Baked Oats Recipe and some thoughts

Nutrition has been in the news a lot recently thanks to a certain celebrity chef and his promotion of a paleo diet. I have read the conversations with interest and may have added in a bit of banter myself. In this space I would like to place the science aside (Not that it's not important, but because I don't think it belongs on this recipe sharing personal blog) and think about whether this type of diet fits into your lifestyle or makes sense to you. I guess the main gripe I have is that this celebrity chef is trying to tout it as the only acceptable diet for everyone and that the current dietary guidelines are flawed and should be changed.

I feel paleo diet can work for some people but it's definitely not a diet for everyone. As far as fad diets are concerned this one is probably not as harmful as say, the lemon detox diet. In fact I agree with many of the principles of eating whole unprocessed foods however eliminating food groups for no particular reason just doesn't sit well with me or most of my patients.

I am lucky that I work in a hospital in the sense that most of the people I see aren't on some bizarre restrictive diet. However I have come across some of the more extreme effects fad diets can have.

Recently I saw an elderly lady on a very restrictive diet which had led to her becoming very malnourished. When I spoke to her family about this they were very adamant to change her diet and felt I was certainly pushing her closer to death with my recommendations. No matter how much I listened, explained, demonstrated to them they were certain that they were right and I was wrong.

It makes me wonder if it's a waste of time for me to argue converse with the converted. If consequences of a poor diet were staring at people in the face and they choose to ignore it, what hope do I have when people are only faced with success stories? It disheartens me a little...


Something that does warm me up is weekend breakfast. Recently I've been trying my hand at baked oats, a winter version of my overnight oats. I like to have it when the top is crunchy but the bottom is still soft and creamy. It doesn't need added honey or sugar with the dried and fresh fruit adding sweetness. This recipe is not grain free or dairy free but still very wholesomely good for you. My apologies for the lack of measurements but you can't really go wrong with this one!  

Baked Pear Oats

  
Cooking Time: 15mins
Serves: 1

Ingredients: 

  • Oats
  • Milk (or other milk alternative)
  • Chia seeds
  • Nut butter 
  • 1/2 pear, thinly sliced
  • 1 date cut up into small chunks
  • Sprinkle of pepita seeds
  • Sprinkle of sultanas
 Method
  1. Mix all the ingredients together in an ovenproof bowl. Make sure the milk only just covers the oats.
  2. You can either leave it to soak for a few minutes while you get ready then put it in the oven or pop it straight into the oven at 170 degrees celcius. 
  3. Remove the bowl from the oven with some oven mitts when the top is crunchy and lightly brown (roughly 15mins)
  4. Enjoy!

Recipe: Overnight Oats



Blueberry+ chia seeds + peanut butter overnight oats

I've been a little obsessed with overnight oats lately. Coupled with fruits it is bringing me true joy almost every morning before work. As summer fruits are exiting the scene but the summer heat is not, I'm still taking great comfort in a nice cold bowl of oats.

You see previously I'd always put off making overnight oats because I didn't have a cute jar to mix it all up in and leave in the fridge but I didn't even need one! I just mixed it all in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge overnight. Easy peasy.

This recipe keeps me full for 4-5hrs.

I know.

Insane. 

Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are my busiest at work and I just don't have time to have a mid morning snack. Lets just say I've had some embarrassing stomach grumbling moments... (borborygmi is happily my fav word and also the scientific word for stomach rumbles ;))

With the start of 2014 I had jumped on the new years resolution making bandwagon. One of my top resolutions was to be kinder to myself. This meant many things for me: being more active, leaving work on time, taking time out for myself and making sure I'm not frantically hungry while working.

Waking up early in the morning has always been something I struggled with so trying to make a good filling breakfast can sometimes be difficult. Especially when I don't like cereal... Overnight oats all done up the night before has been a saviour on busy mornings. It's made my stomach much more content and meant that I have a clearer mind to better help my patients every morning. Win-win.   

The other great thing about overnight oats is you can dress it up in a bajillion topping combinations. Here's the base recipe to making beautiful overnight oats:

Overnight Oats
Preparation Time: 10mins
Serves: 1


Ingredients: 

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla yoghurt
  • 2 tsp chia seeds
  • 2 tsp nut butter
  • Fruit toppings 
  • Sprinkle of dried fruit or toasted nuts
 Method
  1. Mix all the ingredients together, making sure the oats are adequately covered in liquid. 
  2. Cover the bowl and refrigerate. 
  3. Top with fruit 
Per bowl: 1545kJ, 15.1g protein, 12g total fat, 2.9g saturated, 45g carbohydrates, 73mg sodium, 7.2g fibre (calculations do not include fruit toppings and dried fruit or nuts)

 
 Cherries + toasted pepitas

 
 Mangoes + lychee + sultanas + peanut butter + chia seeds



Strawberries + blueberries + almond nut butter + sultanas



Flaxseed + berries + chia



Persimmons + flaxseed + peanut butter



Grilled plums + sultanas + almonds + dessicated coconuts + chia seeds


 

Frozen pineapple + almonds + dessicated coconut + chia seeds

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Disclaimer

The information presented on this blog acts as general nutrition advice and is not tailored to meet individual needs. It should not be used as a replacement for any medical advice you have recieved from medical practitioners. Please discuss any concerns for your health with your doctor or Accredited Practicing Dietitian before starting a new dietary or exercise regime as they can give more personalised recommendations.

I make every effort to ensure information on Nutrition with Wendy is correct and up to date however nutrition is an evolving field and discrepancies can arise. If the information here appears incorrect or out of date please let me know and I will do my best to update my posts.