Adding stuff to oatmeal/hot cereal?

TakingBabyStepsBack

Well-known member
Posts: 283
"Keep fighting. Fortune will favor the patient and persistent."
Hi everyone, not really sure if this question belongs here or in the kitchen area...so please tell me where to direct this if the help desk isn't the spot.

I have some instant hot cereal -- Cream of Wheat if anybody is curious -- and I was wondering if people add stuff to it to get more out of their oatmeal or hot cereal to add some more substance to it. I'm open to suggestions on this one because I don't have any known food allergies and have access to a couple of supermarkets within walking distance of my apartment.
 

Isla Morha

Member
Posts: 18
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"
I cannot have cream of wheat since I cannot eat gluten but I do love to eat oatmeal. I always add cinnamon or pumpkin spice and vanilla to the water that I boil the oatmeal in. Then I add crushed almonds or walnuts and sometimes pieces of an apple once done. Then just a tiny bit of brown sugar or pure maple syrup. It is delish! I have tried other things but this is the only one I really enjoy eating. My mom adds bacon, butter, and sugar to her oatmeal. That is pretty good too.
 

mavie

Well-known member
from germany
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 658
I have no idea what's already in instant hot cereal but the way i prepare my porridge is as follows:
Add one cup water and 4 tablespoons of rolled oats to a small pot and cook.
Mash a banana and rub an apple.
When the porridge starts boiling lower the heat and add some spices. I use cinnammon, pumpkin spice, cocoa or oatmeal spice.
Mix the porridge with the fruit and enjoy.
Sometimes i add pomegranate seeds.
 

TakingBabyStepsBack

Well-known member
Posts: 283
"Keep fighting. Fortune will favor the patient and persistent."
Upvoting all of these responses. I have a long way to go to straighten out my intake -- another story for another day -- so I'm just asking stuff or looking as I feel brave enough to do so.

@Isla Morha I can understand this. My older brother's wife is gluten intolerant as well. And I have had oatmeal before which is why I (hopefully) phrased the subject question as catch-all.
 

CODawn

Well-known member
Huntress from Colorado
Posts: 2,005
"Theres no easy way out. Theres no shortcut home"
For taste add wild blueberries. I get them frozen, microwave them for 20 seconds and then add them to the cooked oatmeal. Make sure you get the wild ones...the regular ones aren't as good (to me anyway).
 

koriandr

Well-known member
Heroine from Europe
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 67
"Headbanging to classical music"
I'd personally say avoid everything with "instant" in its name because it's filled with HFCS or other as-unhealthy ingredients.
My take on the question is that you can buy normal oatmeal and just cook it for slightly longer than the instant ones and you'll be already miles ahead in healthy nutrition. But either way you can always top it with some berries for their antioxidant effects and maybe a banana for it gives you an instant energy boost while the oatmeal is being digested. Oatmeal is a slow burner type of carbs, which means it will give you normal levels of energy for a longer period of time, while fruits like bananas are digested faster and thus provide higher energy for a shorter period of time. Now if you want to workout after your breakfast eating just the banana will suffice, given if it's not some heavy weight lifting workout you're planning on doing. If you just want something to keep you satiated for longer, oatmeal with berries and a little bit of nuts is my answer. Hope I helped with this essay
:gotthis:!
 

TopNotch

Well-known member
Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,610
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
I sometimes make a baked oatmeal for the children and myself on weekends, and they generally contain things like oatmeal (gosh, surprise!), egg, sugar,, milk, spices and dried fruits.
I also like a cold cereal of oats and yoghurt (left for a bit, sometimes overnight, to soften the oats) to which I'll add fresh fruits, grated apples, and/or some protein powder. If I use the chocolate protein powder, I also add a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder to the mix. Mmm, I'm hungry just thinking of that now...
 

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
My favourite is oat porridge (1 cup oats : 2 cups water) with cinnamon, on top of a sliced apple and maybe other fruit if I have it, with some walnuts on top.
My second favourite is oat porridge on banana with almond. Maybe cinnamon, but could be nutmeg instead.

I second the comment that oats are easy to cook - idk if you only have a microwave or how that works with oats, but if you make it with water it won't boil over as easily as with milk. On the hob, it takes minimal attention, low-medium heat, and a bit of stirring near the end.
 
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