Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

So, I tried the oat groats.

My thoughts:
Can cook in instant pot - did 25 min on manual, NPR; 1 c groats : 2 c water
Affordable - 1 cup cost 63 cents, which is roughly 3 servings for me
Texture - chewy grains, not a porridge
Pleasantly filling, but bland



I cooked the oats plain, then just sautéed some diced gala apples and raisins with cinnamon, and added cooked groats to the mixture, and topped with a little almond milk and sliced bananas. Honestly, I'm not too impressed with the flavor. I couldn't find any recipes for flavoring them, well, except for this one recipe that called for 1/2 groats and 1/2 chopped nuts, plus coconut oil. I'm sure that was yummy, but the serving had 32 grams of fat, and you haven't even left the house for the day!

So, I'm going to experiment with some ideas and see if I can get these to be a little more yummy. I'd add chopped dates, but I have a tendency to eat them straight out of the container, so I'd rather keep those out of the house. Also, not using nuts, except for 1 tbsp flax. I used raisins and apples for sweetness, but it really didn't do much. Breakfast doesn't have to sing and dance, but I truly enjoy my other oat breakfast dishes, and would like to have the same fondness for the groats.

I'v taken my oat groats and made this, from the dec 2004 newsletter

MULTIGRAIN HOT CEREAL

This is another hearty breakfast that we enjoy. It does take a bit longer to cook but it is very filling and delicious. The mixture can be made up ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. If you soak the mixture overnight, it cuts down on the cooking time in the morning.

4 cups oat groats (whole oats)
½ cup brown rice
½ cup quinoa
½ cup barley
½ cup millet
½ cup rye
½ cup spelt berries

Combine all the ingredients (or as many as you choose to use) in a large container and mix well. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

To Cook:
1) Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Rinse 1 cup of the mixture under cold water, then add to the pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 1 hour. Let rest, covered, about 10 minutes before serving.

2) THE NIGHT BEFORE: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Rinse 1 cup of the mixture under cold water, then add to the pan. Turn off heat, cover and let rest until morning. Reheat in the morning and serve.

3) Place 3 cups of water and 1 cup of rinsed mixture in a slow cooker (crockpot). Cook on low heat setting for 8-10 hours.

Hint: Add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or mace to the cooking water for extra flavor. Or try a tablespoon or two of currents or raisins.

This recipe looks delicious! Next time I’m at the bulk section, I’ll get the mix and give it a try. Thanks, Morris!

Morris wrote:I'v taken my oat groats and made this, from the dec 2004 newsletter

MULTIGRAIN HOT CEREAL

This is another hearty breakfast that we enjoy. It does take a bit longer to cook but it is very filling and delicious. The mixture can be made up ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. If you soak the mixture overnight, it cuts down on the cooking time in the morning.

4 cups oat groats (whole oats)
½ cup brown rice
½ cup quinoa
½ cup barley
½ cup millet
½ cup rye
½ cup spelt berries

Combine all the ingredients (or as many as you choose to use) in a large container and mix well. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

To Cook:
1) Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Rinse 1 cup of the mixture under cold water, then add to the pan and cook over medium-low heat for about 1 hour. Let rest, covered, about 10 minutes before serving.

2) THE NIGHT BEFORE: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Rinse 1 cup of the mixture under cold water, then add to the pan. Turn off heat, cover and let rest until morning. Reheat in the morning and serve.

3) Place 3 cups of water and 1 cup of rinsed mixture in a slow cooker (crockpot). Cook on low heat setting for 8-10 hours.

Hint: Add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or mace to the cooking water for extra flavor. Or try a tablespoon or two of currents or raisins.

what does a vegan zombie eat? GRAAAIINNNNSSSS! GRAAAINNNNNSSS! hahahaha I crack me up

Last Tuesday I had a morning appointment on the north side of town, and decided to take advantage of the Ikea kids eat free Tuesday deal, where you can get TWO kids meals for free with the purchase of an adult entree, and the adult meal is only $3! We all got the same thing, penne pasta with marinara and veggie balls. The girls got garlic bread, and I got a cup of hot decaf tea.



The thing to note about Ikea is that you will never get out of that labyrinth in a reasonable amount of time. It's like those fall corn mazes, you could get lost for days, and thank goodness there are beds. It takes us at least 15-20 min to find the restaurant every time. We were there for 1 1/2 hours, and only got noodles!



Something about all this oil leads me to believe that this isn't actually a health food...



I was tempted to buy the veggie balls, but upon further investigation, decided to pass.

