Oh, oatmeal. I love you, I hate you.
If you’re like me, you probably go through phases of eating oatmeal every day for breakfast until that food bore hits and you’re like I can’t do this anymore. And then, for a while, you go for a more inretesting breakfast/ snack option. Eventually, though, you end up with the same INCREDIBLY BORING breakfast you started with. Student budget and all. We’ve all been there; particuarly Finnish people. Porridge is so completely ingrained in our food culture as the go-to-breakfast that you can’t really miss it. And while it’s a nutritious, fulfilling meal, it does get a bit… porridge-y, after a while. As I’m writing this, I do realise how incredibly “first world problem” this is, but us humans are a bit silly like this, aren’t we? Yearning for variety. Which is why I’m undertaking porridge-customising as a thing we totally should do. So, here are just a few tips to make this old trusted meal just slightly more appetizing.
1. Zoats? Poats? Boats?
You’ve probably heard of zoats – zucchini oats. And if you haven’t yet, check these recipes out. Courgette, however, is not the only vegetable you can add to make your oats a bit more adventurous. Pumpkin with some pumpkin spice, for example. Here‘s a recipe. Or be even more adventurous and try some beets with berries, for some pretty colour and a different taste. And carrot cake oats are so incredibly good it doesn’t even make sense! Just grate some carrot, throw in some maple syrup and a bunch of spices et voilá! Sky’s the limit.
2. All About That Milk
OK, so probably, you prepare your oatmeal with either milk (be it plant-based or dairy) or water. What I’m recommending is, try some coconut cream for a wholesome, creamy oat experience. Or you can make your porridge with juice, too, though I’d advise you to use milk too if you try this one. Or go crazy and make chocolate porridge with chocolate milk – it’s not just for kids!
3. Can I Get It to Go?
This is probably my all-time favourite oatmeal hack: use baby food bags to pack your porridge to go. Here’s how to go about it. The only thing that you need to keep in mind when making your porridge-pouches is to leave the oats slightly runnier than usual.
4. So Savory So Good
OK, so, in most western cultures, oatmeal is more of a sweet food. I tasted savory porridge for the first time when I was in Thailand and it was so incredibly different and so so good. I am by no means an expert on this but just google ‘savory oatmeel recipes’ or check these recipes out if you’re interested in the savory goodness that oatmeal can be.
5. Dessert for Breakfast? Yes Please!
When all else fails, bake cookies. Throw in some sweetener and a banana. Decorate with dried fruits of chocolate if you like. Then, just make some cookie-shaped-porridge-cookie-dough-things and pop them into the microwave for a few minutes (remember to check these a couple of times, they get burnt super quickly!)