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So Mama happy_stomach, who tends to be Daliesque in her produce tendencies (though she doesn't drive a Rolls), recently gifted me 3 dozen Japanese persimmons. "You should eat more persimmon," she said.* And so I am. Simply cut up as morning, afternoon and evening snacks. (Did I mention I have 3 dozen persimmons?) Smoothied for breakfast. Dried as soon as I can borrow a dehyrdator...

This morning, as I reached for my (for this time of year) routine apple to cut up for my oatmeal, it occurred to me that I should try persimmon. And it was lovely! I just cut one up into bite-sized pieces, and I didn't even need to add any sweetener to the oatmeal.

It got me thinking about other ways I can have fun with my oatmeal. I routinely add fresh fruit (apples, bananas, berries, peaches, figs), dried fruit (apricots; I do not like raisins), fruit butters and preserves (pumpkin, pear, apricot, raspberry, cherry), stewed fruit (prunes), nuts (almonds, walnuts), granola, other cereal and desserts (cut-up macarons and fudge are recent favorites; used to like to break up maple sandwich cookies, but I need to avoid flour these days).

What am I missing? What are your favorite oatmeal mix-ins?

*Though I was surprised she didn't say it was because the persimmon and I share the name Sharon.

I just discovered adding apple or pear butter as an oatmeal sweetener: it's perfect! We usually do dried fruit (usually a mix of cherries and other berries) and then I heat nuts up in a frying pan and pour them over after Sparky adds cold milk so they fizzle (our version of sizzling rice soup.)

I eat oatmeal plain but my partner always has fruit, dried fruit or nuts mixed in depending on what's at hand. Cranberry relish most recently! It's leftover from our T-Day dinner.

Freakin' awesome. Guess I'm taking a break from persimmon for oatmeal tomorrow.



Yes! I'm about to go deep into chutney-making for a sausage extravaganza I'm planning, so I was thinking about other chutney/relish uses...

I usually add a scoop of whey protein and one of those single serving cups of applesauce. Other additions include dried fruit (Blueberries, cranberries etc.), nuts, shredded coconut, granola, etc.

irish oatmeal made with whole milk (preferably from your own jersey cows). raisins, walnuts.

i could eat that every day.

I love pumpkin butter w/ dried cranberries or sweetened condensed milk. I've been meaning to try it w/coconut milk too.

This might sound weird, but I really like ham and a little salt in my oatmeal. This is one of the ways that my mom made it for me as a kid.

I make the following two combinations:

oatmeal (cooked in half water/half milk)
sliced banana
dried cranberries
toasted walnut (both with or without honey)
maple syrup
cinnamon
nutmeg
dash of salt

oatmeal (cooked in half water/half milk)
diced apple (add after oatmeal is cooked)
raisin
cinnamon
brown sugar
toasted walnut
dash of salt

I often add some additional milk on top of the oatmeal.

Ooh. Perhaps I can try bits of longganisang hamonado, the Filipino sweet sausage.

Pucca, oatmeal with ham and salt sounds really good - it makes more sense to me than the congee I've had (which I find bland, but that could easily be becase I'm not doing it right.) I may try that next time we have ham lying around.

Forgot. I also use to crush speculaas and put them in my oatmeal. I'd like to look into spicier sweet mix-ins.

i make a 5 minute stovetop organic brand (country choice, maybe?) from TJs / Jewel almost everyday.

always put a little brown sugar and ground flax seeds, then either fresh fruit (bananas, strawberries/blueberries, apples/pears) or frozen berries. i've also done it with light coconut milk (1/2 milk with 1/2 water), blueberries and coconut flakes. peanut butter is a great addition, esp. with the bananas. nuts in general sometimes get into the mix....

sometimes i use agave in place of the brown sugar.

i love the ideas of using apple/pear/pumpkin butter, that sounds lovely over the winter.

enjoy,
miss ellen

I like mine savory, so I go with a poached egg. Sometimes I'll add some chopped scallions and hot peppers, too.

Just for the sake of history of the site and all, please note that savoury recipes with oatmeal should be posted here:
Throdkin, haggis and skirlie: savoury oatmeal recipes.

Antonius, on behalf of Sir Antony Bordough

My two faves:

A knot of nutella, toasted coconut, and flaky sea salt.

