That's when I tried some of those flavored oatmeal sachets and nearly gagged on them. The taste was just awful. Mollie Katzen came along to the rescue with her wonderful breakfast book Sunlight Cafe, a great resource for those who want to get off to a better nutritional start ever day.
Katzen has a great recipe for Chai Oatmeal that I modified a little bit. Here are my favorite things about this recipe-
a) It takes 8 minutes to make from start to finish. Morning are a rushed time, but 8 minutes I can spare. Not all of it is hands-on time, so really your breakfast gets made as you make tea/coffee, check mail etc.
b) The recipe contains yummy spices and nuts, so you feel like you are eating dessert...makes for a happy start to the day. Yet it is not cloyingly sweet.
c) The fiber in the oatmeal really fills you up, so you don't get hunger pangs all the way until lunchtime.
d) This recipe can be tweaked to make different variations.
Sunshine Oatmeal
2 cups liquid (any combo of milk/soymilk/water works fine)
1 cup Quick-cooking/Instant oats (the 1-minute cooking ones)
1 tbsp sweetener (honey/sugar/Splenda)
1 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp cashewnut pieces
1/4 tsp turmeric (for color and slight flavor)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
6-7 strands saffron
pinch of salt
Method:
- In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups liquid, and all ingredients except for oatmeal, and bring to a boil.
- Then add the oatmeal and stir around for a minute.
- Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan and leave for a minute.
Enjoy the oatmeal. The variations are that you could add different types of nuts and dried fruits like dates, fruits like banana, and other flavorings like vanilla or cinnamon. The possibilites are endless, and you end up eating the breakfast of champions!
Note: Joey over at the lovely blog 80 Breakfasts is sharing a recipe for oatmeal with apple-walnuts, check it out.
PS: Since writing this post, I quickly switched to old-fashioned oats instead of the quick-cooking instant oats and I love them so much more. This recipe can be made with either.
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ReplyDeletesounds GOOD! :) Like halwa, actually. Can you imagine eating oatmeal with salt, though? ugh...
ReplyDeleteHi Shammi, thats right...it tastes like halwa or kheer, quite a decadent breakfast :)
ReplyDeleteand the pinch of salt does not actually make it salty, it just enhances the flavor. u can totally omit the salt if you like!
Hi
ReplyDeletei saw your blog.oatmeal is very good as you said but adding sugur and nuts into it increases its calories so if you are really a "weightwatcher"then add some dry grapes and blueberries,any fruits like strawberry,which makes it tastier also.
and if you have reciepes with rich in protein plzz post them.
tanuja
Oh no no, Nupur... I didnt mean the tiny pinch of salt in your recipe - I was talking about people who eat oatmeal with just salt (I hesitate to call it savoury oatmeal) :)
ReplyDeleteOh, btw... could you tell me where to get the Word Verification code, please? Suddenly there's a lot of spam comments happening!
ReplyDeleteHi Shammi,
ReplyDeleteoh, I misunderstood :) yeah, salty oatmeal sounds quite weird!
About the word verification, when you sign into blogger and into your blog, you see tabs: posting, settings, template, and view blog. Go to the "settings" tab. and then to the "comments" tab therein. There you can turn on word verification. I had to turn it on coz I got sick of spam!
Hi Nupur! I love oatmeal and actually just posted about another oatmeal recipe on my blog (with apples and walnuts). Love this post...when I heard chai oatmeal I was hooked...two things I love :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Shakthi, the choice to use sugar vs. sweeteners like Splenda is a purely personal one. I personally believe that sugar is fine in moderation, and also believe that artificial sweeteners like Splenda are OK as a substitute for people who are cutting out sugar. I have listed all the commonly used sweeteners in my ingredient list but do not recommend one over the other.
ReplyDeleteNupur, this recipe sounds really good. I'll give it a try. I love oatmeal and I'm looking for different ways to cook it. I also like the title of the recipe. It is so upbeat.
ReplyDeleteHi Nupur! I would love the Chai Oatmeal recipe! If you could email it to joeyl(at)i-manila(dot)com(dot)ph it would be much appreciated...thanks! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking me to your post...That was so nice of you! I'd like to link this post to mine as well...hope that's ok! :-)
Hi Nupur,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog today.The oatmeal seems yummy. Thanks for sharing.
hey nupur,
ReplyDeletethe oat meal sounds good, though, Ive gagged on it each time I've tried. But might try your recipe. I may luck out . Just thought I'll let you know I finally started my food blog, so you can finally start commenting. It's url is http://bilbocancook.blogspot.com/.
Have fun
Nupur--
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. I grew up on oatmeal, and loved it. Now, I can't have it (because of the celiac thing), and I'd love to eat it again!
I recommend, once you develop the oatmeal habit, that you switch to a regular-cooking oats, like Bob's Red Mill or McCanns. These are a thicker oat, take longer to cook, and they taste fantastic. I never tired of putting different combinations on there: blackberries; slightly sweetened soy milk; peach jam; slivered almonds. The possibilities are endless!
And thanks for leaving a comment on my blog. I'm glad to have found yours!
Hi Nupur,
ReplyDeleteI like your blog very much. I am vegan so found many recipes here, they rock!
And congrulations on your picture about lentils and beans.It's very nice.
first off youre hot!. second I went to costco and on a whim picked up the large box of oatmeal. after I got home i had panicked second thoughts and was on my way out the door to return it,when i came across your blog. needless to say you saved costco from a return and i got a great way to prepare oatmeal.
ReplyDeletethanks.