# In praise of porridge oats



## Riverman (21 Nov 2009)

Over the last few weeks I've been eating porridge oats for breakfast boiled in water I then add sugar (sometimes honey) and cold semi-skimmed milk.

I seem to have a lot more energy on the bicycle. Just seem to be able to tackle the hills a lot easier. It's not that I don't eat much carbohydrate and some complex, but there just seems to be something funny about oats.

I''m trying to lose weight at the moment and wondered if it's not the best strategy.


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## Archie_tect (21 Nov 2009)

Oats are great- slow release and better for you than other cereals.


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## davidg (21 Nov 2009)

love them both in porridge and cold with fruit and milk


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## GrasB (21 Nov 2009)

+1 great fuel, I have oats on the weekend & in the morning if I'm off work. I wish I could get up early enough for a bowl in the morning before a commute. Problem is I need to be up for more than about 2h before I can stomach more than a banana & cup of Tea/Coffee. Even after my commute I can still only just about handle a recovery bar.


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## Dayvo (21 Nov 2009)

Porridge is great at any time of the day/year!

I do like the Oats -So-Simple, as well, but need three sachets at a time to keep me going!


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## Riverman (21 Nov 2009)

Thing is they're just so cheap! Must work out at no more than 5p for a big bowl.


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## andrew-the-tortoise (21 Nov 2009)

I live on the stuff.

Eaten with Lyles Golden Syrup [from the tin].


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## Dayvo (21 Nov 2009)

andrew-the-tortoise said:


> I live on the stuff.
> 
> Eaten with Lyles Golden Syrup [*from the tin*].



Blimey! How do you get your mouth in there?


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## andrew-the-tortoise (21 Nov 2009)

Nae, I use a spoon.


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## Dayvo (21 Nov 2009)

andrew-the-tortoise said:


> Nae, I use a spoon.



Loads easier than a straw!


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## Hacienda71 (21 Nov 2009)

Oats are great for your heart and reducing cholesterol as well.


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## andrew-the-tortoise (21 Nov 2009)

Oats are also great for high volume flatulence [dB and Litres!].


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## Dayvo (21 Nov 2009)

andrew-the-tortoise said:


> Oats are also great for high volume flatulence [dB and Litres!].



Ooh, must eat more, then!


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## Lisa21 (21 Nov 2009)

I LOVE porridge with either honey or a bit of sugar-made with water tho as I cant do Milk

I rarely eat breakfast, just a bit of fruit, but have it for lunch and it seems to fill me up better than anything else that iv tried.


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## snorri (21 Nov 2009)

andrew-the-tortoise said:


> Eaten with Lyles Golden Syrup [from the tin].


Treacle is good too


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## ACS (21 Nov 2009)

Southern softies, 

get some salt on your oats man!


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## Telemark (21 Nov 2009)

Porridge, my "special" is with milk and a small spoon of honey, then a sliced banana and a bit of cinnamon on top - yumm! (sometimes also with a bit of dark chocolate under the banana  )

also referred to as a "long run breakfast" in our household 

T


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## Seamab (21 Nov 2009)

satans budgie said:


> Southern softies,
> 
> get some salt on your oats man!



On your oatmeal surely
Soaked overnight and stirred lovingly with the spurtle - anything less is just not porridge.
Pour any leftovers into a drawer for cooling and taking out on the bike to keep you topped up.


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## bauldbairn (22 Nov 2009)

Love porridge original(with honey) or these flavoured ones - blueberry,apple,syrup,brown sugar. 

edit:
.....and now Raspberry is available..............mmm!


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## Kaid (22 Nov 2009)

Yup a porridge lover here too, acts as a great slow release and keeps me going from my early breakfast around 6am till well past midday and of course the bike ride in-between


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## dellzeqq (22 Nov 2009)

chop in a banana and you've got the perfect cyclist's breakfast

nice thread title, by the way. Let's have more of them!


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## Plax (22 Nov 2009)

I'm a fan off porridge, just not of cleaning up afterwards! 
My usual before a long journey is porridge made with milk, with honey and bananas. This morning I am using up the Ready Brek that was donated to me in my parents kitchen clearout. Nice, but not as satisfying, especially after I had a momentary lapse of concentration and had it explode in the microwave.


