Oatmeal instead of noodles???

[Tinker]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Not sure how rolled oats would work with spag sauce or refried beans.

Someone try, and let me know.

[Deadeye]

Let's get Mikey - he'll eat anything!

[Mrs Baggins]

Oats and....chicken?
Oats and ....tuna?
Oats and....salmon?
Oats and....any kind of meat?
Oats and.....any veggie?

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]

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" ) if I ever get the opportunity to hike with you.

[Tinker]

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]

Oats and....chicken?
Oats and ....tuna?
Oats and....salmon?
Oats and....any kind of meat?
Oats and.....any veggie?

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.