"Old-Fashioned" vs. "Quick Oats"

[brotherjohn]

I have gleaned that there are several "oatmeal eaters" on this board. Since my visits with the cardiologist, I have begun eating oatmeal as my default breakfast. It's cheap, it's fast, it's good for you, and it stays with you.

I have done something I have never done before in my life. I bought a box of Quaker Oats, and have (over a series of breakfasts) finished off the entire box my myself! The box I just ate was "Quick Oats", the kind that cook in 1 minutes.

This morning, I started a box of "Old-Fashioned." They take 5 minutes to cook. They are a little chewier than than the 1-minute oats.

Here are my questions:

1. Are there any health benefits to the "Old-Fashioned" vs. the "Quick Oats"?

2. Does anybody here ever eat their oats uncooked? Does it cause any stomach problems?

3. What kind of oats do you eat, and what do you put in them?

I look forward to the ensuing banter....
John

[MysteryLover]

Can't answer your specific questions brotherjohn, but I'll give you my unwanted opinion. I like the chewiness of the old fashioned oats over the texture of the quick oats. And I seem to remember from the No S book that Reinhart only puts some hot water over his oats, so I guess that would make them semi-cooked (and he's still alive and well).

[MysteryLover]

oops - I meant "Reinhard".

[Too solid flesh]

Like MysteryLover, I prefer the chewy old-fashioned oats. I like them with cooked with milk, and I stir in a spoonful of maple syrup after cooking and slice a banana on top. Yum.

[apomerantz]

Quick oats and old fashioned oats and steel cut oats are the same thing, but with different levels of processing. I don't think the nutritional value is impacted much, but I think they represent different levels on the glycemic index, so you may feel a higher level of satisfaction eating the less processed versions than you do the quick oats.

Personally, I'd go for whichever tastes best to you and/or fits your lifestyle the most.

I LOVE steel cut oats by far the best, but sadly they are hard to prepare properly. I've tried every method - - stovetop, slow cooker, etc., and the only result I've found to be satisfactory is using a fuzzy logic rice cooker (which is very, very awesome for rice too . . .lol). I just really enjoy the texture of steel cut oats. My next favorite is old fashioned. The quick cooking oats are just a little too soggy for my taste . . .

But I think all in all, eating oatmeal is a great way to go!

[bonnieUK]

Hi Brotherjohn,

I find that I get indigestion if oats aren't soaked before eating. I usually pour boiling water over the oats (enough to just cover them) and do something else for 10 minutes, once they're nicely soaked I heat them up briefly on the hob and stir in some soya milk, but I've found that this step isn't always necessary, they seem more or less cooked by the hot water.

If I'm eating muesli containing raw oats, I soak the oats in cold water or soya milk for 10 minutes before eating.

I think for me its the soaking rather than cooking that makes oats easier to digest, impatience on this matter leaves me with an unhappy tummy

[vmsurbat]

Here are my questions:

1. Are there any health benefits to the "Old-Fashioned" vs. the "Quick Oats"?

2. Does anybody here ever eat their oats uncooked? Does it cause any stomach problems?

3. What kind of oats do you eat, and what do you put in them?

I look forward to the ensuing banter....
John

1. I don't believe there are any particular health benefits between old-fashioned and quick oats. The difference in processing is that quick oats are "rolled" thinner....

2. We have eaten uncooked oats, but not in a straight-out-of-the-box way. In the summer, I will mix up some oats, dried fruits, nuts, brown sugar, etc. in a bowl, pour milk over to cover, and store in the frig overnight. The oats soften up nicely and no problems (for us, anyway) with digestion.

3. We eat regular old-fashioned oats (only kind available to us in eastern Europe). To be honest, my family is not crazy about oatmeal in any form (except choc. chip oatmeal muffins--an S day treat!). But we (I) like putting in a grated apple with a bit of cinnamon sugar when cooking them. My husband does NOT like oats cooked with milk, only with water. I also sometimes add raisins and dried cranberries. We don't eat oatmeal more than once a week, and sometimes not even that. I personally prefer polenta as a hot cereal/morning bowl--I can make it slightly sweet with a drizzle of maple syrup or savory with a bit of tomato sauce, italian seasoning, and parmesean cheese. Yum!

Also, just wanted to say "Welcome back!" Glad you are doing better....

