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Tinker
09-02-2010, 07:53
Has anyone tried substituting whole cut or rolled oats for noodles in trail dishes? I haven't researched the nutritional value of oats yet, but was thinking that, from a simplistic point of view, carrying oatmeal alone as the primary starch and carbohydrate might simplify cooking. Otoh, noodles can be had in many flavors and fortified with spinach or man-made vitamins.
But I figured - why not ask..........:-?

JAK
09-02-2010, 08:01
Oats are awesome. They are a little low on lysine, but otherwise a complete protien.
Full of vitamins and minerals also. Not everything, but an awesome foundation.
WAY better than noodles.

If it's no oats, IT'S CRAP !

JAK
09-02-2010, 08:15
Lot's of way's to have oats. Lot's of stuff you can add to oats also. You don't need to premix. You can buy everything bulk and mix and match along the way, depending on how you want to serve them up at the time, or eat them with trail mix along the way, with lots of water.

Stuff I often take along that go well with oats...
Skim milk powder.
Almonds or some other nuts.
Sunflower seeds or some other seeds.
Currants or Raisins or Dates or Dried Blueberries.
Honey.
Chocolate Chips.
Vegetable oil or butter, as granola or as a heavy porridge in winter.

Downside of oats:
1. Very filling, so more than 2-3 cups a day can get challenging.
2. 2 cups is 1200 kcal, so it can provide a pretty good base, but you will still need stuff like almonds and currants or honey to boost the calories.
3. If you like hot soup at night to rehydrate and warmp up, you can add some oats, but not alot or it becomes more porridge. There are better choices for soup, like barley and lentils and dried vegetables.

Smile
09-02-2010, 08:17
Real oats ( not instant) take some cooking time/fuel use.
You could soak overnight, or during day in your pack to speed this up.
:)

JAK
09-02-2010, 08:52
Not sure what exactly you mean by real oats.

Groats take a long time to soak and cook by the old method.

The non-quick oats you buy in a store can be done very quickly.
I often have them without cooking them, with yogurt.
When hiking I pour boiling water on them and start eating right away.
In a pinch, I can eat them the same way with cold water.

Yeah, it's nice to cook them really long sometimes, especially if eating just plain oatmeal with just a pinch of salt. It gets all creamy and gooey and that's really awesome sometimes, but that's not the only way to eat them.

Instant oats are not really neccessary.
Groats you can't even buy these days, except at animal feed stored maybe.

JAK
09-02-2010, 08:55
Real oats ( not instant) take some cooking time/fuel use.
You could soak overnight, or during day in your pack to speed this up.
:)When is the last time you ate oats?

Just try it. Take a 1/2 cup of oats in a bowl, non-instant, like from the baking section of a grocery store, and maybe a pinch of salt mixed in. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over them, and then put a dish over the bowl. Wait 1-5 minutes.

Enjoy.

Ironbelly
09-02-2010, 09:04
You can eat rolled oats raw, or by simply cooking them for a few minutes in hot water. No need for really long cook times or soaks. No need to use instant oats either. Rolled oats work fine for darn near everythhing.

sbhikes
09-02-2010, 09:10
Oats can present some digestibility issues for some people. Those issues are usually in the lower digestive track.

You might also consider trying whole wheat cous-cous or quinoa.

JAK
09-02-2010, 09:13
Thanks ironbelly. You don't have to cook them either, as in continuting to heat the water after you have added the oats. I stopped doing that years ago. I think I learned it from this site. Sometimes I do it that way for old time sake because that's the way I ate them growing up. I like the bubbling, and you can get them really creamy, but the only real reason for doing oats that way would be if you were serving a really large crowd over a longer time period, like at a restaraunt or inn or something like that. It is nice to have them cooked really really long for a change now and then, but not at all neccessary. The only thing different about instant oats is that they are just sliced a little thinner. I don't like them because you can't get the same variety, from extremely lumpy to just as creamy as instant by waiting another minute or 2.

JAK
09-02-2010, 09:22
Oats are usually very good for digestion. Something about the protiens and the way stuff is slowly released. I read some place that the pinch of salt is important in this process. For most people oats help digestion, especially if you cook them longer and more watery. For some with serious issues they cause problems. It doesn't have gluten, or not much, but it is gluten-like in some way, so if you really are allergic to gluten, oats can cause problems. If wheat and gluten simply doesn't agree with you, then oats might work very well for you. It is a more primitive grain. It was never really cultivated the way wheat was. It more or less followed along in agricultural evolution as a weed, but a very edible weed and animal feed in places where wheat did not grow so well. So it hasn't changed all that much and so it tends to be more natural and very good for you.

Perhaps like milk, some people can eat ALOT, and some people just a little, or none.
But it is very good for you. Like quinoa, it is a complete protien, just a little low on lysine.

sbhikes
09-02-2010, 09:42
Oats make many people fart with killer sulfur farts and can also cause constipation. Before committing to a bunch of resupply packages full of oats, people should test thoroughly at home.

garlic08
09-02-2010, 10:04
Good advice about too many oats. Some can't handle them, definitely.

