[color=violet:21a055bbea][/color:21a055bbea][b:21a055bbea][size=18:21a055bbea][/size:21a055bbea] :cry: I LOVE oatmeal and make it a staple of my zone plan. I've been using the 5 min kind, but recently decided to switch to steel cut as Dr. Sears recommends it so much over the quicker cooking kind. When I followed the pkg directions, I got a groaty, little mess that resembled couscous more than anything!! Help! How do I make the more traditional oat"meal" out of this? Note, do not have a slow cooker.. [/b:21a055bbea]

The texture of steel cut oats [i:b40b4ad01c]is[/i:b40b4ad01c] a coarser than rolled oats, but you can soften it a lot by soaking it overnight. I just put it in the saucepan I'm going to cook it in with the same amount of water (1:1), cover, and leave it overnight. In the morning, I add the same amount of water again so it's now 1 part oats to 2 parts water, bring it to a boil, then simmer until the water's absorbed. When it's soaked overnight, the morning cooking time is reduced to 5-10 minutes. I stir in protein powder after cooking and find that I need to add even more water, but the result is fairly creamy. Andrea

Hi! You may try cooking your oats longer than stated on the package (we like ours pretty well-cooked, so I may go as much as 45 minutes when I haven't done the slow cooker route.) This will cause the texture to break down considerably. I like to add a spoonful of yogurt to the cooked oats, along with peanut butter, which makes them very creamy. We also add a drizzle of Splenda maple syrup, which is good. I was glad to get the little crock though--it was only about 10 bucks and I eat a lot more oats this way (I set it the night before). Good luck! The Snooze-Alarm Queen, Ronica

I am not an oatmeal eater or cooker aside from putting a prepared package in a bowl and microwaving. I am having trouble determining the block count on steel cut oats. Grandma's oatmeal (pg 99 in Top 10 Zone foods) calls for 1 cup cooked oatmeal as 3 blocks and gives instructions on preparation of 3 cups of water to 1/3 cup dry oats. When I followed the recipe I got 1 1/2 C cooked oatmeal. Was I supposed to get 1 cup cooked oatmeal or 3? According to the package, 1/3 C dry oats is equal to 36 carbs (no fibre is specified) which would equal 15 carbs if I was to divide the cooked oats into 3 portions. In Zone Blocks, steel cut oats is given as 1/10 of a cup equals 1 carb block. It does not specify cooked or dry. The recipe in AWITZ Day 5 calls for 2/3 C cooked steel cut oats oats. Here the cooking instructions do not specify the amount of dry oats to be added to 3 C boiling water. In Zone perfect meals in minutes, the block count for "slow cooked oatmeal" is 1/2 ounce dry equals 1 block. Could someone please help a "non-cook" as I would like to add oatmeal to my breakfast choices but am confused as to block count. Benay

As to Block Size: I cook 1/4 cup dry in 1 cup water. The label (McCann's) gives this info for a 1/4 cup dry serving: Total Carbs: 26g ..........Fiber: 4g That leaves net carbs of 22 g. That's about 2 and a half blocks of carbs. I usually add some diced apple, and/or a half spoon of crystalline fructose, sprinkle of cinnamon and a splash of 2% milk to round it up to 4 blocks. As to making it "creamier", I admit steel-cut oats are more textured, gritty. Others have suggested cooking it slightly longer, which definitely helps. The package instructions say 30 minutes, and I often simmer it for 40 or 45, adding a touch more water as needed. I've also cooked it in milk, which makes it creamier, but of course adds some carb (and protein). If you cooked 1/4 cup dry oats in 1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 cup water, you'd have 3 blocks of carb and 1/2 block of protein. Add enough protein powder and you're all set. Know that cooking the oats longer breaks down their fiber, creating a more refined, and therefore less favorable, carbohydrate. Their slow absorption is the reason we eat steel-cut oats instead of instant cereal. The taste and texture might not be what you're used to, but with time it's more palatable. I've been eating steel-cut oats for over 12 years, and I can't stand the glutenous, cardboard flavor of regular rolled oats. You may also find the texture more appropriate for savory dishes. The McCann's website, below, has recipes for oatmeal pilaf, risotto, etc, for an interesting twist. I have made plenty of these, and they are Zone-friendly. Interesting twist on traditional holiday stuffing or mashed potatoes... [url]http://www.mccanns.ie/pages/recipes...;/url] Don't give up. But if you really never come to cultivate a taste for steel-cut oats, you will be better off getting your GLA from other sources, such as primrose or borage oil, than you will from eating paper envelopes of instant wallpaper-paste oatmeal.

Thanks Adam Benay

You may also try adding a spoonful of yogurt, for creaminess. I also add my fat in the form of peanut butter. MMMM. Ronica

I have had great success soaking my steel cut oatmeal overnight in a thermos flask. I have a 2 cup, wide necked flask. I put half a cup of oatmeal and then fill the flask up with boiling water before I go to bed. It is nice and soft and creamy in the morning. I use two thirds of a cup of the porridge with cottage cheese and almond butter. It is delicious. If the rest of the family doesn't eat it, I put the rest in the fridge and eat if for the next two days. Sunshower

I've been doing steel-cut oats in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes and they come out GREAT! I got a pressure cooker for Christmas and I find it to be better than a slow cooker for many dishes. The new ones don't have the explosive problems of the ones our mothers and grandmothers used.