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## numbnuts (22 Nov 2009)

porridge* *


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## Mike A (22 Nov 2009)

+1 - another porridge fan signing in


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## Mycroft (22 Nov 2009)

porridge it is then, going straight just wasn't as good


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## badkitty (22 Nov 2009)

Yep - always like to get my oats...

Preferably with water, Rice Dream and sultanas..yum.


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## trio25 (22 Nov 2009)

Love it, wish I could get up early enough to make it on a work day. Its a weekend treat for me!


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## The Jogger (22 Nov 2009)

Added to a home made smoothie, nice, or with milk and honey......


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## Garz (22 Nov 2009)

I eat porridge too and use honey as the natural sweetner. Great breakfast source, keep eating it!


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## Lisa21 (22 Nov 2009)

I have just had some porridge now, with honey. Luvvvurly


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## threebikesmcginty (22 Nov 2009)

I haven't had porridge since breakfast!!

half milk, half water - golden syrup......yum


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## aka0019 (22 Nov 2009)

I have porridge every morning and then have oats with a yoghurt at lunch time. Have done this for the last year or so. I love the stuff!


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## trio25 (23 Nov 2009)

Put the effort in and had porridge this morning, lovely!


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## Lisa21 (23 Nov 2009)

Had porridge with cinnamon and a nana for my dinner- lovely!
Dont know whats wrong with me,im eating quite healthily at the moment!


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## jimboalee (23 Nov 2009)

Not so much porridge.

I melt some butter in a pan and stir in some oats that have been drained after soaking overnight.
Stir in some brown sugar until it caramelises and then some condensed milk.

Oat fudge....


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## zacklaws (24 Nov 2009)

Cannot bring myself round to eating porridge but at the moment I am making energy bars out of the stuff.

1 cup brown sugar
2 cups granola or porridge oats
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup mixed fruit (raisins, sultana's etc)
2 eggs
2 tsps of vannila essence

Mix the eggs, brown sugar and vannila esscense together, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Flatten it out into a baking tray about 12inch by 8 inch and cook for 25 minutes at gas mark 3. Allow to cool and cut into bars, usually 12. Then I wrap them into tinfoil and freeze. About a third never make the fridge there that good.

Usually I eat half a bar every 10 miles and have found that they are better than a shop bought for giving you that kick to get you going.

Tommorow I might try porridge


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## jimboalee (24 Nov 2009)

zacklaws said:


> Cannot bring myself round to eating porridge but at the moment I am making energy bars out of the stuff.
> 
> 1 cup brown sugar
> 2 cups granola or porridge oats
> ...



We use OUNCES this side of the Atlantic, not 'cups'.


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## youngoldbloke (24 Nov 2009)

_We use OUNCES this side of the Atlantic, not 'cups'.
_Cups are a measure of volume, not mass ('weight') and are a very convenient measure to use, as they do not require a scale, or special equipment. The measure can also be easily scaled, up or down, by using a suitable container. In any case, Jimbo, welcome to Europe in 21st century where we now use the metric system - actually, I understand that pounds and ounces are still used in the USA!


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## zacklaws (24 Nov 2009)

>>>>>We use OUNCES this side of the Atlantic, not 'cups'.<<<<

Ummmm, I wonder who posted the following below? Besides it was an American site I found the recipe on and as our lass has bought a set of stainless steel cups of various sizes, it saves a lot of time faffing about.


>>>>As for muscle gain rates, 1/2 lb per week is about the most anyone can be expect, ON THEIR WHOLE BODY! using a very comprehensive workout routine working ALL the musclegroups necessary to compete in Bodybuilding contests.

If you're only cycling, divide this by three.

70 g per week of leg muscle increase ???

Naw, 40 g per week because the intensity is nowhere near MAX.

That means if you want to put on a kilo of lean muscle, its going to take 25 weeks, 6 months to be certain.

2 kilos ( one per leg ) is going to take one year. 

And the story continues.<<<<<


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## jimboalee (24 Nov 2009)

Zacklaws.

