Simple Quick Oatmeal Mix
Brian Beatty, PT, CFP
Eating nourishing foods when you’re on the go is often a challenge.
Oatmeal is quick to fix, quick to digest, nutrient dense, provides steady energy, and is easily transportable.
Instant Oatmeal packets are easy, but often fail the nutrient dense and steady energy demands of an active lifestyle. We’ve been experimenting with a few options that work better than a Quaker Oats package. All you need is a couple of scoops of mix, add boiling water, stir, let it absorb 2-3 minutes and enjoy.
Here are some combinations that we like. Please share your own options with us and we will keep the list growing.
4 c thin rolled oats
1 c pecan halves
1 c dried apple slices
10-12 pitted dates
1.5 t salt
2 T ground chia seed
1 T cinnamon
1 t ginger
1/2 c coconut sugar
Preparation Notes: rough chop the apples first. place nuts, fruit in food processor and process till it chunks to desired size for your mix. We then add the other ingredients with the oats on top. This facilitates mixing of all ingredients. Pulse the whole mixture a few times till the oats are down to desired size. A chunkier mixture gives a more satisfying mouth chew if eating regularly as a sit down meal or mid day snack. A smoother smaller mixture yields more of an oatmeal slurry in the bowl, but goes down quick and starts absorbing quicker for on the go pre-activity fueling.
Ingredient Notes: we use thin rolled oats (sometimes called cooking oats) bought in bulk, you can use any rolled oats; all fruit should be unsweetened; brown sugar could be substituted and amount reduced; we grind the chia seed into the mix with a hand spice mill to aide absorption and give a smoother consistency to the mix; the salt and spice could be reduced, we go heavy on the salt since we usually use it as a pre or post sweaty workout fuel and the spices have nice anti-inflammatory properties; if your palate and digestion take it, you could bump the chia for even more healthy omega-3 fatty acid intake.
Variations:
1 c walnuts instead of pecans
1 c dried cranberries instead of cherries
+ 1/4 c unsweetened coconut flakes
Categories: Brian Beatty's Blog, Food and Nutrition