Quaker oats with white chocolate & raspberries

Raffles

Im interested in fuelling my body properly for saturday club rides in such a way that pre ride food is taylored for providing sustained energy. Would you say the porridge / oats in the picture, which incidentally I have purchased, are a good start ? I seriously dont like eating unflavoured oats and Im hoping the ones I bought will be palatable.

tordis

TBH, I'm not a fan of those instant porridge sachets with added nasties. Have you tried adding a spoonful of golden syrup or honey + some fruit or nuts to your regular porridge?

team47b

As Tordis said real food, add your own fruit and nuts.

This product is 20% sugar!

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, ie fast acting, you need slower acting more complex carbs for providing your sustained energy.

Eat real oats flavoured with fruit/nuts before you set off, take a wholemeal bread sandwich with you for long term energy.

I realise you have already bought this product, so as to not waste it, perhaps you could feed it to the birds :shock:

CiB

Ordinary porridge made with hot water & microwaved for 90 secs then add milk & sugar will fuel you for a good 60 or miles or so, give or take a bit depending on your metabolism.

Tordis is right what he / she says re these prepacked all-in-one things. Nasty stuff. Get a big bag of unbranded porridge oats for about 80p at your nearest supermarket. It could be a lifetime's supply if you don't eat the stuff away from pre-ride breakfasts.

giant_man

Oh dear, that looks like it contains all sorts of unsavoury ingredients including sugar of course, there are better things you could have for breakfast ...

Coffeemonster

My personal favourite pre ride breakfast is Weetabix. Depending on the distance I am going to ride i will vary between 4 to 5 weetabix and mix it with honey. I am fairly new to road riding and tried several different types of pre ride breakfasts (including porridge). Even though porridge is sustainable, weetabix seems to takes nowhere near as long to make!

simona75

I tried the chocolate brownie version the other day, dont think ive ever eaten anything that tasted less like a chocolate brownie

amaferanga

Regular porridge made with water and a pinch of salt. Microwave then stir in a spoonful of golden syrup and a dash of milk. Delicious and way cheaper than the Quaker stuff. I lived off porridge for the best part of a month while cycling in Africa a few years back....

Raffles

my only issue with traditional porridge is that ive always thought it tastes absolutely rank, hence the reason why i went for the one as pictured and i do adore raspberries. ill be club cycling on sunday this week for a change and ill give it a whirl and see how it goes.

desweller

You can just drop some dried fruit into the porridge as you're cooking it. Lovely.

TheEnglishman

Sainsburys taste the difference porridge is the best in this household. Or so I'm told. Made with milk and with an added banana (added after cooking the porridge) and finally topped off with a swirl of honey

Nothing but the best for SWMBO

I still call it gruel but have got used to the experience. And it keep the doctor from making that awful sucking sound through their teeth when you tell them what you eat.

amaferanga

Raffles wrote:

my only issue with traditional porridge is that ive always thought it tastes absolutely rank, hence the reason why i went for the one as pictured and i do adore raspberries. ill be club cycling on sunday this week for a change and ill give it a whirl and see how it goes.

But the Quaker ones taste 'good' because they're packed full of sugar and stuff. Why not try regular porridge and add some fruit of your own?

t.m.h.n.e.t

Raffles wrote:

Im interested in fuelling my body properly for saturday club rides in such a way that pre ride food is taylored for providing sustained energy. Would you say the porridge / oats in the picture, which incidentally I have purchased, are a good start ? I seriously dont like eating unflavoured oats and Im hoping the ones I bought will be palatable.

Absolute crap. Buy proper stuff and flavour your own. Simples

berries - banana - apples - honey - maple syrup - cinnamon - mixed spice - vanilla whey is even nice

Pross

Raffles wrote:

my only issue with traditional porridge is that ive always thought it tastes absolutely rank, hence the reason why i went for the one as pictured and i do adore raspberries. ill be club cycling on sunday this week for a change and ill give it a whirl and see how it goes.

So you asked advice which unanimously says to try something else and you decide to give it a go? If you are giving it a go my advice would be to have more than one sachet as there's not much in them.

I'm another who finds Weetabix the best pre-ride breakfast.

