My buttery and creamy bowl of oats will leave you satiated and never bored! Oatmeal or oats are healthy, easy on the pocket and super versatile! A satisfying meal that is filling without being too heavy. You can make a large batch and yet customize each day as per the season or what you have in your pantry. The most common issue I hear is oats are not filling, it makes me hungry soon, it is not a meal.. etc. And some people hate it without even trying. I hope to change that soon. Here is how I make oatmeal that is filling and won't make you feel hungry soon. Now you have no excuse not to bring oatmeal back to the breakfast table.
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| 2020 cherry and banana |
Being a follower of Rujuta Diwekar's food philosophy, I shouldn't be using a weighing scale to determine my fitness. But I do. Our weighing scale used to go only "forward" or "stagnant" for both of us. As I was able to do all the chores without much difficulty, I assumed I am OK. But that feeling did not last long as my recently bought clothes refused to fit me and climbing the stairs to the second floor where we live (we have no elevator service) started to pose like a nightmare. I have everything I need to work out yet I don't. No idea why. Just won't. So to kick start our weight loss, I decided to change our eating habits. Alhamdulillah, after two years I started seeing my weight going down consistently and yet I haven't started a workout routine!
It all started when I decided to embrace oatmeal as serious food for breakfast or dinner and weekend meals too. I also reduced the portion of parathas, chapatis and curries, included more fruits and nuts, cooked more meals during weekends (this is the best chance) etc. I never thought it would last more than a week, but I am surprised we are still on it. 🙂 I made a lot of small changes that helped in manipulating our stomachs to believe that the quantity served is indeed fulfilling. While I have no control over what F eats for lunch because he doesn't like to carry a "lunch box", I ensure to check his breakfast and dinner as per my plans.
In this post, I am focusing only on the sweet version as I have had very few savoury versions so far.
How to make a bowl of Oatmeal (Sweet)
Oatmeal recipe for One
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup rolled oats or whole oats per person
- 1 cup water for every ½ cup of oats
- Salt to taste
- a knob of butter
- 1 or 2 tablespoons milk or cream (optional)
- Sweeteners: sugar/honey/brown sugar/dates molasses/maple syrup/stevia
- Flavours: cinnamon powder / cardamom powder / rosewater / orange blossom water / mastic / vanilla essence / Biscoff/ peanut butter / Nutella / jam /etc
- Toppings: seasonal fruits, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, coconut shreds, etc
Notes: Use flavours that pair well with the fruit that you would be using. For example, apple goes well with Cinnamon powder, Banana with cardamom, rose water, dates with orange blossom water, etc. There is no rule, test some and see what best works for you and your family. I can never add coconut to F's bowl and I had to eat his share the next day morning. 🙂 So unless you test, you will never know.
METHOD
- Add oats, water or milk and salt to a deep sauce pot and bring this to boil while stirring occasionally. Cook until the liquid has reduced and the oats have softened.
- Switch off and stir in the sweetener of choice, flavour, butter and cream.
- Cover and let it cool. Meanwhile, prepare your fruits and nuts.
- Transfer the oatmeal to a serving bowl. Dress up with the desired toppings and serve warm/ room temp or cold.
Here are some of the pictures I shared on Insta Stories with some details on what went in the Oatmeal:
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| This was served for breakfast on a weekend morning. I have added apple, banana, raisins, almonds and couple of cashew nuts and dried goji berries. No dairy. Cinnamon flavoured. Add caption |
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| This was served as dinner. No diary oatmeal with apple, banana, kiwi, papaya in mine, goji berries, almonds, date orange jam. |
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| Almost the same as the first one with the addition of frozen-thawed strawberries and no almonds. |
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| Dinner. Flavoured with orange blossom water. Non-diary oatmeal. |
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| Dinner. A similar one with walnuts and yellow plum. |
In my bowl, I don't go heavy on nuts and dried fruits. Depending on how hungry I am and the time of the day, I add or reduce the fruits and nuts quantity.
This article on 6 mistakes you are making with your oatmeal by Prevention is a must-read. I just came across this yesterday and am glad I am on the right path in making my bowl of oatmeal.
And if you're curious to know if there has been any significant weight loss, then let me break your heart and say - I lost more than I imagined I would - but now at a stagnant point. So have to do more than just Oatmeal and home chores. 🙂 but I am motivated and InshaAllah will get there.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!