Status: 03.06.2023 1:45 p.m
Whether as muesli or porridge: oats are ideal for a good start to the day, because they fill you up and contain many nutrients. The grain is also suitable for sweet desserts and hearty casseroles.
Oats have a permanent place on the breakfast table. In the form of flakes, the grain is an important ingredient in muesli and porridge. For oatmeal or a classic Scottish porridge, boil the flakes with water or milk, let them swell briefly and serve with fresh fruit, nuts and honey, if you like.
Overnight Oats: Quick breakfast and healthy snack
If you don’t want to cook in the morning, overnight oats are ideal for you: mix the oatmeal with milk the night before and leave to soak in the fridge overnight. In the morning, mix with nuts, honey, cocoa powder and finely chopped fruit, just to taste. Tip: For a savory version, you can mix the porridge with vegetables or with avocado and boiled egg.
Oatmeal is also suitable for other savory dishes. Mixed with egg, they make a good base for patties. In casseroles, you can simply mix the flakes into the vegetables, pour seasoned egg milk over them and bake them in the oven.
Baking with oat flour: Mix with other flour
Oats are only conditionally suitable for baking because they contain very little gluten. Oatmeal must therefore be mixed with other types of flour. Biscuits made from oat flakes with a little wheat or spelled flour are very tasty. A well-known British dessert with oats is apple crumble. Fill the chopped apples into a casserole dish, mix the oat flakes with butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon to crumble and sprinkle over the apples. Then bake in the oven.
Fine and large-leaved flakes: different manufacture
In order to produce flakes from the grains, they are first steamed and then rolled. Oat grains that are cut into pieces before rolling are fine-leaved, large-leaved flakes are made from whole grains. Fine-leaved flakes are more tender and quickly turn into a mash when liquid is added, while large-leaved flakes are pithy and have more bite. Both types can also be combined well with each other.
Valuable fiber
Since the surface layers and the germ of the grains are preserved during rolling, oat flakes are always a whole grain product and as such contain plenty of dietary fiber. Special dietary fibers in oats, the beta-glucans, have a positive effect on the blood sugar and blood fat levels: Bei Insulin resistance can help an oat diet, and oats also lower cholesterol. The healing power of oats was already known in the Middle Ages. Warm oatmeal is traditionally considered a home remedy for stomach pain.
That’s why oats are so healthy
Oats are probably the healthiest local grain. In 2017 it was medicinal plant of the year. In addition to the healthy fiber, it provides a comparatively large amount of protein and contains important minerals, especially zinc and iron, but also magnesium. Oats also contain a whole range of vitamins, especially biotin, B1 and B6.
Oats: gluten-free grain
Although oats contain some gluten, they are in a form that is well tolerated. However, contamination with other gluten-containing cereals often occurs during cultivation or during further processing and transport of oats. Anyone who does not tolerate gluten (celiac disease) must therefore pay attention to the “gluten-free” label on the packaging of oats.
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