Oats

I am obsessed with oats. Because of their reputation of inherent goodness (and of course taste), I keep trying to find different ways I can introduce them in my meals other than only during breakfast. Here’s a few I’ve come up with:

• Oat lolis

These are dead easy- simply put the oats in a food processor until they reach a flour-like consistency. Then just add water and salt, so that it becomes like dough. To spice up the flavor (quite literally), you can add in some black pepper, green chilies, coriander and whatever else may take your fancy. Once this is done, just make it on the fire as you would with more traditional lolis.

• Southern Fried Chicken

Whoever would have thought that oats could be a threat to KFC? Rather than deep frying chicken and adding breadcrumbs, here’s a more delicious way of cooking ‘fried’ chicken:

Add salt and black pepper (and paprika or Cajun spice if you have any at hand) to the egg (egg whites are good enough) and then dip the chicken breast in the mixture, and then coat it with oats. Once this is all done, you just have to pan fry it for 7-10 minutes.

**I frequently replace the chicken with a piece of white fish such as haddock or gole fish.

• Swiss Bircher

This is my ultimate favorite oat recipe. If you have trouble waking up in the mornings, then this is definitely one to try. It’s so yummy that it could probably qualify as a dessert.

Mix oats, yogurt (fruit or natural), a handful of nuts (I either use flaked almonds or walnuts) and any fruit of your choice. If you want to save time in the morning, this can also be made the night before and kept in the fridge.

**Lately, my mixture tends to be oats with natural yogurt, Splenda (I hate to say it but I feel like Aspartame is family now), a chopped pear, strawberries, and flaked almonds.

My ultimate favorite, however, is oats with a chopped apple, strawberries, a tiny bit of banana, toffee flavored Muller Light yogurt (I may have to start a fruit yogurt import business into Mumbai), and walnuts

 

*Baked Banana Oatmeal

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

• 90 g oats (not the instant kind)
• your sweetener of choice  (e.g. brown/white sugar, honey, agave, Splenda–>amount will vary according to taste)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• walnuts/almonds/2 teaspoons peanut butter (optional)
• 1 cup soy milk (any milk will do)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 banana mashed

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350*F.
• Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Coat a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray
• Pour oatmeal batter into pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned.
• Allow to cool before cutting.

*I was a bit skeptic before trying it but it got a 10/10 from me.  Had a yummy, cake-like texture and feel to it and was so easy to make.

*OATMEAL PANCAKES

I won’t lie,  I hadn’t eaten ‘real’ pancakes since I started losing weight.  That is, of course, if you don’t count those measly supermarket generic Scotch pancakes which come in packets of 6 for like £0.71.  I always assumed that the recipe of pancakes consisted of unthinkable amounts of oil, sugar, white flour, egg yolks, etc.  Then came along this amazing recipe for oatmeal pancakes.  I swear, don’t knock ‘em till you try ‘em.  They taste so incredible that I’m sure IHOP will want to feature them on their menu .

• 2-3 egg whites, whisked (more froth=fluffier pancakes)
• 40g oats
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla essence
• A splash of either milk or water to loosen the batter up
• Sweetener/sugar (I added agave after they were ready rather than in the batter itself)

Just mix it all together and then fry in a non-stick pan until both sides are golden brown.

**Go crazy with your choice of toppings.  The picture above includes peanut butter and agave spread on the pancake with slices of apple, banana, and peach.  I had that with a homemade cold coffee.  Who said breakfast can’t have a good balance of carbs, protein, healthy fats, fruit, and calcium AND still be good on the waistline??

*CARROT CAKE MUFFINS (serves 2)

• 45g quick-cooking oats
• 80g Alpro Soya Vanilla yogurt (any other low-/non-fat yogurt will do)
• 60 ml Alpro Soya Original milk (again, any other milk variety will do)
• 10g grated carrot
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon

Combine all the above ingredients and bake in the oven for 35 minutes at 180°C.

** I thought the yogurt would sweeten the muffin, but in future I would add Agave or granulated Splenda

**To make my muffin more fun, I ‘iced’ it with another dollop of yogurt