My Blog

Tag: Oats

  • Vegan Oat Crepes

    This recipe started out with my husband’s craving for crepes. Now, I am all for crepes, but he does not like the general egg-y after taste of the regular ones. Plus, I wanted to avoid using regular flour. So, Vegan Oat Crepes it is. I chose Oats because they were readily available in my pantry and they are gluten-free. So, that’s a win. Oats, milk and flaxseed meal (egg replacement and binder) blended together to make a thin crepe batter. That’s how simple it is. These can be sweet or savory. The husband chose savory, and I ran with it!

    Now, I seem to have a weird obsession with Tex Mex and I think that is because of the similarity of flavors with Indian cuisine and because of the ingredients that are typical of this cuisine such as black beans, peppers and tomatoes. Black beans, peppers and tomatoes are a fail-safe combination that work for a variety of recipes. They are readily available, easy and quick to prepare and carry good flavors. And, I added chopped jalapenos to the batter, just to give them a zing 😉

    I am not going to lie, crepe making is not easy, so be prepared for a few flops. But, once you get the hang of it, you will want to try different variations of them i.e. with different flours and see which suits your palette the best. For instance, I heat= that buckwheat flour crepes work great, but I have yet to try them.

    What I also love about this recipe is that it has some great nutrient benefits such as protein form the beans and oats and fiber from the oats. So, the basic crepes can be prepared the night before for a quick breakfast in the morning that will keep you satiated. This also makes for a great weekend brunch with a heavier filling that can be prepared in a large batch the previous night. All you have to do is gather the troop, get some delicious crepes, load them with the filling, top it as you please and just kick back and enjoy the brunch 🙂

    Prep time15 minutes
    Cook time10-15 minutes
    Serves2 (4-6 crepes)

    Ingredients

    Crepes

    • Oats – 1 1/4 cups
    • Plant Based Milk (Unsweetened) – 1 1/2 – 2 cups
    • Flax Seed Meal – 1/2 – 3/4 tbsp
    • Jalapenos – 1, finely chopped
    • Salt – As per taste

    Filling

    • Garlic – 2-3 cloves, finely chopped
    • Tri Colored Bell Peppers – 2 cups
    • Black Beans – 1 15oz can
    • Onions – 1/2 cup, finely chopped
    • Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
    • Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
    • Coriander Powder – 1/2 tsp
    • Jalapenos – 1, thinly sliced in a round shape
    • Salt – As per taste

    Other

    • Oil of choice – As required for cooking
    • Cilantro – 1 handful for garnish (Optional)
    • Jalapenos – 1, thinly sliced for garnish (Optional)

    Method

    1. First, prepare the crepe batter. For this, add the oats, plant based milk and flax seed meal to a blender and make a thin batter. Transfer to a bowl, add salt, chopped jalapenos, mix and set aside
    2. Next prepare the filling. For this, add oil to a pan and heat it. Once hot, add the chopped onions and garlic and cook until the garlic has slightly browned and the onions are translucent. Then, add the peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Then add salt, cumin, coriander and red chili powder and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until all the spices are cooked and the peppers are only tender. The peppers should not be mushy. Take off the heat and set the filling aside
    3. Time to prepare the crepes. For this, warm up a skillet on medium heat. Once warm, remove the skillet from the heat and brush some oil on it. Then, place a ladle of the batter on the skillet and turn it in a circular motion to allow the batter to spread thinly. Cook until the edges are golden brown (2-3 minutes). Then, carefully flip the crepe and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer onto a plate and repeat with the remaining batter
    4. To prepare the brunch, lay a crepe on a plate, place a generous amount of filling on it and close both sides of it (as though you are preparing a wrap) and press gently to hold it in place. Garnish with additional filling, sliced jalapenos and maybe some hot sauce of your choice and enjoy a delicious brunch

    Cooking, preparation and serving suggestions

    • While the batter is sitting in between each round of crepe making, it may thicken (due to the flax used in it). So, you can add a splash of milk and mix it up to thin it as you go
    • When preparing the crepe
      • Don’t be impatient to flip them, otherwise they may break or you may get a pile of mushy batter
      • I found that placing a lid on the skillet around the crepe for the first 1-2 minutes and then letting them get golden on the edges results in the sturdiest crepes
      • When using oil on the skillet, brush the oil and spread it evenly. You don’t want any droplets of oil sitting around because too many of those will make the crepe batter turn into a mushy pile
    • To prepare sweet crepes, eliminate the salt and jalapenos. Use sweetener of choice and some delicious sweet fillings. My favorite would be the classic banana-nutella or strawberry-banana 🙂

    You can also follow me on Instagram to be up-to-date with what is cooking my kitchen. If you like this recipe, do share your comments below. Don’t forget to post your version on Instagram using #foodformyloveblog.

    Rating: 1 out of 5.

  • Baked Breakfast Apple Crisp

    “There are times when breakfast seems the one thing worth getting up for”

    – Peter Dr Vries

    I live by the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And this important meal sets the tone for the rest of the day. So it is very important that it is not only healthy, but delicious and enjoyable too.

