Saturday, May 8, 2010

G's Nutty Oatmeal

Okay, I've had a love/hate relationship with oatmeal my whole life. When I was a child, I viewed it as horrible dry mush that made me wonder why anyone would voluntarily eat it. I topped it with brown sugar and milk to cool it off, and I was made to eat it about once a month or so. As an adult I never voluntarily ate the stuff. Until I met my husband, G. We were both vegetarians when we met, and he had been subsisting on peanut butter sandwiches and oatmeal up until that time. Slowly, I started seeing more and more oatmeal showing up on my stove-top, much to my bewilderment. I begrudgingly went back to my monthly intake of it, knowing it was doing something good to my body. Along came the brown sugar and cold milk. A few years ago, G introduced peanut butter into the mix. I stirred it in, and with my brown sugar and milk, I convinced myself I was eating a peanut butter oatmeal cookie for breakfast! Now, I began to eat oatmeal about three times a week. Who wouldn't want a cookie for breakfast, right? So, then we both got the bright idea to actually start eating healthier a while back - longevity, kids, you know all the justifications, and then he began to make, gasp, oatmeal a little healthier! At first it began with a few sprinkles of flax seeds, then about two months ago, he actually created a healthy mix! And he keeps it in a huge container in the freezer! Aaahhh! Now, oatmeal's gotten even healthier! He'll tell you that all the seeds and nuts add tryptophan, Omega 3, protein, monounsaturated fat, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, iron, vitamin K, phytosterols, and zinc. He actually made this list for me! Okay, so I tried it, tentatively, and you know what? It's pretty darn good. The kids don't like it; they still eat theirs without all the goodies, but that will come in time. I have to confess, I'm pretty much a convert now, and I voluntarily eat oatmeal several times a week. Okay, I have to confess some more, I still add the brown sugar, cold milk and peanut butter, but don't you think my cookie's gotten healthier and much better for me over the years? But, now, eep, he's recently come home with a new mix of grains that he wants me to try next. Gulp.

G's Nutty Oatmeal, unadulterated by all my "cookie" toppings.


G's Nutty Oatmeal

Ingredients:

3 cups of water
1/2 cup of mix: equal parts of whole flax seeds, shelled raw pumpkin seeds, raw cashew pieces, raw walnut pieces
2 cups of original oatmeal (not quick cooking)

Directions:

Bring water to a full boil in a medium pot. Remove from heat and add the oatmeal and the mixture. Let steep for five minutes. Stir and finish preparing any way you like. Feeds five hungry vegans, if they would all eat it!

9 comments:

  1. You know I love this idea. Good for your hubby!I also have a love hate relationship with oatmeal if that makes you feel any better. ;-)

    If the kids like peanut butter in oatmeal try adding a little jelly or banana. Maybe that would get them to like this more.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  2. Hmm, good idea, Alicia. I'll suggest that to them.

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  3. Sounds like a mix I am going to have to try here ! We love oatmeal and usually I make it with fruit and we add pumpkin seeds or nuts to it after cooking. This way sounds yummy !

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  4. that's always a favorite in the mornings and soometimes for dinner. I usually add lots of sweet spices, fruit, raisins & non dairy milk...I naver had it with water but I imagine it taste very good. In Puerto Rico I was raised using milk & sweet spices not water in my oatmeal. Its funny how customes have their own unique flavor.

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  5. I have always had a love love relationship with oatmeal, but here is how I fix mine...don't judge me....lol
    Make a huge bowl of oatmeal that two people can eat, add about 1/2 cup of raisins....add about 1/2 cup of sugar and a splash of milk! Eat like a kid with your feet dangling from a chair!!!
    YUUUUMMMYYYYY!

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  6. I love oatmeal. I didn't have much of it growing up but we use a lot of it now. I even have a raw version of the cooked porridge we usually do. I also do faux fish flakes with it and of course my own version of muesli with different nuts raisins and shredded coconut.

    Good for you for stepping out of your comfort zone. :)

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  7. Hi, ladies, and thanks for your comments!

    I.S.F., you always have such interesting oatmeal dishes, I thought you might like this one. :)

    Millie, I've never had oatmeal made with milk; I 'll have to give that a whirl.

    Brandi, Well you can dangle your feet while I eat my cookie, how's that?

    Jenn, Very creative! I'd like to see those ideas.

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  8. I used to dislike (maybe not hate, but it was not my favorite dish) oatmeal when I was little too. I found it plain boring.

    My point of view changed when I became vegan (not only with oatmeal. Now I can't think about a veggie I don't like, while I hated them all as a child) and now I love oatmeal :) It think it's so versatile! I have tried adding almost anything to it: nuts, fruit, yogurt, jam, chocolate ...and peanut butter, of course ;)

    I always add all kind of nuts (preferably raw) and when I want something even healthier, I grind one teaspoon or two of flaxseeds because I find them easier to eat than whole. It change the flavor a little, but I got used to it :)

    Now I want to try adding oatmeal to my green smoothies :D

    PS: Thanks for stopping by my blog :) And yes, I really like writing, especially in English (despite not being my native language).

    Curiously, if I get a high enough mark, I'll stard International Business Economics next year: numbers instead of letters, he he. Hey, but some economists write books too ;)

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  9. Hi, Ksenia,

    You are much more healthy now than I was at your age. I was too busy rebelling against healthy food that my mom had us eat when I was younger. Now, I'm a much healthier person.

    Good luck on your grades! I hope your dreams come true - you'll do great at whatever you do.

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