The Wonderful World of Oats

Oats are nutritional powerhouses - filling, flexible in recipes, easy to find, inexpensive, and are a superb basic staple to a whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle! Over the years, you may have written them off to being useful only in oatmeal and cookies, but we are here to open your heart (and taste buds) to the wonderful world of oats!

All oats, whether whole or instant, have the same nutrition. While we know mornings and getting breakfast on the table can be hectic, we don’t recommend using the instant, pre-flavored oat packets as those are loaded with refined sugar and lack whole food ingredients. Within the Meal Planner, you have access to easy and quick oats recipes so you can have stress-free, nutritious breakfasts and snacks!

Here’s a quick rundown on the types you will most easily find and their best uses:

• Whole Oat (aka Groats): These are the whole oat with just the inedible hulls removed.  They take the longest to cook at about 45 minutes, have a dense and nutty flavor, and are most often found in health food stores.

• Steel Cut Oats: Whole oats cut into a few pieces so they cook more quickly than whole oats and have a less dense texture. These will cook in about 30 minutes. (Pro-tip: go half-and-half on your oat recipes with steel cut/rolled oats, and the steel cut oats will add a satisfying crunch).

• Rolled Oats - regular or old-fashioned: These are the most common quick-cooking oats you will find in everyday grocery stores. To create these useful little oats, the whole oat is steamed and then rolled into thin flakes. These will cook in less than 10 minutes.

• Rolled Oats - quick or instant: These are simply steamed longer and rolled flatter than regular or old-fashioned oats so will cook in just a few minutes flat. The nutritional value is the same though!

• Oat Flour: A fantastic flour to use for baking, pancakes, and as a thickening agent for soups as it is a whole grain. Blend oats in a high speed blender for about 10 seconds and you have fresh oat flour!

• Oat Milk: Oat milk is having a moment, and rightfully so. It’s creamy, delicious, and incredibly easy to make at home - and for far less than the coffeeshop price! Using a 1:4 ratio of oats to water, blend together in a high-speed blender for 30-45 seconds. Strain your oat milk through a cloth, towel, or t-shirt (anything with a thicker weave will do). Or, simply add oats and water to your smoothie for a built-in oat milk base. Voilà!

To find oat recipes in the Meal Planner, simply go to the recipe search engine and type in ‘oat’!