Am i missing something here? Steel cut and slow cooking oats are the oats that have been processed the least. Right? this is so that our body can do the "breaking down (processing) ... slowly.. after we have eaten them. ( Low GI). Well my understanding of cooking is a process that "breaks down.". Now to cook steel cut oats for a long time ( or in the pressure cooker) says to me that I am undoing all the good there was in buying Steel cut ( or slow cooking) oats in the first place. Also I read, somewhere, a question as to whether it was better ( or even OK) to eat oats raw.... ( after all, this is how they are served in Museli) Does this improve their GI, for example? Does cooking reduce their GI? sorry if this has been answered but i couldnt find a reply. Your thoughts appreciated please. thanks Top ps I poor boiling water over my steel cut oats the night before and eat them the next morning without further cooking . also very convenient!!

[quote:83eae9e286="TopBoffin"] Also I read, somewhere, a question as to whether it was better ( or even OK) to eat oats raw.... ( after all, this is how they are served in Museli) Does this improve their GI, for example? Does cooking reduce their GI? sorry if this has been answered but i couldnt find a reply.[/quote:83eae9e286] Hi, Here are my thoughts. The glycemic load of the meal might be lowered slightly if the oats are eaten raw, but I would think it might possibly effect the extent to which one benefits from the GLA and soluble fiber. If eaten raw and one's digestion is not such that the oats becomes fully digested, the GLA might simply go through one's entire system and be excreted without ever becoming available for use by the body. Sue

[quote:605c84d139="Slknorr"][quote:605c84d139="TopBoffin"] Also I read, somewhere, a question as to whether it was better ( or even OK) to eat oats raw.... ( after all, this is how they are served in Museli) Does this improve their GI, for example? Does cooking reduce their GI? sorry if this has been answered but i couldnt find a reply.[/quote:605c84d139] Hi, Here are my thoughts. The glycemic load of the meal might be lowered slightly if the oats are eaten raw, but I would think it might possibly effect the extent to which one benefits from the GLA and soluble fiber. If eaten raw and one's digestion is not such that the oats becomes fully digested, the GLA might simply go through one's entire system and be excreted without ever becoming available for use by the body. Sue[/quote:605c84d139] I have asked this question about 1/2 dozen times on the old and these new forums. I finally received an answer from Tech@DRSears.com. It was very brief. He didn't say anything about GLA being affected. (He was silent because they don't know, maybe?). All he said was that the absorption is slower. That's it. So, by his comments, one might assume that all other benefits are the same, and just the absorption is slower - thus a lower Glycemic Load. OR he didn't address (elaborate) on if any of the other benefits are affected because they don't know.

I slow cook my oats, and don't believe this breaks them down any more than rapid boiling would. Slow cookers are at such a low heat, it takes longer, but they are not steamed, pressed flat, dried, rehydrated, etc. I have no problem with it lasting me at least 5 hours, in fact I could stretch it longer (but don't). I usually still feel "full" at lunch time, as it takes a long time for all of the fiber to go through your body. I think the boiling water/thermos things is kind of similar to a slow cooker. If you've noticed, things hardly ever boil in a slow cooker, and it takes hours to get them even to the hot stage. I cook mine 6 hours, starting with cold water. It's probably 3 AM before they are really hot, and then don't boil anyway, so it takes hours for them to be ready. That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it. :wink: Ronica PS did anyone see the rerun of "Good Eats" on Food Network last night? It was the one about oatmeal! Alton Brown uses steel-cut, and also adds (besides water) whole milk and buttermilk. I just do water and a dollop of kefir.

Ronica, I agree with your comments re the slow cooker.. and would add that slow cooking breaks them down LESS than conventional cooking but my question was addressed rather to pressure cooking and boiling for longer than, say, a couple of minutes. This, I believe, to be breaking them down much more and hence... why buy slow cooking /steel cut oats in the first place? so my question is still: does cooking break them down or not? Top

Hi Jaydpiii, Thanks for that. Much appreciated. My thoughts were along those lines, too. Top

Hi Top, I don't know--you'll have to ask the experts. Any food chemists out there? Another tip I learned on Good Eats--I like a little salt in my oatmeal, it seems to enhance the flavor. When I use it in the slow cooker it is fine, but if I do stove top, it stays grainy and doesn't get creamy. Alton Brown said that there is some compound that makes it creamy, but if you add salt early it won't form. So if you want creamy oatmeal, add salt after it's cooked if you want. (I find just a pinch really improves the flavor, even when sweetening the oatmeal, too.) For some reason, in the slow cooker it works anyway. I don't know why. Random trivia of the day. :wink: (RTD) Ronica