Serving size: 9 balls
Calories: 250
Calories from fat: 110 (44%)
Total fat: 13g
Sodium: 910 mg
Fiber: 7g
Protein: 12g

INGREDIENTS:
chickpeas, peas, carrots, red peppers, corn, kale, pea protein, onions, canola oil, seasoning (salt, dried cane syrup, yeast extract, dried onion, spices, dried carrot, dried parsley, natural flavor, turmeric), pea starch, and methylcellulose.

So, what to do? MAKE THEM YOURSELF!!



High Carb Hannah has the only recipe online that I could find for trying to recreate the Ikea veggie balls. We tried it out, and while it's not exactly like the Ikea version, it's surprisingly tasty. I made them in the small size like you find at Ikea, baked for 20 min at 425F, and paired with some fun cavatappi pasta with homemade marinara and faux parm. I like it so much I had it for lunch and dinner!

https://www.rawtillwhenever.com/ikea-veggie-balls/

I made the multigrain hot cereal, and it's great. Thank you for the recipe, Morris!

I think I might be a WFPB zombie for Halloween. Thanks for he inspiraion, Buns.



I used the recipe as a basic outline, and didn't measure anything. I was at the local health food store (it's so fun, it's in an old, late 1800's house, and has been a hippy store since the 1970's). They have the largest selection of bulk items, and I could find everything that the recipe called for. I did omit the quinoa, because I don't like it, and substituted kasha (toasted buckwheat groats) instead.

MULTIGRAIN PORRIDGE
Oat groats
Spelt berries
Rye Berries
Kasha
Sweet brown rice
Millet
Barley

I used 1 cup grains : 2 cups water, and cooked them in the instant pot for 25 minutes. It had really good chew, but still had a porridge consistency. I scooped out a portion of the porridge and added cooked apples, raisins and cinnamon, mixed in some ground flax, and topped with sliced banana and chopped walnuts.

Real dinner. Russet potato oven fries, cucumber slices, carrot sticks, bell peppers, sugar snap peas and homemade hummus.

Sometimes I worry that my kids don't eat enough vegetables, then I realize that this meal is mostly veggies.

HAPPY ST PATTY'S DAY!



Dinner was cabbage, carrots and mashed potatoes. It was a hit with the kids,who requested this for every St Patty's Day.

I was tempted to try colcannon, but didn't know how well it would be recieved, so I just stuck with some basics, and it was yummy.

Banana ice cream is the best. I don't know if the cones are compliant (probably not), but the ice cream is! I had mine in a bowl.



Mixed berry banana ice cream.



Chocolate banana ice cream

I saw a friend yesterday and she told me about a new recipe she had tried, where you cook broccoli until it breaks down and becomes a sauce, and her kid loved it. I took a pic of the recipe, and made it for dinner.



I thought it was great, fairly simple and a creative way to eat your broccoli. The kids did not share the same enthusiasm. More leftovers for me!



The intro is super misleading. The broccoli sauce takes an hour to cook! If I came home exhausted, I'm nuking a potato and calling it done, not tending to a pot of veggies for an hour and dirtying a Dutch oven and another pot. The Dutch oven is important, I tried to skip and use a different pan, but ended up making my life harder.

Omit the oil, of course, and the parm. Neither was missed.

I also microwaved frozen broccoli, then added that to the onions. That did cut down on effort.



I added a can of cannellini beans, and topped the pasta with a mix of bread crumbs and faux parm, plus a sprinkling of chopped green olives. Next time I'll double the beans, because I like beans. I'd like to try it with a mix of broccoli and cauliflower, or just cauliflower.

bunsofaluminum wrote:
what does a vegan zombie eat? GRAAAIINNNNSSSS! GRAAAINNNNNSSS! hahahaha I crack me up

Oh that is freaking HILARIOUS!! Zombie jokes are always good, but y’kinda hit that one outta the park.

Thanks for that!

I've made two new recipes this week, both are fails, but I thought I should mention them.

First, I made dolmas. I've made them before, but it's been at least a decade. I thought I wanted fennel and dill in them, but after this batch I realized that the Budget Bytes version of the recipe that I came across would probably be perfect, especially with 2 tbsp of added pine nuts. I tried a Tyler Florence version (minus the oil), and the flavors were all out of balance, with too much stuff and not enough rice.