Are you my ex wife?

If you are not, go away and do some research.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html

*How Fast Can You Actually Gain Muscle Mass?*
We live in an instant gratification society and are constantly bombarded with amazing claims; while this is probably most true in the world of weight loss, it’s not much different when it comes to muscle gain.
Magazines advertise 20 pounds or rock hard muscle in a mere 8-10 weeks, a supplement promises 5 lbs of muscle in 3 days or whatever; all around we see claims of rapid gains in muscle mass. Sadly, this is all basically bullshit. Yeah, with glycogen loading or creatine you can increase lean body mass (not the same as muscle mass) fairly rapidly but beyond that, skeletal muscle actually grows fairly slowly.
How slowly?
*On average, a natural male doing everything right will be doing very well to gain 1/2 of pound muscle per week*. A female might gain half that or about 1/2 pound muscle every 2 weeks.
Let’s put that in perspective: over a full year of training, assuming the trainee is doing everything right, that’s 26 pounds of the good stuff for men (13 pounds for women). Which, if you think about it, actually isn’t that awful. It’s simply awful compared to what people think they are going to get based on the false promises in the magazines (or the claims of drug using bodybuilders).
That assumes that half-pound is gained week-in, week-out for the entire year. Oddly, and somewhat tangentially, it usually doesn’t work that way. Trainees may go a long time with no measurable gains and then wake up several pounds heavier seemingly overnight. I have no idea why, that’s just how it usually works.
I’d note that, under the right conditions (usually underweight high school kids), much faster rates of gain are often seen or reported. But these tend to be exceptions to the rule more than the norm and since I’m usually writing for the average male trainee who’s not 15 years old with raging hormones, I don’t consider those values very illustrative. And, occasionally, when the stars are right, and everything clicks, a true one pound per week of muscle mass gain may be seen for short periods. But again, that tends to be the exception.
Let me reiterate: the average male trainee is doing well to gain about 1/2 pound muscle per week, 2 pounds per month or about 24-26 pounds per year. I’d note that that will generally only happen in the first year of training and things slow down after that. A female may be gaining about half that much, 1 pound per month of actual muscle tissue or 10-12 pounds per year. I know it sucks but that’s reality.


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## I am Spartacus (24 Nov 2009)

To lighten the debate .....

today I will be mostly shitting oats


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## Lisa21 (24 Nov 2009)

Will that be measurable in cups,ounces or feet?


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## jimboalee (24 Nov 2009)

Lisa21 said:


> Will that be measurable in cups,ounces or feet?



G astronomical Units.


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## Lisa21 (24 Nov 2009)

jimboalee said:


> G astronomical Units.



Damn.. I was thinking that aswell but missed it off my list


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## Riverman (24 Nov 2009)

I burnt curry solid into my main pan a couple of nights ago so now I'm using my rice cooker to cook porridge in the morning. lol

It doesn't seem to cook it quite the same.


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## jimboalee (25 Nov 2009)

Riverman said:


> I burnt curry solid into my main pan a couple of nights ago so now I'm using my rice cooker to cook porridge in the morning. lol
> 
> It doesn't seem to cook it quite the same.



Try a 'Slow cooker'.
After taking your portion, add oats, milk, and stir.
Leave on for tomorrow.


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## davidg (25 Nov 2009)

zacklaws said:


> Cannot bring myself round to eating porridge but at the moment I am making energy bars out of the stuff.
> 
> 1 cup brown sugar
> 2 cups granola or porridge oats
> ...



that sounds nice. Will give it a go...

this is possibly a very stupid question (but if the cap fits...), but are the eggs instread of butter or something like that because flapjack recipes that I have seen tend to have that...

does anyone have a kickarse flapjack recipe btw?


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## Malcolm44 (25 Nov 2009)

Guys
You cant beat porridge!!!!
I dont believe anyone who says that they dont have time to make it as you get the packets which are ready in 3 mins from the microwave. 
Then add more milk - never sugar or honey as the wimps south of Forfar would do. Keeps you going all morning


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## jimboalee (25 Nov 2009)

Malcolm44 said:


> Guys
> *You cant beat porridge!!!!*
> I dont believe anyone who says that they dont have time to make it as you get the packets which are ready in 3 mins from the microwave.
> Then add more milk - never sugar or honey as the wimps south of Forfar would do. Keeps you going all morning



Yes I can. With a Kenwood mixer.


