glorious oats

I love oatmeal for breakfast in the morning!  Not only is it a nutritional powerhouse, it is super filling and usually keeps me content till lunch time even when I eat breakfast at 6:30am.  Love that!

I have to say I prefer the quick-cooking oats better than the regular for some reason.  Is that blasphemy?  I like my oats really thick and dense and they seem to give it my kind of consistency.  The regular oats get too goopy for me for some reason.  I also really enjoy steel-cut oats for their dense and chewy texture.  The only thing with these is that they take so darn long to cook! 

I found the perfect thing at Trader Joe’s the other day. . . Quick cooking steel cut oats!  It says they take 8 minutes, but I cooked them about 15 minutes, just until slightly chewy. 

So I decided to make my oatmeal triangles with these and a little 7-grain cereal from Bob’s Red Mill.  They turned out really good and cooked in 1/2 the time.  Sweet! 

Oatmeal Triangles (take 2)  

Yield:  8-10 servings (2 triangles)

• 1 cup quick cooking steel cut oats (TJ’s brand)
• 1/2 cup 7-grain cereal mix (Bob’s Red Mill brand)
• 2 cups non-fat milk and 1 cup water
• 1/3 heaping cup chunky cinnamon applesauce (I used my crock-pot apples)
• 1/4 cup raisins, or your fav dried fruit
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash of clove (careful cloves can be really powerful!)
• You could also add some pumpkin, mushed banana, dash of vanilla extract . . .

Directions

Place milk, water, applesauce, raisins and spices in a large pot; bring to a gentle boil.  Add the oats and 7-grain cereal; stir.  Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick, about 15-20 minutes.  Adjust for seasonings if needed.  I always seem to add more cinnamon!

Place mixture in a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Place in the fridge overnight uncovered.  In the morning, preheat oven to 425.  Cut the oatmeal into squares and then triangles (or any shape you like!) and place on a greased pan or silpat.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden. 

Serve with your favorites!  I like cottage cheese, yogurt, fresh fruit, slather of peanut butter, drizzle of honey, sprinkle of nuts, and cinnamon . . . the possibilities are endless! 

I even make an egg sammy with the triangles.  They’re also great for a hearty breakfast on the go when you don’t have time to cook oats in a pot every morning.  Yum!  There’s some cottage cheese under there somewhere.

 

I found this interesting article about when I discussed having nutrition facts labels available at restaurants.  This study found that having them actually does influence people to make better choices, who would have thought?

What do you think about labels in restaurants?  Do you have any unconventional oat usage?