[gratefuldeb67]

Hi John, I eat both..
But actually I am pretty sure that whole oats are much healthier because the instant rolled ones have much of the fiber stripped away.
I also would suggest not eating them dry.
I remember hearing a story about a poor bear who had broken into a big tin of oatmeal at a campsite, ate the whole thing, and when it went to drink water, all the dry oatmeal expanded in it's stomach..
I know you aren't going to do that! LOL
But it stuck in my head, so I'd just say soak them first.
My faves personally are McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oats
Glad you are recovering well and don't worry..
You can even eat Cheerios and get the benefits you would that lower cholesterol, from those.. and that's totally processed..
Eat dem oats!
Blessings,
Debs

[reinhard]

My understanding is also that instant isn't quite as good, that some of the more nutritious bits have been stripped away to optimize for rapid preparation -- though you certainly could do a lot worse.

And regular "old fashioned" rolled oats cook so quickly that's it's not really much of a sacrifice in time. At lunch, when I usually eat oatmeal, I don't even really cook them, I just pour a bit of hot water over from the spigot to soften and moisten them a bit. As instant as "instant." And I like them chewy (my stomach hasn't exploded yet ).

The steel cut is also great -- but a more serious time investment. Half an hour, if I remember correctly. I make it about once a month for the whole family ("Three Bears Style Oatmeal," my daughter calls it, when I make it on S-days with cocoa, cream and cherries -- probably not what your cardiologist had in mind).

As for what to mix with the oatmeal, at lunch I usually mix in some dried fruit, some nuts, and some seeds.

When I'm home for breakfast and have more resources at my disposal (especially on S-days when I can up the sweetness) I also put in butter, cream, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, diced fresh fruit, etc.

Reinhard

[janmarie]

I like quick oats cause on Saturdays (like right as I write this they are in the oven) I make some very healthy chocolate chip cookies for breakfast! I throw together some quick oats, some oat bran, an egg, a little melted butter, some chocolate chips, a little bit of sugar along with some stevia and make some cookies and eat them for breakfast!

[vmsurbat]

My understanding is also that instant isn't quite as good, that some of the more nutritious bits have been stripped away to optimize for rapid preparation -- though you certainly could do a lot worse.
Reinhard

Just for clarification: Instant oats are NOT the same as Quick Oats... Instant oat is the stuff that (usually) comes in little (artificially) flavored packets.

Quick oats are regular oats (unflavored) but rolled thinner. The time difference in cooking is fairly minimal. I believe (may be proven wrong--won't hurt my feelings!) that quick oats are primarily made to be used as an ingredient in *other* dishes: oatmeal muffins, cookies, breads, etc. because they soften up much better in batters than regular oats.

As I stated before, we use regular oats because we have them available, but if I was in the US, I would probably buy Quick Oats (never instant) because I use oats mostly as an ingredient in other dishes, not as a meal by itself....

Cheerio! (pun intended )

[wosnes]

I just checked the nutrition info at the Quaker Oats web site. The Old-Fashioned Oats and Quick Oats have the same amount of fiber. I thought that the Quick Oats would have less.

[noni]

I bought a huge box of the Quaker instant oatmeal packets that were flavored (Banana Bread, Cinnamon Roll etc...). They have so much sugar in them. I poured the packet in a coffee strainer with small holes and sifted out the sugar. I got more than 2 tsp out of 1 small packet! The remaining oatmeal still retained the banana flavor (in this case) and was still plenty sweet enough. I added raisins and it was yum.

The No S diet retards the sweet tooth. Some sweets are now too sweet for me. Another favorite unconscious habit formed.

[Tulsa]

Quick oats are not rolled. It's the grain slice very thin so that it cooks quickly. Rolled are just that, rolled. Steel cut are great, nice and chewy but take much longer to cook. Scottish oats are stone ground very coarse and are my favorite type of oats. The intstant oatmeal flavors like the Peaches and Cream or Strawberries and cream are tasty but very high in sugar.

[vmelo]

I LOVE steel cut oats, and I've read that they're very good for you. I think Reinhard's daughter's description of them as "Three Bears Style Oatmeal" is perfect! They're thick and delicious and really stick to your ribs.

However, they do take a lot of time, but some time ago, I found a recipe from Alton Brown (of Food Network) in which he cooks them overnight in a crockpot, and the next morning, you have a whole pot of oatmeal. I've done it and then put the leftovers in individual 1-cup Pyrex containers with lids, and each morning, I just warm it up in the microwave for a minute or so. It's great!

Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alto ... ndex.html

When I followed it, I didn't add the dried fruit because some folks who reviewed the recipe on the Food Network web site mentioned that it was overwhelming. I just put in 1/2 water and 1/2 milk, and it's fine.