Don't try this at home...

[thistlechaser]

Alternate title: One day I'll learn...

Repeat after me, self: You cannot change a major thing in a recipe and have it come out the same.

I was making my wonderful overnight oatmeal that I've posted about before, only to find out that I had no greek yogurt. Oh well, I could replace it with an equal amount of almond milk, right? I figured the taste might be a little different, but I thought it might actually be better since it wouldn't have the tang.

Nope. Totally wrong. Instead of overnight oatmeal, I had oats that had been floating in almond milk overnight. They got softer, but it wasn't oatmeal-like at all. Plus, without the yogurt, there was next to no protein in it, which made it a bad breakfast for me. Plus it was tasteless -- the strongest flavor in it was the almond milk, which has very little flavor at all.

I think I'll toss out the other half of the batch instead of eating it tomorrow.

I haven't had success in using any fruit other than bananas. (Not that I tried many, just apples.) I need to do some searching for other ways to try it, because as much as I love this banana version, I've been eating it every day for weeks now, plus bananas are a risky fruit for me (too high in sugar).

And this concludes your morning oatmeal report. Now to Joe with the weather...

Comments

[manue7a.livejournal.com]

Cooking and all that kitchen stuff would be so much easier if it worked that way.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

For sure!

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Sorry it didn't work! I'd guess the lactic acid in the yogurt breaks down the oatmeal and "cooks" it, so without an acid, the oats just soaked and didn't change consistency.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that too. I bought yogurt today, so I tried mixing it with the stuff I have leftover for tomorrow's breakfast. Hopefully that will do the trick!

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Sorry it didn't work! I'd guess the lactic acid in the yogurt breaks down the oatmeal and "cooks" it, so without an acid, the oats just soaked and didn't change consistency.

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

GIRL I FEEL YOU. I am only just now getting to where I can mess with substitutions in recipes and sometimes get something worth eating.

I think maybe raspberries would be good in the oatmeal, if you got the frozen ones and microwaved them before mixing them in, they tend to fall apart and mix nicely into hot oatmeal under those circumstances. I am not sure if the seeds are no bueno for you though. I seem to remember seeds being off limits for a while for my best friend.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I don't know about the seeds. I've eaten them a couple times (in Quest bars), and they were fine. I'll give them a try!

Speaking of Quest bars, the company was having a sale, so I ordered a couple boxes directly from them. Apparently I've been eating stale bars all this time and never knew it. Fresh from the company, they were so soft! Like cookie dough-soft! I don't mind them stale either though -- being harder and more chewy means I eat them slower.

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

I've been lucky, then, because all of my substitutions and winging it have always worked :p

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That is good luck!

[socksofjello.livejournal.com]

I haven't had success in using any fruit other than bananas.

Bananas are pretty starchy; plantains are so much so that they're treated very similarly to potatoes in many recipes. The additional starch probably contributes to the thickening/binding of the oatmeal mixture.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hmmm true. Apples just don't work at all, they seem to wash out the flavor more.

[bacchuslives.livejournal.com]

I need to go back and read your overnight oatmeal post. I've heard people raving about it here at work...

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Here's the link to it (http://thistle-chaser.livejournal.com/1529972.html). Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! I still eat it for breakfast every single day.