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## Garz (25 Nov 2009)

Malcolm44 said:


> Guys
> Then add more milk - never sugar or honey as the wimps south of Forfar would do. Keeps you going all morning



I add honey, adding too much milk would make it more heavy/bloated before a ride if its more than a splash.


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## jimboalee (25 Nov 2009)

Mix in some scrambled eggs, chopped sausages and a dash of Tom ketchup.

It all gets to the same place. 


PS, and a good heaped spoon of coffee granules.


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## Lisa21 (25 Nov 2009)

jimboalee said:


> Mix in some scrambled eggs, chopped sausages and a dash of Tom ketchup.
> 
> It all gets to the same place.
> 
> ...



God Jimbo-i feel really queasy now!
Porridge made with water,add honey,cinnamon,banana. That was my dinner and it was Yummy!


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## zacklaws (25 Nov 2009)

>>>but are the eggs instread of butter or something like that because flapjack recipes that I have seen tend to have that...<<<<

I'm not a cook, but I presume the eggs are just to bind the mix. If you do a search for homemade energy bars, there are lots of ideas, but the one that I have posted is about the most basic that I have found, others go into detail of different types of nuts and fruits etc but fundamentally are the same. Also the Granola, "Quaker" make one but found out its not the right stuff, its all clusters as opposed to grains. The one that I have been using is "Lizi's Original Granola" and I get it from Tesco's, and according to the website, Sainsburys and Waitrose also stock it. As daft as it is I cannot remember the price, I think it's somewhere in the region of £3 - £5 for 500 gram, I was shocked by the price at first but when you make about 36 energy bars from it then it is a big saving compared to shop bought ones.

I got my recipe from the following site, where there is also others to try:-

http://www.recumbent-bikes-truth-for-you.com/recipes.html

As for flapjacks, I think the recipes almost similar but they are full of butter and margarine so I have stayed clear of such things. Some recipes even include half a cup of oil for the energy bars.

The recipe that I am using though is that good its hard not to eat it straight away, its probably the best thing I've made in my life thats been a success. I made a batch about 3 days ago, non made it to the deep freeze so I have had to make another today.


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## davidg (25 Nov 2009)

cheers. looking forward to trying it out!


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## zacklaws (26 Nov 2009)

Made another batch yesterday, but I as I had run out of Granola earlier that day on another batch, I just used porridge oats and they are not half as good. Incidently if you find the recipe on that website that I have used, I have not yet used the M+Ms in the mix, so I may be missing out but its more the thought the chocolate may melt in my pocket creating a gooey mess.


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## davidg (26 Nov 2009)

interesting....

the granola probably already has the butter in to give it the taste!


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## zacklaws (26 Nov 2009)

The ingredients for Lizi's Granola are, Jumbo rolled oats, rapeseed oil, desiccated coconut, black treacle, fructose, cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds, golden linseeds, sunflower seeds, oligofructose syrup, almonds, roasted hazelnuts and walnuts.

I think of top of my head, the contents their will not be far off a commercial energy bar on its own. 496kcal, 10.9g protein and 29.3g fat overall per 100g

One thing to do if you do make some energy bars from it like you should with any new energy products that you try , is try it before you do go for a ride, just to make sure your stomach can handle it and does not disagree with it, but as you will find its that good you will probably scoff half the first batch straight away.

The only problem I have found is it may be responsible for constipating me, but adding a bit of epsom salts to the ingredients may sort that out


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## threebikesmcginty (26 Nov 2009)

Does anyone rate jumbo oats? I'm not so keen on them myself - there I've said it!


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## jimboalee (26 Nov 2009)

Save yourself the cost and trouble of making your own energy bars.

Wait until the supermarkets mark-down the unsold Christmas puddings after the Xmas closure.

Chop them up, wrap in clingfilm and bung in freezer.

They will keep in the freezer ALL season.


