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Richmond, BC
Canada
2473 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 8:14 PM
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Cambium's baked apples recipe got me to thinking about something else we used to have as a main part of our diet when we were growing up; specifically oatmeal and porridge. Now I have never been particularly fond of either given that the only thing we could add was milk (Avalon milk of course) and brown sugar ( not too great for the teeth). I learned that if I ate it slow enough, I could stretch it to the time when I had to leave for school then run out the door. The downside being that sometimes it was there waiting for me when I came home and had to be finished.
Somehow despite my dislike for oatmeal it was able to make it's way into my top ten foods for backpacking primarily due to convenience when using the Quaker instant flavoured variety. I generally liked to eat light in the morning before starting off as apposed to loading up and trying to digest everything on the trail. I was able to improve on the quality by rehydrating some dried apples and pears and adding it to mixture in order to make it more palatable.
Circa 2011 and the quality just doesn't get any better and to make matters worse it has been assertively encouraged into my daily diet sans sucre, transfats, or anything else dangerously good to eat. It was either plain oatmeal or a continuation of cholesterol busting statins and Metformin; both of which really aren't that great for the body.
So after many trials of what is good for you but still tastes reasonable I happened to stumble upon this combination which oddly enough is very tasty.
Paul's palatable gruel for two
combine 1 generous cup of rolled oats (not quick oats) with two cups of water, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup of mixed raisins & dried cranberries and cook over medium heat untill cooked.
Combine two tbsp of roasted ground sesame seed, 1/4 cup of ground hemp hearts (Costco), and 1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley and mix well. Spoon over top of each serving and blend into the oatmeal. The chopped parsley was an accident when I was making Tabouli and breakfast at the same time one morning. As it turned out the taste and texture of the added parsley was pleasant and rather refreshing.
So there you go. enjoy or not and add your favourite version of this simple breakfast staple.
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Edited by - pmicheals on 10/17/2011 8:17 PM
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 Super botonist, hippie chick who cuddles thistles with glee
Langley, BC
Canada
1541 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 8:29 PM
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I've given up trying to make it palatable. I used to be good at eating oatmeal, with chopped nuts, hemp hearts, dried fruit. My last trip I grimaced at each necessary bite.
But I will watch this thread and see if anything new and exciting catches my eye...except maybe parsley  |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13598 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 8:39 PM
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Wow!
Porridge is a major staple in my daily routine; a day is never complete and does not start right without oatmeal.
Breakfast at home; I add raisins, cranberries, and salt with the oatmeal and cook together. And then add frozen blueberries and yogurt with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon.
Sometimes take a small container of leftover, would be good and easy to eat on the trail as a snack or for lunch. Good Stuff !
K |
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Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 9:13 PM
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| I just do steel cut oats with cut up fresh apples, maple syrup and cinnamon. |
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3022 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 9:29 PM
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Well , not quite the same , but we also have some home-made Shredded Apple Muffins with oatmeal & and dates , cinnamon nutmeg & ground cloves[ Apple-Date Muffins ].
I love my apples . |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13598 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 9:40 PM
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I forgot to mention.... for variety, will slice up apples and bannanas and add as a bottom layer before adding cooking hot oatmeal.
K |
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Vancouver, bc
Canada
1032 Posts |
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Outdoors addicted flyfishing, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking car crooner and resident motormouth
Da'Wack, BC
Canada
5378 Posts |
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Coffee swillin', wine lovin', Owl fearin' Andie McDowell stunt double, who sports retro gear
Vancouver, BC
5470 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 10:05 PM
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Never instant oatmeal as it has the texture of sawdust and those flavoured ones just taste gross.
On the trail I use quick oats (not "instant") and I find that you don't really have to cook them. Just pour boiling water over them, cover and let sit, and they cook themselves. To make it palatable I add powdered milk, brown sugar, salt, and whatever dried fruit I have on hand. Freeze-dried blueberries and strawberries are nice (available at Trader Joes). It still tastes only okay, so perhaps I will try that roasted sesame and parsley idea. Maple syrup sounds good too. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
877 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 10:23 PM
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| Mix with lots of water, then drink it fast. It still tastes like fermented mountain goat dung, but it goes down faster. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
2666 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 10:27 PM
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1. Nutella + dried cherries.
2. I've done a miso/apple/cinnamon oatmeal which was surprisingly good.
3. Trader Joe's has some good instant oatmeal packets which I like to take camping.
My trick is to add whole rolled oats to rapidly boiling water, which instantly cooks the surface starch and prevents the final product from being gummy. |
Edited by - mad owl woman on 10/17/2011 10:28 PM |
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Vancouver, bc
Canada
1032 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 10:30 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by weedWhacker
Mix with lots of water, then drink it fast. It still tastes like fermented mountain goat dung, but it goes down faster.
