if your concerned about a lot of calories, don't eat nut butter or the jam or the sugar.

    I would use 1/2 milk 1/2 water to cook your oats, and add in some berries. (you probably should add some other kind of protein too) and for natural sweetness, sprinkle in some cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I use 1/2 cup regular oats, use water instead of milk and add dried cranberries and 1 tbsp peanut butter and a package of stevia to sweeten. The whole thing is approx. 300 calories.

    When in a pinch, I use the pre packaged packets for 120-150 calories (usually maple brown sugar) and add 2 tbsp. of peanut butter. Less than 350 cals total.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
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    I used to absolutely hate oatmeal, but then I discovered the magic of cocoa powder and peanut butter! I add 5 grams of cocoa (1 tsp) and 15 grams of peanut butter (1 tbsp) and sweeten to taste... Delicious and only 220ish calories! (I only use 30 grams of oats, though.. But the toppings come to only 100 calories.)
  • lynndot1
    lynndot1 Posts: 114 Member
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    If you don't mind the sugar, my go to small oatmeal mixture is 1/4 cup quick oats, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup milk (you could do all milk or water, I like to have the milk flavor), and just 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. It ends up being like 160ish calories. Hell you could double that and still be under 400 calories. A dollop of peanut butter is also a nice way to add flavor just don't overdo it too much since peanut butter is heavy. Or honey instead of maple syrup if you want that flavor.

    In the end it just tastes like regular oatmeal sweetened with a nice flavor. A couple drops of vanilla extract might also give you a flavor boost without any calories.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    3/4 cup frozen fruit (berries are best), 1-2 tbsp maple syrup.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Why are you trying to force the issue with something you don't like? Oatmeal isn't magical or anything and you can get any of the nutrition from eating oats elsewhere.

    Personally I can't stand rolled oats and much prefer steel cut oats. Unfortunately I don't have the time or inclination to make steel cut oats often so I compromise with Coach's Oats which has a similar cooking time to rolled oats but a texture similar to steel cut...but if you don't like oats, you don't like oats...move on to something you do like, life is too short.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
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    Cooking with milk (even replacing part of the water for milk) and a little salt helps more than you'd think.
  • LittlePinkShotgun
    LittlePinkShotgun Posts: 101 Member
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    30 g oats
    70 g frozen blueberries or frozen raspberries (depends on my mood)
    a dash of cinnamon
    water
    microwave for 2 min
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    reachingforarainbow wrote: »
    if your concerned about a lot of calories, don't eat nut butter or the jam or the sugar.

    I would use 1/2 milk 1/2 water to cook your oats, and add in some berries. (you probably should add some other kind of protein too) and for natural sweetness, sprinkle in some cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla

    Then it tastes like cardboard to me.
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Why are you trying to force the issue with something you don't like? Oatmeal isn't magical or anything and you can get any of the nutrition from eating oats elsewhere.

    Personally I can't stand rolled oats and much prefer steel cut oats. Unfortunately I don't have the time or inclination to make steel cut oats often so I compromise with Coach's Oats which has a similar cooking time to rolled oats but a texture similar to steel cut...but if you don't like oats, you don't like oats...move on to something you do like, life is too short.

    No, I like it with a lot of stuff on it... that's the problem :(

    I'm out of berries, but I guess I can try replacing the jam with berries next time. I use the almond butter because at one point (ages ago it seems), oatmeal with nut butter was actually keeping me full for hours.
    EmilyJackCO wrote: »
    I mix in 1/2 a cup of liquid egg whites. It makes them fluffy and makes them stick for 6-7 hours. I also mix half water & half vanilla almond milk, and sweeten with Stevia or Torani sugar free syrups.

    I add egg whites sometimes too. I like the texture. It doesn't seem more filling to me though sadly. I used to use stevia but it seemed to make me hungrier that day when I did, so I went for sugar this time.

    I'll try some of the suggestions in this list next time!
  • bingfit221
    bingfit221 Posts: 105 Member
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    @francl27 you should try sun butter!
  • mldrown
    mldrown Posts: 17 Member
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    Love oatmeal - cheap, filling, healthy. I used to hate it made with water, but my tastes adjusted. I make 1/2 c with water, and vary my toppings. Dried cranberries/almonds; trailmix; peanut butter and coconut; crushed up granola bar. Yummy!
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Steel cut oatmeal. Made a batch yesterday, 8 servings. 2 Tbsp brown sugar, chia seeds, 2tsp cinnamon. DH ate 3 servings yesterday, I had 1 serving. Froze 4 servings for this week. Top it with 1/2 c fresh blueberries and 1Tbsp chopped, toasted pecans 1/4 cup non sweetened almond milk. Delicious. Put it in my recipe file. 200 calories.
  • CJDaniel7
    CJDaniel7 Posts: 149 Member
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    i finely chop dates, while still a sugar, totally unprocessed. I don't need it sweet, just a little very lightly sweet. And Toasted almond slices and Flax seeds. I don't add dairy unless it happens to come out dry and then I will add some homemade almond milk. Try it.

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