Lemon curd, a splash of cream, macadamia nuts.

(I had the latter for the first time at Moy House on our honeymoon, it's genius).

Butter, real maple syrup,and a dash of salt. I can't believe nobody mentioned butter !!

I can't believe no one mentioned buttermilk! I basically can't have a bowl without that tang.

It's fixin' to be serious oatmeal season (last year I ate it year-round, but didn't quite keep that up in 09). For some reason I've never thought of putting fresh fruit in. The only sweetener I add to mine is dried fruit: be it raisins or cranberries or cherries or blueberries, etc. Right now, I'm digging currants.

Also, after this last weekend, I'm a big fan of toasted walnuts. Mmmmmm.

For those who would prefer the texture of steel cut but don't have the time in the morning, one of the best things to happen to me was to read the back of the McCann's box where they said you can prepare it the night before as follows:

1. Bring water to boil (1 cup for single serving)
2. Turn off heat, add oatmeal (1/4 cup for single serving)
3. Cover
4. Leave overnight.
5. Wake up.
6. Eat oatmeal.

It's dead easy. No, it's not as good as toasting the oats in butter and cooking for 25 minutes, but it's 80% of the way there.

When I was a kid, no one could believe I put butter in my oatmeal. I couldn't believe they didn't. I never thought of these other suggestions, and now I can't wait to try them! My usual recipe is just 1/3 cup oats, 2/3 cup milk and 2 minutes in the microwave; then a sprinkle of sugar, cinnamon, and a nice spoonful of butter. I like it more like soup than stew since it firms up upon standing.

I like to stir in some peanut butter and dried cherries. A little bonus protein for your breakfast and the cherries give it a tasty peanut butter & jelly quality.

Does the peanut butter thin enough to mix evenly, or does it stay lumpy? The textures of oatmeal and peanut butter together freak me out a little as I eat large quantities of peanut butter, most often just straight out of the jar or on fruit.

Two other oatmeal additions I forgot to mention: Not as a sole mix-in, but I recently tried stirring tahini in my oatmeal, which I enjoyed. Also, I tried adding some azuki bean paste I made, nothing else. Quite yummy.

the heat from the oatmeal melts the peanut butter, it mixes in very smoothly.

I was wondering the same thing about the oatmeal and PB. Will have to give that one a try.

Yum, azuki bean paste?! Why didn't I think of that!?

While on Dr. Ian Smith's Fast Smash Diet, my base for oatmeal is:

4 cup pyrex measuring cup, add:

1 cup skim milk
1 package Splenda
Lots of cinnamon
1 chopped apple
1/2 oats

Microwave for 3 1/2 minutes.

When I'm off the diet I will get more creative. Sometimes I add dried cranberries, other times a diced pear and fresh ground nutmeg.

For those who don't eat dairy and don't like their oatmeal made with water, I have used apple juice in place of milk/water. No need to sweeten.

In recent months, I've taken to drinking chocolate hazelnut milk (i.e. hazelnut milk of chocolate flavor), and I've added it to my oatmeal in hopes of making something champurrado-esque. It didn't quite work, but I haven't given up on the general idea.

I routinely add soy or rice milk to my oatmeal after nuking with water in the microwave.

one time when i didn't have milk, I used chocolate soy milk with my oatmeal and peanut butter. it was delicious.

olive oil and brown sugar
(I do the same with grits while my husband uses butter, salt, pepper and crumbled bacon)

More often than not, I eat my oatmeal, particularly steel-cut, like any other grain (rice, cous-cous, quinoa, grits) - with savory dishes/toppings. We tend to make our oatmeal a thick stick-to-your-ribs type "congee," and I'll typically have it with last night's left-overs, be it curry, sauteed shrimp, broccoli, pan fried cod, salmon, omelet, etc...

I don't like mix ins. I take oatmeal cooked which I like a little stiff more like pudding. Don't like soupy oatmeal. I sprinkle brown sugar on the top, walnuts and either raisins or dried cherries. Or I have sliced bananas on it.

Then pour on a little half and half.

If I'm dieting I use sugar free maple syrup instead of the brown sugar and milk instead of half and half.

A little dollop of natural peanut butter, a few banana slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon....yummmmmmm!

One or two sliced bananas. Oatmeal, uncooked. I eat it raw. Like a horse. I don't care for the steel cut.