It’s no secret I eat oatmeal. I have already written why oatmeal is the perfect breakfast for a long day, and in my opinion, it’s the #1 high-energy food for endurance athletes. But what I never had was oatmeal made from freshly milled, hand-blended oats.

That changed when I tried Sammz Oats, a product from a very small company out in Morro Bay, California.

“SammzOats is a one-of-a-kind specialty blend of organic, freshly-milled gourmet oatmeal, like no other oatmeal you’ve tried.”

Looking at them, they’re neither quick oats, rolled oats, steel cut oats, nor Irish oats. I can see at least three different shapes of flakes and chunks in the mix! These can only be classified as “Sammz Oats.”

And the paper bag they come in is pretty nice; it gives you that small town farm market feel.

Sammz Oats Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

The ingredients list:

Ingredients: 100% organic oat textures, including extra organic bran.

I notice two things here because of this sparse ingredients list:

• Sammz Oats contain only the good stuff.
• Sammz Oats aren’t full of junk like added salt and sugar.

OK, so that’s just the same thing put in different words, but I wanted to get the point across! These are probably the most natural, unprocessed oats you can get (if you don’t have your own farm.)

Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1/3 cup
Calories 120
Total Fat 2.5g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 0mg
Potassium 160mg
Total Carbs 23g
  Dietary Fiber 6g
    Soluble fiber 3g
    Insoluble fiber 3g
  Sugars 0g
Protein 8g

That’s 50% more fiber and 60% more protein than in a serving of Arrowhead Mills organic steel cut oats!!

Remember in my article where I compared rolled oats to steel cut oats and said they technically have the same nutritional value? Well right here is the case to best illustrate that!

At first glance, these Sammz Oats appear to be as processed as instant oats, but they are fresh and hand-processed, not sent through a factory. They aren’t steamed and rolled and left to sit and go stale like most rolled oats in the store. This means they retain their nutritional value, not to mention the true oat flavor most people have never tasted.

Sammz Oats Taste Test

Finally, time to cook this up and enjoy it!

What’s really awesome is that this cooks in 2-4 minutes. It still takes 5 minutes to get the water boiling beforehand, but overall, these are a lot easier to prepare than steel cut oats.

All I did to cook these was get 3 cups of liquid boiling (1 1/2 cups almond milk, 1 1/2 cups water) and added in 4 servings (1 1/3 cups) of oats. And sprinkled some cinnamon in, of course. Then I cooked the oats for 4 minutes. After that I removed them from the heat and added some raisins (the oats were still hot enough to “cook” the raisins.)

The oats were perfect fresh off the stove as well as reheated in the microwave the next morning. On my second batch I added a little Nature’s Way coconut oil for an ever more delicious taste!

Specifically about the oats, they have a very hearty taste and texture you wouldn’t expect. They taste fresh and real. They don’t taste exactly like steel cut oats, but I find they remind me more of steel cut than rolled oats.

They do soak up water and expand almost as much as the steel cut, yet they cook much faster!

Sammz Oatmeal Granola Supreme

Shifting gears now, I also got a bag of granola to try, so I’m going to talk about that for a moment!

Ingredients: Sammz organic oats, organic oat bran, organic honey, brown sugar, raw coconut chips, almonds, pecans, raw sunflower seeds, craisins, dried blueberries, spices, citrus.

Wow, dried blueberries!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever met a granola I didn’t like, but still, this bag from Sammz is superb. It blows me away that there are dried blueberries in it!

I like the ingredients overall. I wouldn’t call this a healthy meal, but it’s a good high-carb energy food that’s not full of too much extra sugar.

The first half of the bag, I just dug in and ate it with a spoon. The second half I mixed with plain yogurt.

This granola is very, very good for mixing with yogurt! Some granolas are too hard and need to sit in the yogurt for an hour to soften up, but the Sammz granola was a perfect complement to the yogurt right away.

This stuff is so good! Don’t tell any of my friends or family I had this fancy granola, because I ate it all myself and didn’t offer to share!

My final verdict is…

I give Sammz Oats an A+ on taste, texture, and nutritional value. I may even prefer them to steel cut oats! (I certainly like how fast they cook!)

The only problem is, being priced at about $5-9 per pound, coupled with the way I go through bags of oats, I’d go broke if I ate these everyday!

Official website: SammzOats.com

I love fancy oatmeal flavors, but I don’t love perfecting a detailed recipe. Luckily, a CoachLevi.com reader (and oatmeal expert) named Joe does! Joe submitted this oatmeal recipe, and I thought it looked so awesome, I’m highlighting it right here!

I’ve always said oatmeal is the perfect breakfast for a long day. Well, this deluxe oatmeal is perfect for a long, long day! In Joe’s words, “Eat this the night before an Ironman competition or the Tour de France.”