Rolled oats do not have to be cooked at all. They are already steamed or parboiled in processing. Muesli is, by definition, made with uncooked rolled oats. I've been eating muesli for breakfast for three decades now and it's the only breakfast I've ever found that will get me through an active morning without snacking.

I agree with JAK that they are nearly the perfect trail food, especially when supplemented with tree nuts and dried fruit.

Danielsen
09-02-2010, 10:48
While I don't eat either (some coeliac issues) I'd definitely go with the oats. They do contain gluten, which is harmful to everyone (sensitive or not) but they contain considerably less than noodles. They also contain a lot more nutrients than most varieties of noodles, can be prepared in a variety of ways (or not at all!), and probably contain more complex carbs, which stimulate less insulin production (insulin stimulates the body to store calories, which really isn't what you want on a thru-hike, much less any other part of life).

As mentioned, you'll need to supplement with more calorie-dense foods because oats are filling. Nuts are an decent fuel due to their high fat content, but if you eat a lot of them you should try to get some olive oil into your regular diet or take fish oil tablets; eating too much omega-6 fats (nuts) and not enough omega-3 fats (olive oil, fish) results in an inflammatory state (like gluten consumption). Again, not helpful to a thru-hike.

Deadeye
09-02-2010, 11:28
I have seen (but not yet tried) oats used in the same way as rice to make dishes other than just porridge, i.e. in a risotto-style dish. Worth a try.

mudhead
09-02-2010, 12:19
Not sure how rolled oats would work with spag sauce or refried beans.

Someone try, and let me know.

Deadeye
09-02-2010, 12:51
Let's get Mikey - he'll eat anything!

Mrs Baggins
09-02-2010, 13:38
Oats and....chicken? :eek:
Oats and ....tuna? :eek:
Oats and....salmon? :eek:
Oats and....any kind of meat? :eek:
Oats and.....any veggie? :eek:

As for their digestibility.....I'll eat them for breakfast sometimes, but every single time I get horrendous heartburn. Doesn't matter whether they're instant or long cooking, steel cut or rolled, whatever. I can eat any other grain without that happening.

Tinker
09-02-2010, 21:08
Oats make many people fart with killer sulfur farts and can also cause constipation. Before committing to a bunch of resupply packages full of oats, people should test thoroughly at home.

I'll keep that in mind (you must be one of those "many people" :D) if I ever get the opportunity to hike with you. ;):)

Tinker
09-02-2010, 21:10
Re: oats - Here's a tip I got from a friend a while ago. He said that if you put whole rolled oats (or steel cut, etc.) in a food processor and give them a spin they will cook as quickly as instant oats. Makes sense, but I'm not too fond of instant oats anyhow - I like my oats fluffy, not sticky.

JAK
09-03-2010, 08:03
Oats and....chicken? :eek:
Oats and ....tuna? :eek:
Oats and....salmon? :eek:
Oats and....any kind of meat? :eek:
Oats and.....any veggie? :eek:

As for their digestibility.....I'll eat them for breakfast sometimes, but every single time I get horrendous heartburn. Doesn't matter whether they're instant or long cooking, steel cut or rolled, whatever. I can eat any other grain without that happening.:)

Haggis Recipe #1 - for the traditional taste buds
1 large sausage casing
5 cups dry coarse or steelcut oatmeal
1 lb. (.5 kg) chopped mutton suet
1 lb. (.5 kg) lamb or venison liver, boiled and minced
2 cups stock
sheep heart, liver and kidney, boiled and minced
1 large chopped onion
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

This is the most traditional of all Scottish dishes, eaten on Burns Night (January 25th, the birthday of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, 1759-1796) and at Hogmanay (New Year's Eve). It is really a large round sausage; the skin being a sheep's paunch. The finest haggis of all is made with deer liver, served to the skirl of the pipes, cut open with a traditional 'sgian dubh' (black stocking knife) and accompanied by small glasses of neat Scotch whisky. This recipes dates from 1856.

Toast oatmeal slowly until crisp. Mix all ingredients (except stomach bag) together. Add stock. Fill bag to just over half full, press out air, and sew up securely. Have ready a large pot of boiling water. Prick the haggis all over with a large pin so it doesn't burst. Boil slowly for 4-5 hours. Serve with clapshot.

Danielsen
09-03-2010, 09:10
That actually sounds pretty darn good. :o Hmm... january 25th, eh? I've got a little scottish in me, if I can rustle up the ingredients maybe I'll try my hand at it!

JAK
09-03-2010, 10:13
You've got me in the mood now also. It's been years since trying it and I've never made it myself. Drink a little scotch while preparing it also. Just a wee bit.

I did make homemade granola last night. Turned out pretty good. My wife had bout this organic granola, $8 for 800g, and I read the ingredients and didn't like the way it said organic this and organic that. What the heck is organic oat syrup? Organic mollasses - please? It also had the usually crap, for preserving flavour and all that. They can use the word organic very loosely in Canada. I think it it has hydrogen and carbon in it, it can be called organic.

So I returned it and got some large flake rolled oats and made my own with stuff at home. I modified a recipe off the internet, keeping the ratio of oats to nuts to seeds to dried fruit to honey/syrup to oil/fat more or less the same but working with what I had. Also used a little nutmeg along with the cinnamon. Great stuff. I eat too much of it though. lol. Oatmeal is safer.

