Friday, March 23, 2012

Summer Oatmeal Date

Okay, I've tried two different versions at this point.  I would have tried more, but I keep forgetting before I go to bed!

Version 1: cooked oatmeal that has been cooled; topped with agave, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts and Greek yogurt.

Version 2: Old Wessex five grain cereal, applesauce, milk, chopped apple, and dried cranberries mixed together and set overnight; topped with Greek yogurt.

Verdict: Version 1 is gummy.  Certainly if I forget the night before then it's an option, but it's not preferred.  Version 2 is delicious!  The recipe I used is one I found online and apparently a version of one by Dr. Andrew Weil.  His calls for soy milk and does not use Greek yogurt.  It's definitely filling and I haven't had the urge to have a mid-morning snack.

I think there are two keys to this version: first using the Old Wessex Five Grain Cereal adds texture (it's a mix of oats, rye, barley, tricale and golden flax) and doesn't become gummy; second, the applesauce provides a sweetness negating the need for additional sweetener (although the original recipe does say you can add maple syrup or honey to taste, I didn't find it necessary).  The other thing I would add, I think that Greek yogurt is key to this otherwise you end up with a relatively carb heavy breakfast (41 grams) with little protein(4.1 grams with 1% milk versus 11.5 grams with yogurt).

Am I totally happy with this recipe?  Not quite.  But all in all, it is pretty good at 256 calories, 1.8 grams of fat, 41.7 grams of carbs, and 17.5 grams of protein.  I'm going to keep working at it.  Since we are getting close to berry season that might change a few things!

That Girl's Summer Oatmeal (Version 1)
serves 2

1/2 cup Old Wessex Five Grain Cereal, or similar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup low-fat milk (we typically use 1%, but feel free to substitute your preference)
1/2 granny smith apple, cored and diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

The night before, mix the cereal, applesauce, milk, apples and cranberries in a bowl; cover and leave in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning place half of the cereal mixture in a bowl and top with 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt.
One last note: this makes a great breakfast to take to work.  Perfect for me since I don't like to eat for about an hour or so after I get up.

One last thing -- don't be tempted to make up more than two day's worth, even though it would be totally easy to whip it up on Sunday night to last for the whole week.  The problem is that the apples begin to ferment and then they leave a slightly unpleasant acidic taste in the whole dish.   A work around might be to add the apples in the morning, but I don't know how the whole thing will hold up over a week even without the apples.

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