Here ya go:

The Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Steel Cut Oats
• 1/3 cup Now Foods Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate
• 2 Tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Organic Ground Flaxseed Meal
• 1 cup Mott’s Healthy Harvest Granny Smith applesauce
• 2 Tbsp 100% Pure Maple Syrup (such as Coombs Family Farms)
• 1 Tbsp Beit Yitzhak Fig Spread (No Sugar Added)
• 1 cup Rice Dream Classic Original Rice Milk
• 1/2 cup Libby’s Pure Pumpkin
• 1/4 of Granny Smith Apple (chopped into cubes)
• 1/2 of Anjou Pear (chopped into cubes)
• 10 almonds, chopped
• 5 toasted walnut halves, chopped (half an oz serving)
• 1/2 tsp McCormick’s Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

(Feel free to substitute different brands of products depending on what you can find locally, and as usual, I encourage you to experiment with this recipe to make it perfect for your needs and taste buds!)

The Directions

Joe didn’t submit any directions, so here is how I would do it:

1. Decide how you are going to cook up the steel cut oats. (For this example, let’s say you’re going to use the stove top.)

2. Measure out all your ingredients, making sure everything is chopped and sliced and ready to go.

3. Now put the oats, milk, apples, and pears into a large pot and stir it up.

4. Start cooking on high heat to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

5. After 10 minutes, stir in all the other ingredients (the pumpkin, apple sauce, etc.)

6. Continue cooking on low for about 10 more minutes.

7. Whenever the oats are ready, remove from heat and allow to cool.

8. Eat!

Nutrition Facts

If you follow Joe’s detailed recipe, these are the calculated nutrition facts.

Calories: 1,038
Total Fat: 26.9g
  Saturated: 2.7g
  Polyunsaturated: 10.1g
  Monounsaturated: 6.5g
Carbohydrates: 170.1g
Dietary Fiber: 24.6g
Protein: 47.1g

If you try this recipe, please post your review in the comments!

Today’s question is about Malt-o-Meal and Cream of Wheat, and if they compare to oatmeal…

I read a lot of magazines and talk to a lot of riders about what food to eat. I’ve been riding for only 2 years. Yet, no one ever mentions malto-meal, cream of wheat or cream of rice. Are these good to eat or should I just stick with Oatmeal? I eat them anyway, but not as a meal before riding.

Thanks,
Malt-O-Matthew

Hi Matthew,

I used to eat cream of wheat years ago. I liked it, but I’d get sick of it after a while and have to take a break.

I may have tried Malt-O-Meal but I can’t remember. I think that is very similar to Cream of Wheat.

Cream of rice… I’ve never actually seen that.

Along those same lines, I don’t think many of my buddies ever ate cream of wheat or even knew what it was. Whereas everyone just knows what oatmeal is. I’m not completely sure why, but the other hot cereals just don’t get any publicity it seems.

Oatmeal, I always liked it, and it was something I could eat every day.

Anyway, here are a couple reasons I don’t really eat cream of wheat or rice:

1. I already get whole grain wheat and rice in my diet.

I get plenty of wheat in my diet already from whole grain bread, pita bread, and sprouted grain bread. I don’t need any more.

I enjoy eating long grain wild rice or brown rice on their own, in their natural state. I’ve never felt a need to get more by eating a cereal made of it.

Oats on the other hand, I don’t really eat them outside of my oatmeal (and sometimes my homemade protein bars.)

2. These hot cereals are processed foods.

The main reason I skip hot cereals now is because they’re still processed foods. I think of them like the instant oatmeal packets you can get in stores – highly processed, contain too much sugar, etc.

The original Cream of Wheat is basically just wheat (no added sugars and flavors,) but it still reminds me too much of white flour rather than whole grains of wheat.

So I stick with oatmeal because I can get the oats plain and start fresh, which gives me much more control over the cooking process.

And that’s what I recommend. Buy some steel cut oats, cook your steel cut oats, flavor your steel cut oats, and enjoy!

I was once a big fan of the fruit and nut bars from the Quaker Simple Harvest line, but you can’t get those anymore, so I tried the hot cereal hoping it would be good, too. I grabbed the vanilla almond honey flavor since it was on sale.

The Simple Harvest hot cereal is a lot like oatmeal, but it offers more than oats. Yes, it’s mainly oats, but they throw in a little wheat, barley, and rye, too.

Ingredients:

Whole Grain Rolled Oats, Whole Grain Rolled Wheat, Rolled Barley, Whole Grain Rolled Rye, Sugar, Almonds, Whole Flaxseed, Oat Flour, Natural Flavors, Salt, Molasses

The taste is pretty good. It’s like oatmeal but slightly different thanks to the variety of grains. It’s extremely sweet, though. The vanilla flavor is overpowering, then you add the sugar and honey, wow! I’m not sure if the vanilla is a bit on the artificial side or if it’s just because of the sweetness level, but the bottom line is – this stuff if sweet.