Farr Away
09-03-2010, 10:14
Oatmeal works really well in meatloaf. Also works in veggie burgers.

Just saying.

-FA

JAK
09-03-2010, 10:21
For oatmeal with fish, I make fish cakes with oats.

1/3 to 1/2 cup of oats (with or without sunflower seeds, skim milk powder)
1 can of sardines, including the juice from the can.
1 egg if you happen to have one, to help it stick together.
a little onion powder or dried soup powder is a nice touch.
canola oil in the frying pan, or mug/pot if hiking I suppose.

Haven't tried it hiking yet, but I've been having it at home alot recently.

mudhead
09-03-2010, 10:22
Oatmeal works really well in meatloaf. Also works in veggie burgers.

Just saying.

-FA

I confirm this. Salmon/tuna loaf, too.

For a good granola recipe, go to "breakfast food" and search "cruising granola."

Big batch is easier.

Mrs Baggins
09-03-2010, 10:30
:)

Haggis Recipe #1 - for the traditional taste buds
1 large sausage casing
5 cups dry coarse or steelcut oatmeal
1 lb. (.5 kg) chopped mutton suet
1 lb. (.5 kg) lamb or venison liver, boiled and minced
2 cups stock
sheep heart, liver and kidney, boiled and minced
1 large chopped onion
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

This is the most traditional of all Scottish dishes, eaten on Burns Night (January 25th, the birthday of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, 1759-1796) and at Hogmanay (New Year's Eve). It is really a large round sausage; the skin being a sheep's paunch. The finest haggis of all is made with deer liver, served to the skirl of the pipes, cut open with a traditional 'sgian dubh' (black stocking knife) and accompanied by small glasses of neat Scotch whisky. This recipes dates from 1856.

Toast oatmeal slowly until crisp. Mix all ingredients (except stomach bag) together. Add stock. Fill bag to just over half full, press out air, and sew up securely. Have ready a large pot of boiling water. Prick the haggis all over with a large pin so it doesn't burst. Boil slowly for 4-5 hours. Serve with clapshot.

I happen to LOVE haggis BUT that is not what I envision when someone says they're going to sub oats for noodles. I see them cooking a pot of oats and then adding a foil packet of tuna or some dehydrated veggies as if it's ramen or other pasta. That seems pretty awful. But Haggis -- that's more like sausage in it's makeup. We eat it heated up with neeps, tatties, and mushy peas. MMMMMMM!!

JAK
09-03-2010, 10:39
I made about 5 cups of granola. Used 2 baking pans. One deep. One shallow. Filled them both shallow. Deeper one was easier to turn. Only needed to turn onse. Baked 45min at 325F, then shut off the stove and just opened the door for another 15min. Didn't bother with cooling racks.

My modified recipe went something like this...

3 cups large flake oats.
1 cup sliced almonds and broken pecans about 50/50
1 cup pumpkin seeds and dried coconut about 70/30
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
mixed all above together

2 to 2.5 Tablespoons Light Olive Oil
1/2 to 2/3 cup Honey and Maple Syrup, mixed about 50/50
mixed together, then poured over dry ingredients and mixed in well

More olive oil spread on baking pans, spread with some paper towel.

Baked in oven at 325F for 45min, turning every 15-25min.
Cooled by shutting off oven and cracking the oven door open for 15min.

JAK
09-03-2010, 10:41
I'm not sold on those ingredients, just happened to be what we had around.
It was very good though. Made it at a friends house, so left it with them.
We ate alot of it last night though. lol. Both dry and with milk. Very good.

JAK
09-03-2010, 10:45
Maybe I'll make Haggis tonight for our Hurricane Party. Hurricane Earl isn't supposed to hit here until Saturday 10am or so. Should be downgraded to a Tropical Storm by then, but maybe Cat1. We are mostly likely to be on the heavy rain side than the high wind side. We have a very rocky coast also, and because of the reversing falls gorge the river is protected from storm surges. Shouldn't be too bad.

Tinker
09-03-2010, 11:35
Re: Haggis -

I mention oatmeal and someone wants to add sheep guts to it - YUCKKKKKK!

JAK
09-03-2010, 11:41
Re: Haggis -

I mention oatmeal and someone wants to add sheep guts to it - YUCKKKKKK!
Technically, I think the idea is to add the oats to the sheep guts,
not the other way around. ;)

Tinker
09-03-2010, 16:48
Oats can present some digestibility issues for some people. Those issues are usually in the lower digestive track.

You might also consider trying whole wheat cous-cous or quinoa.

I don't like cous-cous (but will eat it to be polite).
Quinoa is a good rice substitute, but I don't think it would do as well as a macaroni and cheese type deal as oatmeal would.
I'm pretty sure the word is digestive tract, but I could be wrong. I'm the only one besides my wife (that I've met) that pronounces the "t" (if it's really there at all). I'll check on that.
Thanks for reminding me of quinoa :).

Tinker
09-03-2010, 16:50
I guess it's either track or tract these days.