Tonight I tried making the vegan chocolate brownies from the America's Test Kitchen Everyday Vegan cookbook, substituting a 4 oz container of baby food prunes for the oil, and omitting the chocolate chips. The flavor was decent, but the texture was a bit spongy, not fudgy or cakey. To improve it, I might just need to remove the brownies from the oven a little earlier (I baked them for 40 min, but they just did not seem done at all when I checked them at 35 min) and add some walnuts. Maybe non-dairy yogurt would be a better replacement for the oil. It is a huge amount of brownies as well, making an entire 9" x 13" pan. Usually if I'm making a treat, it's primarily for me, and I don't need to eat that much brownie. Next time I'm going to try the no pudge brownie recipe. I've tried the McDougall recipe before and it was just alright, but not a favorite.

On the menu this week is the Vegan 8's lentil loaf, chickpea curry, black beans and quinoa salad, and chickpea kale salad. Tomorrow is a trip to the grocery store, then into the kitchen to make some food!

For lunch today my daughter had the great idea to make chickpea salad sandwiches with tomatoes and lettuce. I added avocado and mustard to my sandwich, and my daughter picked mayo and black olives (the other kiddo opted for a peanut butter and pickle sandwich).

My 5 year old has decided to go vegan, so I picked her up some Hellman's Vegan Mayo at Target, because if this is her biggest vice, she's doing pretty good.



I LOVE Cathy Fisher's Tu-no Salad recipe. I omit the avocado from the mix and spread it on the bread. Her Straight Up Food cookbook is the best cookbook I own. LOVE IT!

http://www.straightupfood.com/blog/2011 ... lad-wraps/

Dinner tonight was lentil loaf with mashed potatoes and green beans. The kids loved it.

The mashed potatoes were a bit of a fail, because I chucked the potatoes in whole into the instant pot, and they were just too big, so some of them did not get cooked through enough, so it turned out super lumpy. Oh well, we made do.



An old co-worker had recommended this recipe for BBQ Lentil Loaf from the Vegan 8 website, and it's delicious. It's a bit labor intensive, so I usually make two loaves and use a whole pound of dried lentils. Cooking the lentils the day before can streamline the assembly process. I usually sauté the onions in my sauce pan, then pour the lentils and water on top to cook them all together.

Another variation is to use NSA tomato sauce when making the loaf and just topping with BBQ sauce. The loaf is less flavorful, but that is fine with us, because the kids aren't into strong BBQ flavor. This time I added some thawed peas and carrots along with the corn, and used cumin and smoked paprika for the spices. It's nice to have a good solid recipe that can be tweaked to taste.



Fair warning, though, is that this thing needs to be in the oven an hour and a half before you want to serve, so it can cook and then set.

My favorite BBQ sauce is from a local company called Local Folks Foods, Honey BBQ flavor. The company also makes my favorite hot sauce, an awesome stoneground mustard, and a great low sodium, lightly sweetened ketchup.

http://thevegan8.com/2014/12/23/spicy-v ... entil-loaf

I've been playing around with making soy milk yogurt in my instant pot.



It's extremely easy to do. Just pour a tetra pack quart of plain soy milk into a sterilized quart glass mason jar, add culture, and place directly into the instant pot. Don't add water or anything! Push the yogurt button, adjust for time, and off you go.

I emphasize the sterilize, because I had not been doing that, and got a bad batch, but did not notice that it was off right away (it became apparent after 24 hours in the fridge that it should not be eaten), so I had some, and then my stomach was unpleasant.

https://instantpot.com/making-vegan-yog ... stant-pot/

I posted in Jeff's forum about the best choice for non-dairy yogurt (viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57680#p579975), and after reading his response and some contemplation, I'm going to try out nut milk options for yogurt. Concerned is too strong a word, but I realized that I was eating more soy products than I wanted to by having soy yogurt. The three of us usually consume one 19 oz container of tofu a week or so, and that plus a potential daily breakfast of granola and soy yogurt was too much. My first experiment is going to be with some "defatted" coconut milk, which is the leftover coconut water from a can of coconut milk after the cream was removed (it's leftover from another recipe I made this weekend). Then I'll probably try some sort of homemade nut milk. I've read that rice and oat milk will both work, too, but I feel a little silly putting oat yogurt with oat granola for some reason.

https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn ... ry-yogurt/

I used the Cultures for Health vegan culture, and even though the instructions state otherwise, I've had good success using previous batches (don't forget to sterilize!!!). For this batch I used two quarts of soy milk, one Westsoy brand, and one Trader Joe's brand. If you can inoculate using a previous batch, a quart of yogurt is less than $2. It's better to under fill the containers, and use a pint jar for holding any extra milk.