Content list:

What are oats?

Oats benefits

Ingredients

Instructions

Cooking information:

Heat: Yes

Mobility effort: Yes (nonstop stirring)

Difficulty: Beginner-friendly

Preparation time: 1-2 minute

Cooking time: 2-3 minutes (stove)

Flavor: Sweet

What are oats?

Oat is a type of grain that is highly nutritional. Oats are great because they are easy to store, easy to cook, and can be used to make different types of dishes whether it was sweet or savory.

There are different types of oats, such as: rolled oats, steel-cut oats and quick oats. Steel-cut oats take the longest to cook, then rolled oats, then quick oats - hence its name.

Since this recipe is more of a breakfast quick meal, we can use rolled oats or quick oats as they cook faster.

Oats benefits

Oat contains fibers, vitamins (such as vitamin B1 and B5), and minerals. In addition, it contains antioxidants and important flavonoids such as avenanthramides, which aids joint pain, and helps prevent cancer. Oats can also lowers cholesterol, and assist hormonal balance in women thanks to phytoestrogens. Also, oats contains prebiotics in which probiotic feeds on in our body. To summarize, oats are an excellent source of fiber, low in sugar, so almost everybody of any age and condition can consume them.

Note: Unlike wheat (which contain gliadin), oats contains avenin. That means oats are naturally gluten-free, so celiac patients can enjoy oats without any worry. However, some oats are contaminated with wheat since both are processed in the same factory. So, if you are allergic to gluten, make sure that the oats you are buying has "gluten-free" written on its packaging. If it doesn't, it is probably contaminated with other wheat or other types of grains.

Ingredients

- 5 spoons oat. The main ingredient of this dish.

- 1 spoon carob powder. Carob is good for the digestive system. It can be added to the dry ingredients, or sprinkled on top of the oatmeal after it's fully cooked.

- 1 spoon chia seeds. A good source of minerals and omega-3. The water absorbent chia seeds add a fluffier texture to the dish.

- 1 spoon ground flaxseeds. It is rich with omega-3, vitamins, minerals and a good source of fibers. It also binds the ingredients together.

- 1 spoon ground green pumpkin seeds. It provides important minerals such as magnesium, iron, potassium, and even protein. It can be added as is without being crushed for a crunchier texture.

- 1 spoon barley flour. It makes the oatmeal more creamy. Skip it if you want a gluten-free version.

- 175 ml water. Add more if you want a runny oatmeal. Note: the chia seeds and flaxseeds absorb the water within 3 minutes, so do not worry about the mixture looking dry. If you feel like the mixture needs more water, add a spoon of water and mix well. Add more water to your preference. You can also use any type of milk if you like.

- Sweetener of choice. You can use maple syrup, soaked dates or honey. Make sure to add sweeteners only after the oatmeal is fully cooked and then cooled down a little, or else the sweetener will lose its flavor.

- Nuts, chopped fruit or berries to garnish. You can also use applesauce, chocolate, peanut butter or your favorite jam as a topping.

flaxseeds

Green pumpkin seeds

Chia seeds

Carob powder

Honey

Oats

Instructions

Mix all dry ingredients in a sauce pan and mix well. You can add a pinch of salt if you like, but I prefer it unsalted.

Add water to the dry ingredients and mix well. The chia seeds will enlarge in size, and that is perfectly normal. If you feel like the consistency is too solid, add more water and repeat the steps. You can use milk instead of water.

Turn on the stove on medium high heat and stir until the mix is smooth and turns into a rubbery lump. Once it starts bubbling, remove from the heat and set it aside to cool down. Mix occasionally to let out the hot air escape out of the oatmeal.

Add a spoonful of your sweetener of choice, or sprinkle carob powder.

Garnish with your favorite fruit, nuts and topping. (banana, strawberry, blue berry, raspberry, raisins, almond)

Enjoy!