Oatmeal 101 – How To Make The Perfect Oatmeal

Oatmeal, Porridge, whatever you prefer to call it – I think we can all agree that it’s one of the best breakfasts to start your day with! And when prepared with the right ingredients, it’s such a healthy meal full of complex carbohydrates that will give you all the energy you need to power you through your morning (or afternoon. Or evening. I won’t judge 😉 ) Plus, it’s so versatile that there’s a version for almost everyone to enjoy!

I’ve already posted a few specific recipes for oatmeal, so today I thought I’d share with you some of the basics I use to cook pretty much all of my oatmeals, special add-ins to add some extra nutrients or volume and ideas for toppings you can use so you’ll never get bored of eating it over and over again!

• Let’s get started with the best milks to cook oatmeal with:
  (If you prefer cooking your oats with water only, just skip this part, but personally, I use one part water to one part (plant-based) milk, as it makes for a creamier and more flavourful oatmeal)- for sweetness, oat milk and coconut milk are both delicious, though they do have a slightly stronger taste of their own, which you might be able to taste– for creaminess, cashew milk is my new-found love. Don’t worry if you don’t like the taste – in fact, I hate cashew milk on its own, but you really can’t taste any of it when it’s mixed in with the oats as it’s relatively neutral!– for flavour, I highly recommend hazelnut milk – unfortunately, it’s a little price-y (though you could definitely make your own!), but the flavour is insanely good. I usually get the one from Provamel, which is lightly sweetened with agave syrup, so it also comes with some sweetness. Hazelnut milk has a very strong taste though, so this is probably not an ideal milk if you don’t like hazelnuts or simply don’t want a nutty-tasting oatmeal.

  – for those wanting to up the protein content a little, there’s good old soy milk – however, if you don’t like the taste very much (aka if you don’t like liquid tofu), you might want to add flavourings like cacao powder/maple syrup/etc. to mask it.

  – lastly, if you’re simply wanting to go for something very neutral without any sweetness, use almond milk – though I find it does depend on the brand how neutral the almond milk tastes. For example, I find that the Provamel one is quite creamy but has a very strong taste, whereas the Alpro one is much more watery and neutral, so try as many different brands as you can to find your favourite one!

  Many supermarkets also sell their own-brand plant-based milks, which are often cheaper, so definitely give those a try if you’re on a budget  🙂

  

  If you’ve never tried melty choc on oats, you’re missing out!

• Once you’ve decided on what milk to use, here’s the basic recipe:
  – 40-50g steel-cut/porridge oats– 100-150ml water

  – 150ml milk of choice-> Just mix the ingredients together and (if cooking the oatmeal in a pan on the stovetop) bring to a boil on high heat. Once it starts bubbling, reduce to medium-high heat, and cook for 5-10 minutes (depending on desired consistency), while occasionally stiring to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Add more water or milk if needed.

  I always cook my oatmeals on the stovetop, but if you’re running low on time, you could also use the microwave – simply microwave the oatmeal for 30 second intervalls on the highest heat, then take it out, stir, and place it back in until it’s got the consistency you like! Oh, and keep an eye on the microwave to make sure the oatmeal doesn’t overflow…there’s not much that’s nastier than cleaning a microwave and bowl with sticky oatmeal remains..

  

• If plain oats are too boring for you, here are some add-ins to spice up your oatmeal:
  – grated/mashed vegetables: yes, you read that correctly! Grating in some vegetables is such an easy way to add volume, fibre and some more vitamins to your oatmeal – the only thing you have to make sure is that the veggies you use are either neutral-tasting or slightly sweet, so shredded broccoli or kale might not be the best option! (Unless you’re going for a savoury oatmeal, which tastes good too) So far I’ve tried grated carrot (one small to medium-sized), grated zucchini (my favourite! I use about 1/3 – 1/2 of a small to medium one), cauliflower (2 finely grated florets – but not the stalk part! This is one you can taste out ever so slightly, so if you’re a bit picky, that’s probably not the best one to go for) and mashed sweet potato (also adds some sweetness!)- chia/flax seeds: adding anything between 1 tsp – 1 tbsp to your oats, these provide you with the omega-3 fatty acid ALA, but also work as thickeners, so you’ll end up with perfectly thick sticky oatmeal.– psyllium husk powder: again, this thickens up your oats, though even more than chia/flax – you want to be careful with the dosage, as even 1/2 – 1 tsp thickens up your oats immensely. You’ll probably need to add some extra liquid when using this, but will still end up with a thick, sticky, almost half-baked style consistency.

  – banana: quite a classic, but I thought I’d include it anyway. The way I like to add this is by mashing half a ripe banana in my pot first, then mixing in the liquid and lastly stiring under the oats before cooking – way easier than seperately mashing it up on a plate like I’ve seen lots of people do 🙂

  – cacao powder (the unsweetened one): adding 1 tbsp of this, along with something to provide sweetness (like some banana), creates deliciously indulgent-tasting chocolate oats and is still one of my favourite things to add to oats.

  – carob powder: a great, though slightly more expensive alternative to cacao. Carob is naturally a little sweet, so unless you like your oats really sweet, just adding 1-2 tbsp of this just before your oatmeal totally transforms it and gives a unique flavour.

  – almond extract: a little almond extract, again with some sweetener, is perfect for making marzipan oats, and who doesn’t love marzipan?

  – instant coffee: It’s no secret I love coffee and am that basic white girl running to Starbucks at every opportunity (luckily for my wallet, there’s no Starbucks near me!) – anyway, this naturally meant I had to play around with adding 1-2 tsp of instant coffee to my oats (especially flavoured ones like from Little’s – I’ve been absolutely obsessed ever since discovering them!) . It’s delicious just on its own, but you can always pair it with lots of different flavours (think “mocha”, “vanilla cappuccino” or “peppermint mocha”) to create an abundance of new and interesting flavours.

  – protein powder: perfect for adding to your oats for an extra protein boost. Just add 1-2 TBSP while your oats are thickening up and add some extra liquid (or not, if you want a super thick consistency)

  –pudding/custard powder: this makes for such a nice texture, once again helping to thicken your oats up. Just mix 1 TBSP (10g) of unsweetened pudding/custard powder into your liquid before adding it to the pan and you’re good to go.

  Now onto the final (and most important 😉 ) rubric: toppings! There’s pretty much no limitation as to what to top your oats with, but here are some ideas:

  

  super chocolatey oats with raspberries, banana, pb, pumpkin seeds and oatmeal spice – seriously a combo made in heaven!

  – fresh fruit (especially banana, mango and berries are great)
  – frozen berries
  – nut butter (hazelnut, almond, peanut, cashew…)
  – coconut flakes
  – chocolate
  – seeds (chia, hemp, sunflower, pumpkin…)
  – whole nuts (pecans, almonds, hazelnuts…)
  – granola
  – cacao nibs
  – soy yoghurt
  – coconut yoghurt

  Hope this was useful to any of you in getting some inspiration for spicing up your oats! What is your favourite way to have them?

  Linda xx