To add to the texture, there are big almond slivers in there. I don’t really like big crunchy things in my oatmeal, but if you do, there are quite a few almonds for your enjoyment.

I don’t like rye bread either, but I have no problem with the rye grain in this cereal.

Since it was so sweet (and has way more sugar than necessary,) I found myself dumping one packet of this in a bowl and then dumping in an equal or greater amount of plain rolled oats. It was still sweet and flavorful, but not overpowering.

You’d need at least four packets of this in a bowl to equal my typical size bowl of oatmeal. But there’s more sugar in one packet of this than I put in one of my large bowls of oatmeal!

Quaker Simple Harvest Hot Cereal also comes in maple brown sugar with pecans and apple cinnamon. I’d like to try the apple cinnamon someday as I would probably prefer that one, and hopefully it wouldn’t be overly sweet.

Here is the dry mix before adding milk and microwaving:

My final verdict is…

The taste isn’t bad, but it’s so sugary, I plan to stick with my own oatmeal recipe, so I can keep the sugar content in check.

This appears to be slightly healthier than some other pre-packaged oatmeals, but if you’re going to eat oatmeal, make it yourself. It’s healthier that way.

Official website: www.QuakerOats.com

Oatmeal is great. It provides a healthy dose of carbohydrates for energy, and unlike most carb-heavy meals, oats fill you up. Simply put, oatmeal is just about the perfect breakfast.

My “go to” oatmeal is cinnamon raisin, but there are many other ways to flavor your oatmeal. Just grab your favorite rolled or steel cut oats and some flavorings…

1. Honey

If you do need to add a sweetener to your oatmeal, try adding honey instead of plain white sugar. It’s healthier and more flavorful, but don’t go overboard – it’s still high in calories.

2. Flax seed

To add a nutty flavor and a light crunch to your oatmeal, sprinkle some ground flax seed (i.e. flax meal) on top. I usually do this after the oatmeal is cooked.

This also adds some important Omega-3 fatty acids to your cereal.

3. Chopped nuts

If you want a real nutty flavor and like big chunks, add some chopped nuts to your oatmeal. Walnuts are healthy and easy to chop, but you can also try almonds, pecans, and macadamia nuts.

4. Brown sugar and cinnamon

Brown sugar and cinnamon is a classic flavor combination, and it works great with oatmeal.

(Brown sugar isn’t exactly healthy, but you shouldn’t need to use very much.)

5. Cinnamon and raisin

As mentioned, the cinnamon raisin combination is my personal favorite oatmeal flavor. It’s very flavorful and it’s still sweet without any sugar, thanks to the raisins.

6. Maple syrup

Another unprocessed sweetener with a unique flavor is maple syrup. As with honey, go easy – maple syrup is still loaded with sugar.

7. Apple cinnamon

Peel an apple, slice it up into little chunks, and add it to your oatmeal. Sprinkle some cinnamon in there and you have a delicious flavor.

If you don’t like chunks, add applesauce instead. Or try some apple butter for a more robust flavor.

8. Berries

You can add all sorts of berries to your oatmeal. Fresh picked berries are the best, but frozen berries will work, too. Look for blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.

9. Tropical fruit

Add coconut flakes, pineapple chunks, and mango slices to your oatmeal for a tropical breakfast.

10. Banana

I love to slice up a banana and add it to my oatmeal. You can do plain banana, or add banana to your cinnamon raisin oatmeal, which is delicious!

Banana chips may work, but I’ve never tried, because they’re pretty hard.

11. Chocolate peanut butter

If you’re not one for fruit flavors, add some cocoa powder and natural peanut butter to your oats. This will give you a chocolate peanut butter flavor, and it should taste quite a bit like a “no bake” cookie.

12. Wheat germ

To add a little crunch to your oatmeal without overpowering the existing flavor, sprinkle some wheat germ on top.

13. Dates

Like raisins, dates are a sweet little fruit that go well in oatmeal. A popular mix is to combine raisins, dates, and walnuts.

14. Sea salt

If you like to mix things up and do some “sweet and salty” type flavors, you could add a little sea salt to your oatmeal. I recommend a brand like Real Salt which is unprocessed and contains trace minerals, plus a good flavor.

15. Peanut butter banana

While I’m more likely to make a peanut butter banana sandwich or smoothie, the combo works in oatmeal just as well.

16. Cranberries

Dried cranberries have a sweet and tart flavor. They are good alone, but I think they’re even better when combined with banana slices and raisins.

17. Vanilla

Vanilla is a great flavor, and you can easily add some vanilla extract to your oatmeal for a boost in sweetness and flavor.

Vanilla goes well with bananas, chopped walnuts, and other additives.

There you have it – 17 different options (even more if you combine some.) That should spice up your breakfast for a while!

(Yes, you can buy pre-mixed oatmeal packets that are already flavored, but those don’t amount to much more than large sugar packets.)

Photo credit: thebittenword.com