Fuel for the Flight

     I had some time at PHL after successfully passing through the TSA check point and before my flight was scheduled to take off for Orlando a few weeks ago.  So I decided to fuel my body for a long day ahead.  Even though it was very early in the morning many of the fast food franchises at the airport were already up and running.  But I felt that I needed something more substantial than a calorie laden breakfast egg and cheese McSandwich.  So I perused the menu of a sit down place and noticed that they had hot oatmeal on their menu.  That seemed like just the thing to keep me feeling full and energized when I hit the ground for a full day at Downtown Disney.

     But after I ordered I wondered, what exactly is in oatmeal?  It's been cultivated in various parts of the world for over two thousand years and was introduced into North America in the 17th Century by Scottish settlers.



     All the oats we eat, no mater how unprocessed, have been cleaned, toasted, and hulled.  The most nutritious are actually the least refined and are called groats.  They are the ones most often found in health food stores and take the longest to cook, according to an article in the most recent issue of Cuisine at home magazine.

     Steel-cut oats, sometimes called Irish oatmeal, are groats cut into 2 or 3 pieces with a sharp metal blade.  They take considerably longer to cook than rolled oats.

     Old Fashioned (or rolled) oats are groats that are steamed and flattened with huge rollers.  They take about a quarter hour to cook.

     Quick Cooking oats are groats taken through the same process, but they're first cut into several pieces, to become much thinner flakes.  They cook in just 5 minutes.

     Turns out it was a wise choice for me.  Oats contain an insoluble fiber that stays in the stomach longer and helps you feel fuller, longer.  There is also a special fiber, beta-glucen. that lowers high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, helps prevent heart disease, stabilizes blood sugar and enhances our immune response to infection.

     Though old-fashioned and quick-cooking oats are almost always interchangeable, the texture and flavor of quick-cooking oats aren't as satisfying.  But that can always be overcome with some brown sugar, raisins and warmed cream!