Q: When I feel hungry at the office, the solution is always in a cupboard. Take out a pack of oat flakes and here you go the nutritious oatmeal on the table. Four spoons of flakes, a cup of boiling water… It seems so easy but, in fact, it’s not so often delicious. How to cook oatmeal that is not only fast but tasty?
Oatmeal in the Microwave Oven
There are usually no stoves in the office, but there must be the microwave ovens. This small kitchen device is your savior if you want delicious yet quickly cooked oatmeal.
What you need to prepare the meal is:
- Oat flakes – 5 tbs
- Drinking water (filtered) – 1 cup
- Salt
- Sugar
Preparation:
Take a special bowl for microwaving and put oat flakes inside.
Pour in the clean, filtered, drinking water at room temperature.
Microwave the bowl for two or three minutes at full power.
Take the container out of the microwave and add salt and sugar to your taste.
You may also add a spoon of honey, caramel, or jam as well as a fruit or berry syrup.
Like any other recipe, cooking oatmeal in the microwave oven has some secrets. For instance, you can make the dish healthier by serving it with season fruits or nuts.
Also, it can be water-based or milk-based.
As an option, mix the filtered water and dairy product 50/50.
And don’t forget to add a slice of butter to the hot oatmeal.
What’s So Great About Oatmeal, Sir?
Traditional English oatmeal or porridge is known to millions, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in “The Hound of the Baskervilles” made epic the phrase “Your porridge, Sir”.
Now millions of people around the world far beyond the British boundaries still have oatmeal for breakfast and keep to thousands of diets based on this cereal.
The healthy properties of oat flakes are described in cookery books, while the beauties hotly discuss the cereal on the forums for fitness and complexion.
The reason why oatmeal and oat flakes are so popular on the web and in life lies in the structure of the cereal and its low price.
Oat flakes contain:
- Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, E, K and PP
- Mineral substances like iron, nickel, magnesium, iodine, calcium, phosphorus etc.
The oatmeal is digestible and nutritious, so you don’t feel hungry soon after breakfast or dinner.
One important thing you should always have in mind is that the cereal is the more healthy, the less processed it is.
At present day, girls and new mothers are living active social lives and don’t want to spend extra time for cooking food.
As a result, they buy ready-made processed cereals with fruit additives that they just need to pour the milk or water and eat the porridge after 2 minutes.
The bad news is that these ready-made manufactured products have less nutritive substances and don’t give much good to your body.
The best way out would be to buy the less processed cereals and cook them in the microwave oven if you are still short on time.
How to Choose High-Quality Oat Flakes?
The color of the oat flakes should vary from yellowish to cream.
Buying oat flakes in a transparent packaging would be the best choice as long as you can look inside and check the cereals.
Broken grains and impurities are not something you want to see in the packet.
Of course, you need to read the labels and check the expiration date.
If you want to know which oat flakes will boil faster, pay attention to the size. The smaller the grain, the faster it will be cooked.
Microwave Milk Oatmeal for Kids
If you have already checked our recommendations on microwaving milk, then you will easily cook this milk-based oatmeal too.
The main rule is not to let your milk boil in the microwave oven and pour over the edges of the bowl.
Take a large bowl, put a cup of oat flakes (they should be instant cereals or those cooking fast). Otherwise, soak oat flakes for a while and when they have grown in size, start cooking.
Pour in 2 cups of milk and stir well.
Microwave the dish for 2 minutes at the middle power and take out to stir.
Microwave again for a couple of minutes and let the dish sit in the microwave oven after it stopped cooking.
Thus the milk will be absorbed by the cereals and you will get a delicious meal for breakfast.
Add more milk or water if you need it runny. Also, think of some additives like sugar, butter, salt, nuts, raisins, banana or whatever you like the most.
