Oatmeal comparisons

[Rhyalus]

Hi guys,

I bought steel cut, organic oatmeal today. It isn't very good.

I then compared it to regular flavored Quaker instant oats, and nutritionally, I can't find a good reason to judge that the steel cut, "real" oatmeal is significantly better to warrant choosing it.

Is there something that the labels don't cover?

Thanks!
R

 

[TheCrownedOne]

Mainly just GI. The instant oats give you almost instant blood sugar, which isn't that great. I'm with you though; I hate oats.

 

[jcam222]

While I realzie that the instant are processed and not quite as good I dont understand why they would give instant blood sugar. Is there anything you cant point me to to learn more on that? I eat them daily.

 

[Magickk]

I use the Quaker Oats 100% Natural 100% whole grain oats. Eating a bowl right now as a matter of fact, I consume a bowl 1 hour pre/post workout on workout days. Here's the nutrition information rundown.

Calories .....: 150
Carbs ........: 27g
Fiber ....: 4g
Sugars .: 1g
Fat ...........: 3g
Protein ......: 5g

 

[DieTrying]

Quaker is good stuff!

 

[kwyckemynd00]

...I just get the big tub of quaker oatmeal...lean enough for me

 

[Zero Tolerance]

So what's the verdict? Instant is much worse? Or not really that bad?

 

[TheCrownedOne]

Well, the problem with instant oats is that they've been cooked partially so they are quicker to prepare, and they contain a good deal of sugar and added fat with the amounts varying with each flavor of course.

 

[Magickk]

Well, the problem with instant oats is that they've been cooked partially so they are quicker to prepare, and they contain a good deal of sugar and added fat with the amounts varying with each flavor of course.

That shouldn't even be an issue, quaker oats cook in the time it takes 1 cup of water to boil, plus one minute, which is about 4 minutes until it's done...

 

[Scottyo]

Guys......lets put this all in perspective and clarify things.

This thread is discussing three (possibly 4) different variations of oatmeal.
1) The original poster mentioned steel cut oats, which are even less processed (or processed differently) than regular oats. I've tried them and was not that impressed and I believe the GI is only slightly better than regular rolled oats.
2) There are old fashioned rolled oats. I eat them all the time. Good fiber, good GI rating.
3) Someone brought up instant oats. These are somewhat precooked old fashioned rolled oats, and they do have a higher GI level (how much is debatable, even the GI lists can very on this). While slightly more convenient, old fashioned really do only take a couple more minutes in the microwave.
4) Finally, one poster brought up the 'flavored' instant oatmeal. Better than sugary cereal but bad choice imo. Too much sugar and junk ingredients. Just flavor with splenda or protein powder the plain stuff.

Ok...now was that so hard?

 

[dsl]

Ya, just go with the old fashioned oats, i put warm water in a bowl along with one cup of oats and only cook for 2.5 minutes. I also flavor w/ splenda and cinammon (put them in before you heat)

And i agree that one minute oats have hardly any difference in gi than old fashioned oats. Remember, the gi of oats doesn't change when cut.

 

[BULK_CITY]

i just discovered steel oast... my grocery store had them but they were the expensive irish brand... now a new grocery store opened and sell them for 99cents a lb

steel cut oats are oat grouts cut up... they are less refined than rolled oats... thats why you eat 1/4 a cup and get the values for 1/2 a cup of rolled oats... great for bulking imo b/c you can eat less quanaity and still get the carbs you need... plus they taste great

 

[joecski]

Ya, just go with the old fashioned oats, i put warm water in a bowl along with one cup of oats and only cook for 2.5 minutes. I also flavor w/ splenda and cinammon (put them in before you heat)

And i agree that one minute oats have hardly any difference in gi than old fashioned oats. Remember, the gi of oats doesn't change when cut.

The problem with instant oats is that the are precooked, which lowers the GI. I agree with DSL on the old fashioned oats, I pop them in the microwave every morning for 2 minutes, throw in some whey powder, and it's good to go. Also put oats in my post-workout shake, like DSL said, the cutting of the oats in the blender does not affect the GI.
And just as a side note, I LOVE oats! :thumbsup:

 

[shootmeagain]

Something being left out of the conversation is that besides 'instant' and 'whole grain' oats, there is a third "cooking category" called 'quick cooking.'

Typically, instant means pre-cooked (steamed) and/or with added flavorings and/or sweetener(s). Quick cooking are oats that have been cut into smaller pieces in order to facilitate faster cooking by nature of the size and cut of the oats themselves. Whole grain oats contain all parts of the oat grain including the bran, endosperm, and germ portion.

'Steel-cut', 'Scottish' (porridge), etc. are just different 'cuts' of oatmeal, though Scottish oatmeal specifically claims to include all the parts of the oat, just cut small.

Regardless, the bottom line is that instant oatmeal is probably the worst type and should likely be avoided and whole grain oatmeal (like Quaker Old-Fashioned) is probably the best overall in terms of nutritive value.

 

[BULK_CITY]

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:m5otMixxPfwJ:www.foodsubs.com/GrainOats.html+steel+cut+oats+rolled+oats&hl=en

there you go

 

[jcam222]

Lots of good info here. One thing that confuses me is why precooking is an issue. I obvisouly understand if they add sugar but whether its cooked partially and then finished or cooked all at once shouldnt the end result GI be the same?

If thats the difference between rolled and instant it definately confuses me. For instance if i took the rolled and precooked them myself then nuked the next day the GI would be higher than if I cooked all at once??

 

[BULK_CITY]

Lots of good info here. One thing that confuses me is why precooking is an issue. I obvisouly understand if they add sugar but whether its cooked partially and then finished or cooked all at once shouldnt the end result GI be the same?

If thats the difference between rolled and instant it definately confuses me. For instance if i took the rolled and precooked them myself then nuked the next day the GI would be higher than if I cooked all at once??

are you talking about the packets of oatmeal with flavors? or the quick/minute oats or whatever... either way they are both rolled oats (the regular quaker kind) that have been CUT up even further which can strip them of some good nutritents then they add sugar/flavoring to the packets...

steel cut/rolled oats/bulgar are better for you

if taste is an issue this is what i do to mix things up:
add cinnamon
add berries (i buy huge bags of frozen berries, ie blue berries, black berries, strawberries, etc, i just dump like 10 in there and microwave them all toghetr with water barely covering the top of the mix)
add 0 calorie syrup (they have lots of 0 calorie syrups that taste really good)
add texture (add crushed nuts/wheat germ/wheat bran to the top of your oats)
make pancakes out of them (just crack some eggwhites/seasonings ie- cinammon/splenda and griddle them)

hope that helps@! i love oats plain and could eat them forever... ****, my breakfast has been at least 1 cup of oats for the past 3 years