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## ColinJ (26 Nov 2009)

threebikesmcginty said:


> Does anyone rate jumbo oats? I'm not so keen on them myself - there I've said it!


I use them in my home-made muesli and like them in that, but usually I prefer porridge, made with porridge oats.


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## zacklaws (26 Nov 2009)

I've heard of the "Ramones" before, cannot recall off the top of my head what they sung, but I've never heard of the "Jumbo Oats" are they new, knowing my daughter though if they are new, she'll probably want the latest CD for Xmas.


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## davidg (26 Nov 2009)

threebikesmcginty said:


> Does anyone rate jumbo oats? I'm not so keen on them myself - there I've said it!



I really rate them when eaten cold


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## Sam Kennedy (27 Nov 2009)

I love the oat so simple porridge as well, using the sachet to measure the milk was an awesome idea!

However I find it really hard to eat first thing in the morning, I just gag loads


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## NorthernSky (1 Dec 2009)

i've been on shredded wheat or weetabix for the past 6/7 months probably. think its time for a change so gonna get some oats.
thing is i always eat before leaving the house and oats aren't the easiest to prepare quickly from experience. may need to to get up a minute or two earlier lol


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## davidg (1 Dec 2009)

you can always soak them overnight...

had them skiing where they do this in orange juice or something like that...

very nice


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## Twenty Inch (1 Dec 2009)

Sam Kennedy said:


> I love the oat so simple porridge as well, using the sachet to measure the milk was an awesome idea!
> 
> However I find it really hard to eat first thing in the morning, I just gag loads




This happened to me about 8 years ago, after years of happily eating porridge or muesli every morning. I stopped using milk and I could get the grub down my neck again. I seemed to develop some sort of reaction to milk.


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## Crankarm (1 Dec 2009)

Au contraire...............

About now when it becomes consistently cold - like frost and ice, the winter breakfast menu will kick which will be a bowl of semi-skimmed milk heated in the microwave to which is added porridge oats and mixed to desired viscosity, then dark brown muscavado sugar drizzled in like a chocolate ripple effect and a hefty pile of All-Bran on top .

I find with porridge it's too easy to have too much as it is so nice and being highly calorific it's great for creating a spare tyre around one's middle. Perhaps Boris should cut down on his intake as he is reputed to have a liking for porridge.

Come Spring it will be back to the summer breakfast menu Bran Flakes, dried mixed fruit, berries, nuts, demerra sugar bathing in cold milk.

Flapjacks  ...........


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## NorthernSky (2 Dec 2009)

went and bought some Oats yesterday after seeing this thread at the same time

had first bowl this morning, my stomach did have a bit of a shock. very slight discomfort. semi skimmed milk and some oats, mixed, then heated for 3 mins in micro. added some honey

enjoyed it very much and i think the discomfort wll pass when i get used to it


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## Brahan (2 Dec 2009)

I bought some oast so simple the other day. Did it in the microwave at work but left it too long and it went EVERYWHERE.

If I ever make it at home I always leave it to soak overnight then it just needs a quick boil in the morning. Wash the pan before you eat.


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## NorthernSky (2 Dec 2009)

Brahan said:


> I bought some oast so simple the other day. Did it in the microwave at work but left it too long and it went EVERYWHERE.
> 
> If I ever make it at home I always leave it to soak overnight then it just needs a quick boil in the morning. Wash the pan before you eat.



haha, it really is an art. i cant count the times i've had a lava flow!

it happens so quickly, one second nothing then, boom!


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## Crankarm (2 Dec 2009)

cruiser31 said:


> went and bought some Oats yesterday after seeing this thread at the same time
> 
> had first bowl this morning, my stomach did have a bit of a shock. very slight discomfort. semi skimmed milk and some oats, mixed, then heated for 3 mins in micro. added some honey
> 
> enjoyed it very much and i think the discomfort wll pass when i get used to it



Jees, how much did you eat  ?


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## NorthernSky (3 Dec 2009)

Crankarm said:


> Jees, how much did you eat  ?




lol, i know. i dont have the measurements down to a tee yet. its gonna take a few days for me to adjust after having it easy with shredded wheat


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