Anything that tastes like goat dung is best consumed via a drip. |
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3022 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2011 : 11:02 PM
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| A supply of toasted shelled Pumpkin Seeds is always a good thing to munch on and add to granola or muffins. |
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Edmonton, AB
Canada
47 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 12:03 AM
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I haven't had it this way since I was ten, but I used to put cocoa, a few drops vanilla, and brown sugar until it was a chocolatey mess. If you're not worried about nutrition, it might make it tastier.
I find that a little fat, in the form of margarine (or a few drops of olive oil) really makes it taste better.
Peanut butter is good because it adds fat plus protein - but, that turns the whole thing into a sticky mess too. |
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
1273 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 06:04 AM
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I do not cook my oatmeal. I use the mentally challenged oats ( slow ) not the quickie.
I add milk chocolate chips, raisons, candied ginger particles,walnut crumbs, and mix in orange juice. Let sit till orange juice is absorbed a bit and eat. Amazing how oatmeal helps you through the day. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1461 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 07:50 AM
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| SnowSeeker likes to add dried coconut, chocolate chips, and dried cherries. |
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Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
392 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 07:55 AM
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| Last time I was down visiting my sister-in-law's family, she made oatmeal for the kids (well, everyone actually) in the crock pot. It was unbelievable. 2:1 milk to oatmeal, with a touch of vanilla and whatever kinds of fruit you want. She used quick oats and the slow cooker was on for an hour, but recipes online call for steel cut and 8 hours. I tried non-quick cook oats this weekend for an hour on 'low' and that didn't do it. A further 30 minutes on 'high' made them stupendous. I mean really, really good. Damn. |
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Chilliwack
1285 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 08:45 AM
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| I add a small container of Presidents Choice unsweetened apple sauce and a pinch of cinnamon or I add a tablespoon of blueberry jam. |
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High River, (just south of Calgary eh!), Alberta
Canada
1718 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 09:02 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by pmicheals
Combine two tbsp of roasted ground sesame seed, 1/4 cup of ground hemp hearts (Costco), and 1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley and mix well. Spoon over top of each serving and blend into the oatmeal. The chopped parsley was an accident when I was making Tabouli and breakfast at the same time one morning. As it turned out the taste and texture of the added parsley was pleasant and rather refreshing.
So there you go. enjoy or not and add your favourite version of this simple breakfast staple.
Parsley eh?
I eat oats in variation almost every day and I'm liking these ideas! |
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2421 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 11:45 AM
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As a backpacking or even a hostel meal (where you don't want to have too many dishes to wash) I'll just boil some water and add it to two or three packages of instant quaker oats, plus a large handful of trail mix. Lightweight, very filling, and you can pick what you're putting in your trailmix.
Too much sugar in the flavoured, packaged stuff, though, so I'll add one flavoured to two plain. |
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Say Nuth Khaw Yum, British Columbia
Canada
418 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2011 : 12:16 PM
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I soak large quantities of steel cut oats in whey and water overnight, before cooking with a bit of celtic sea salt. Then I store it in tupperware. It does not really have to be refrigerated and could be stored for several days like this in a backpack. In the fridge you can easily keep enough for 2 weeks.
Then I cook one meal at a time by frying in a couple of tablespoons of coconut fat, with some frozen berries at home (or dried on the trail), or sometimes with an apple sliced thinly with nutmeg and cinnamon, with a touch of maple syrup. When it is almost cooked I finish it with a couple tablespoons of grass fed butter. Once that melts I serve it with high fat yogurt (or creme fraiche) and nuts on top.
Oatmeal is actually a very poor choice for trail food for a few reasons. It is almost all carbohydrates, and while very light, contains few calories (energy). It is also very high in fibre, which is indigestable carbohyrate and not useable as energy. Nutritionally, if you do not use steel cut oats most of the B vitamins and E vitamins will have oxidised as the rolled and instant forms have exposed too much of these air soluble vitamins. As far as the minerals, they are bound to phytic acid, which oats have one of the highest concentrations of, and not digestable unless they are unlocked by soaking in an acidic medium such as whey, sprouting, or cooking for extremely long periods of time at a low temperature (ie crock pot).
By adding healthy fats you are significantly upping the caloric content, and nutrition. If you don't want to carry the moisture in the oats and are really concerned about the nutrition aspect (the fat vs carb for energy would be more of an immediate concern to your trip) you can soak them, then dry them in an oven at the lowest setting or a dehydrator, then cook them at camp. Although then fuel becomes an issue. Once soaked I find they only take 20-30 minutes tops to cook by boiling. I find the wet oats not too bad if I leave the top of the pot off over night before I close the container, and the fats rehydrate them enough they are not dry. |
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How do you spice up your oatmeal breakfast?
The best way to serve up Oatmeal.