I Hate Oatmeal

Ten years ago my husband had an "incident." Translated he had a mild heart attack. We had to go to classes to learn how to change things in our lifestyle in order to keep him healthy. One of the strong recommendations in the class on nutrition was add oatmeal to our diet.

I did what I always do. I started researching. As a horsewoman I know about oats as a feed for horses. If you need a horse to have more energy you feed it oats. If a horse is too frisky you quit feeding it oats. Because oats are high fiber they are a safe feed for horses. So horsewise oats are both good and bad. I still hated oatmeal.

I read various studies that proved eating oatmeal reduced cholesterol. There is also an indication that people eating oatmeal for breakfast consumed fewer calories which is good for the waist line as well as the cardiovascular system. (University of Kentucky. "Oatmeal's Health Claims Reaffirmed, Study Suggests." ScienceDaily 9 January 2008. 13 October 2008 ).

Okay, so oatmeal really is good for you. I still didn't like the stuff. Furthermore, I discovered my husband didn't like it either. His complaint was the oatmeal his mom served up was slimy. Okay, that was one of my complaints about oatmeal too.

I dug out my cookbooks, especially the 1940 American Woman's Cookbook that has been my mainstay since I was a kid. It was my grandmother's and passed on to me. I discovered why the oatmeal our grandmothers and mothers prepared was a solid mass of glue. They were told to soak it overnight and then cook it for a half hour in the morning. Well, it didn't matter what you did to it after that, the stuff was awful.

I kept reading. Oats were added to cookie dough, ground meat to make meatloaf and meatballs, cake dough and other recipes. No where was anything said about cooking the oatmeal first. Why was this? Why was it okay to put dry oats in various recipes that cooked anywhere from twelve minutes (oatmeal cookies) to an hour (meatloaf) without cooking first?

I began experimenting with Old Fashioned Five-Minute Oats. I cooked it less than the recommended five minutes. Hmm, still gluey was the verdict. I kept reducing the cooking time until I found what works for us.

I put a half-cup of oatmeal in a bowl and pour enough boiling water into the bowl to cover the oatmeal. After letting it sit for a few minutes my husband added brown sugar and some of his daily ration of Smart Balance. He decided raisins might be a good addition. We found if they were added to the dry oatmeal before adding the boiling water they plumped out a bit. He was happy with the oatmeal now.

I wasn't. Then I found something that improved my relationship with the stuff. I was reading an English mystery (I don't remember the title) where one character said he ate proper porridge with salt, not sugar, for breakfast. Hmmm, I tried oatmeal with a dab of the Smart Balance and salt. Now, that was okay. I could handle it.

An additional benefit to cooking your oatmeal this way is that your bowl of oatmeal is significantly cheaper than if you used one of the instant packets. The approximant difference is two cents a serving of the five minute oatmeal as opposed to twenty-five cents a serving for a packet of instant. And there is no difference in the amount of time and preperation.

I continued to experiment with my oatmeal and found adding a little meat made it taste better to me. Hey, putting a cup of oatmeal in your favorite meatloaf recipe works, why not the bit of meat in the oatmeal?

My favorite meatloaf

1 pound of ground beef (there are only two of us at home now)

1 cup of oatmeal

½ cup of catsup

1 cup of cooked mixed vegetables

1 cup of onion and bell peppers

1 tsp salt (optional)

¼ tsp black pepper

Mix thoroughly. Rather than make one loaf I form the mixture into four small loafs. This makes two meals for us. One for now, the other to freeze for later.

I cook the mini meatloaves on top of the stove in a heavy skillet over very low heat. This saves energy because you aren't using as much gas or electricity as if you used the oven.

I also learned that substituting oatmeal for a quarter of the flour in my favorite quick bread recipes adds a nice nutty texture and flavor to them without compromising the end product.

Pumpkin Nut Bread

Heat over to 350 degrees

1 cup diced fresh pumpkin

1 ½ cups self-rising flour

½ cup of oatmeal

½ cup brown sugar packed

¾ cup buttermilk or yogurt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use light olive oil)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoons cinnamon

½ cup of pecans (or walnuts)

Toss the pumpkin with the vanilla and cinnamon and set aside

Beat egg, add sugar and beat, add oil as you beat sugar and egg together mix in buttermilk

Mix flour and oatmeal, add to the egg mixture and mix for about thirty strokes

Add the pumpkin and nuts, fold until well mixed

Pour into a loaf pan that has been oiled and sugared. Sugar works better than flour and imparts a nice glaze.

Bake for about sixty minutes. Test for doneness by touching the center of the loaf with a finger. If done it will bounce back. If it needs to cook longer a dent will remain.

Let the loaf stand for a few minutes on a rack before turning out of the pan.

This is a tasty bread when toasted as well as just cut from the loaf.

I now substitute a cup of oatmeal for a cup of flour which makes for a nuttier bread.

While I am still not an oatmeal lover I have learned tasty ways to include it in our diet. Our cholesterol numbers have improved. This is not entirely due to the oatmeal, since we've lowered the amount of fat in our diet as well as added more exercise to our routine, but I'm sure oatmeal has helped with the process. Now, if only I can learn to like fish that isn't fried.