    Indian households rarely eat sweet items for breakfast, at least not sweet items solely. They are almost always accompanied with a savory main breakfast item. But, for a lot of us working folks, who have very little time (or skill!) for a morning breakfast but still need a tasty and nutritious breakfast, this is the one for you.

    This Breakfast Apple Crisp comes together in about 30 minutes. It has the goodness of crisp Apples and nutritious Oats, together with warm spices like Ginger, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. It is like dessert for breakfast, but healthy 🙂

    All you have to do is wake up in the morning, put it all together and put it in the oven before you go shower and get ready for work. When you get out of the shower, the house is going to smell so sweet and warm and the breakfast will be ready to eat or to be packed in a box to eat at your desk. This can even be prepared for the week and stored in an air-tight container. Just warm before use to enjoy the ooey-gooeyness.

    This is a sweet, nutritious and filling breakfast that allows you to control the amount of added sugars. This is definitely a great change from the regular cereal and overnight oats. Enjoy it with a cup of morning coffee and you will be set for a great day of work.

    Prep time5 minutes
    Cook time25 minutes
    Serves2

    Ingredients

    Fruits

    • Apple – 1, chopped into bite sized pieces

    Grains and Flour

    • Quick Rolled Oats – 3/4 cup
    • All Purpose Flour – 2 tbsp

    Spices and Flavors

    • Cinnamon – 1 tsp
    • Sugar – 1 tbsp (I used white sugar. Feel free to use packed brown sugar)
    • Honey – 1 tbsp
    • Vanilla Extract – 1/4 tsp

    Oils/Butter

    • Oil – 2 tbsp

    Ingredient notes

    • I have used Honeycrisp Apples because they are sweet and crispy, and they maintain their crispiness even after baking (And because they are my favorite variety). You can use any other variety of your choice, except Green Granny Smith Apples, simply because they have a sharper, tart flavor which is not desired for this recipe
    • I have used regular white sugar. Feel free to use brown sugar or even try powdered jaggery
    • You can replace oil with the same quantity of melted butter

    Method

    1. First preheat the oven to 375F (Approx. 190C)
    2. Then, make the oats crumble. For this, add oats, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, sugar and 1 tbsp flour to a mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside
    3. To another mixing bowl, add the chopped apples, honey, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp flour. Mix well to coat the apples with the rest of the ingredients
    4. If making individual servings, take 2 separate ramekins or take 1 baking dish. Coat the surface with oil or melted butter
    5. Place a spoonful of the oat crumble at the bottom of the baking dish. Add a few spoonfuls of the apple mixture. Top with the remainder of the oat crumble
    6. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes (Timing is dependent on the oven)
    7. Once baked, remove from the oven
    8. Drizzle with honey. Optionally, add toasted nuts or a dollop of Greek yogurt and enjoy!

    You can also follow me on Instagram to be up-to-date with what is cooking my kitchen. If you like this recipe, do share your comments below. Don’t forget to post your version on Instagram using #foodformyloveblog.

  • Oats Cheela

    Oats, as many of us know, are a powerhouse of health benefits. These include nutrient richness (protein, carbohydrates, calcium and fiber), low in sugar, low in fat, good for cholesterol and diabetes control, and most of all satiety. In fact, research from the World Health Organization has shown that the protein content of oats is nearly equivalent to soy, meat, milk and egg protein.

    It is a good idea to learn the basics of Oats before you cook, so that you can choose the Oats most suitable to your recipe. So, here goes – Oats start out as oat groats, which are then processed into different formats such as steel cut, rolled, instant/quick oats and oat flour/bran. When oat groats are cut using a sharp blade, that makes steel cut oats. These take the longest to cook and have a chewy texture. On the other hand, rolled oats are are created when the oat groats are steamed (to make them pliable) and then rolled to make them flat. These take less time to cook (compared to steel cut), and manage to retain their size and texture after cooking. Finally, instant oats are made when the rolled oats are steamed and further rolled to make them thinner. This allows them to absorb moisture more quickly and therefore, cook instantly. Because of this, they don’t retain a shape of texture and end up mushy. Clear as mud?

    In my quest to find a breakfast that would satisfy my monstrous morning hunger and keep me full, I made the transition from cereal to oats. However, the store brought oats are either plain or flavored, and therefore loaded with sugar. The serving size and quantity just does not justify the amount of sugar that comes with it. Plus, being Indian, my palate is always looking for something savory, even on a breakfast occasion. That led me to the discovery of Oats Chilla, courtesy Shilpa Shetty’s cooking channel.

    A Cheela is basically a savory pancake made out of a grain based flour. A lot of Cheela recipes that I found were besan (gram/chickpea flour) based. My stomach does not do very well with besan, so I avoid it as much as possible. Therefore, this Oats Cheela recipe, that I adapted from Shilpa Shetty’s recipe, is a wholesome and nutritious breakfast. And of course I decided to experiment on my husband, and he loved it. But what made it a super, duper hit was when my husband’s 6 year old niece, who is generally a very picky eater (as any other 6 year old), gorged on 6 Cheelas!!! Now, these can be very heavy because of the Oats, but she loved them, and I was beyond excited. I have been getting my mum to eat Oats forever, but she finds the mushiness of Oats to be repulsive. Yet, this recipe was a hit with her too, which means the world to me. And thus began my love for Cheelas that I continue to share with family and friends.

    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time10 minutes
    Serves2 (2-4 medium sized Cheelas)

    Ingredients

    Vegetables

    • Onions – 1/4 cup, finely chopped
    • Carrots – 1/4 cup, shredded or finely chopped

    Grains

    • Oats – 3/4 cup

    Spices and Herbs

    • Roasted Jeera Powder (Cumin) – 1/2 tsp
    • Black Pepper – 1/2 tsp
    • Chaat Masala – 1/2 tbsp (Add more as your taste)
    • Salt as per taste
    • Cilantro – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
    • Ginger – 1 tbsp, crushed
    • Green Chillies – 1 tbsp, finely chopped (or as per your taste requirement)

    Dairy

    • Milk – 1 cup (Add extra as needed to adjust the consistency)

    Oils

    • Cooking Oil – 2 tbsp

    Ingredient notes

    Method

    1. In a pan, toast the oats until they are slightly brown and release a nutty aroma
    2. Grind the toasted oats to make a fine powder
    3. Add milk and blend until the batter has a smooth consistency. The ideal consistency should not be too smooth and nor too grainy. So adjust the amount of milk to achieve the desired consistency. Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl
    4. Add the vegetables, spices, herbs and mix well
    5. Adjust consistency with more milk, if required
    6. Heat a pan, add 1tbsp oil, and use a brush to spread the oil on the pan
    7. Add the batter and slowly spread it evenly. You may not able to spread with a spoon, so lift the pan and turn it in a circular motion to spread the batter
    8. Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for 45-60 seconds
    9. Remove the lid, drizzle 1 tsp oil on the cheela and flip it to cook the other side. You will know that it is cooked when it has brown spots on it, just like a roti
    10. Transfer to a plate and serve with your choice of chutney

    You can also follow me on Instagram to be up-to-date with what is cooking my kitchen. If you like this recipe, do rate it and share your comments below. Don’t forget to post your version on Instagram using #foodformyloveblog.

  • Oats-Dates-Apple Smoothie

    As much as I try to be healthy, eating a healthy breakfast early in the morning is often a challenge. To add to that, those people who are looking for an easy, no work, no mess option (like my husband), they eat the same breakfast cereal every day, literally every day. Thank God for me (for him) that I try to put together simple recipes that he and many others like him can use to make a quick, on-the-go and healthy breakfast.

    This breakfast smoothie is a “breakfast of champions” as I like to call it. With the the goodness of apples, natural sweetness of dates, the protein and complex carbohydrates from the oats and calcium from milk, there is nothing like it.

    From start to finish, it takes a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare. It takes longer to eat a bowl of cereal!! So yes, make this smoothie, drink it while you get ready for work or pour it in a to-go bottle and drink it while you drive, take the train or bus or drink it at your work desk. It is that convenient.

    As always, smoothies, like many other recipes, are open to customization. One can use different flavors, fruits, nut butters, nuts, fruits etc. and it would be just as delicious. Only thing though, I would recommend this only for breakfast, not for a meal or a snack because it quite a heavy smoothie and will surely keep you satiated for hours until lunch. As they, have breakfast like a king, like with this one.

    Prep Time5 minutes
    Cook Time10 minutes (No cooking, only blend blend blend)
    Serves1

    Ingredients

    Grains

    • Rolled Oats – 1/2 cup

    Fruits, Nuts & Seeds

    • Apple – 1/2 of a medium Apple, chopped
    • Mejdool Dates – 4 pieces, pitted
    • Almonds – Slivered, 1 tbsp
    • Chia Seeds – 1 tbsp

    Spices

    • Ground Cinnamon – 1/2 tsp

    Dairy

    • Milk – 1/2 cup

    Ingredient notes

    • If vegan, any plant based milk will also work in this recipe
    • I have used a Green Apple because that is what I had in my fruit bowl. Any type of Red Apple will work fine too

    Method

    1. In a blender jar, add the chopped apples, dates, oats, cinnamon and milk
    2. Blend until smooth
    3. Add 1/4 cup water and blend again (Add extra milk or water as per desired consistency. I don’t like my smoothie to be thick, so I add the water to loosen it up. If you like a thick smoothie, you can skip this step and increase the quantity of milk)
    4. Pour in a glass or a bottle. Garnish with nuts, fruits and chia seeds (Alternatively, the nuts and chia seeds can be blended along with the rest of the ingredients if you don’t like anything chunky or crunchy in your smoothie)

    Give this breakfast smoothie a try. If you like this recipe, do rate it and share your comments below. You can also follow me on Instagram to be up-to-date with what is cooking in my kitchen and to share your version of the recipe with #foodformyloveblog.