Raffles

Im only trying the product as Ive already purchased it and it would be a waste to just toss it. Ill buy some regular oats, some raspberries and bananas later and try that mixture. Gotta add strong flavours though as I really do think unflavoured porridge tastes dreadful.

t.m.h.n.e.t

Raffles wrote:

Im only trying the product as Ive already purchased it and it would be a waste to just toss it. Ill buy some regular oats, some raspberries and bananas later and try that mixture. Gotta add strong flavours though as I really do think unflavoured porridge tastes dreadful.

sugarfreemegastore.com buy some syrups. Bingo!

MartinB2444

You want something you're happy to swallow 2nd and 3rd time around during the ride

TheEnglishman

Raffles wrote:

Im only trying the product as Ive already purchased it and it would be a waste to just toss it. Ill buy some regular oats, some raspberries and bananas later and try that mixture. Gotta add strong flavours though as I really do think unflavoured porridge tastes dreadful.

Different types/brands do taste different! And you can try different amounts of water/milk mix - I love it with semi skim, jumbo oats and a dash of maple syrup. The Mrs likes honey. It sounds like you had a horrible experience as a child with lumpy porridge made from water and the bits from the bottom of the sack.

AllezGaz

I just bought some asda while grain oats (around 80p) and they should make about 10 servings. Half milk, half water and some honey. Jobs a good un. If I'm short on time I go for 3 weetbix!

Raffles

AllezGaz wrote:

I just bought some asda while grain oats (around 80p) and they should make about 10 servings. Half milk, half water and some honey. Jobs a good un. If I'm short on time I go for 3 weetbix!

why are you adding water too ?

When I mix mine up for Sunday morning, im just going to use semi skimmed milk

team47b

Raffles wrote:

AllezGaz wrote:

I just bought some asda while grain oats (around 80p) and they should make about 10 servings. Half milk, half water and some honey. Jobs a good un. If I'm short on time I go for 3 weetbix!

why are you adding water too ?

When I mix mine up for Sunday morning, im just going to use semi skimmed milk

If you use half milk and half water you would be making semi skimmed milk anyway, unless you use semi skimmed milk and half water then you have made skimmed milk, if you mix skimmed milk with water you get a homeopathic remedy for lactose intolerance!

Warning this last paragraph contains traces of humour and may contain lies

cyco2

Sainsbury's own sugar free muesli for less than £1 is worth a try. Quite impossible to eat freshly made but if left for an hour is ok with some sweetener and fruit. Doesn't need heating so could be cheaper then porridge

Raffles

Gotta confess that mueseli doesnt make my tongue hang out, looks to my eyes like what my cat has a dump on when he is in his litter tray to be honest.

team47b

Raffles wrote:

Gotta confess that mueseli doesnt make my tongue hang out, looks to my eyes like what my cat has a dump on when he is in his litter tray to be honest.

I don't particularly like the look of petrol but it does seem like the best fuel for the car

t.m.h.n.e.t

team47b wrote:

Raffles wrote:

Gotta confess that mueseli doesnt make my tongue hang out, looks to my eyes like what my cat has a dump on when he is in his litter tray to be honest.

I don't particularly like the look of petrol but it does seem like the best fuel for the car

Unless it's diesel or LPG

fungus_the_muffin_man

Bollocks to what this lot of self righteous health freaks say. Try it, if you like it and feel it works carry on with it.
I've tried the banana and honey with porridge, IMO is bloody horrid. I don't like dried fruits because of the texture and overly sweetness. So I eat what I like. For a 30 mile ride I'll only have a couple of slices of toast. For more than 40 I'll have weetabix or porridge and syrup. Oh and I use full fat milk, not half and half crap. The main thing is that you eat whatever works for you. Sod what anyone else thinks.

rdt

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

Bollocks to what this lot of self righteous health freaks say. ... Sod what anyone else thinks.

That's much to be said for that attitude, but it's obviously not one shared by the OP since they specifically came on here and asked for feedback! :roll:

For the OP, re raspberries for your porridge. A cheap/convenient way to buy these is frozen from supermarkets; drop a handful of frozen into porridge near the end of cooking. Doing this and buying a hefty pack of quality porridge oats should result in a much nicer tasting breakfast for far, far less cost than expensive pre-mixed sugar-laden junk.

tonyrockyhorror

Porridge made with oats is disgusting - hence the requirement to add something to make it palatable. However, proper porridge is made with oatmeal - tastes great, no need for honey, syrup, fruit, or chocolate. My local Sainsbury's does a bag of medium oatmeal for 80p which is enough for about 20 servings.

4 tablespoons oatmeal
250ml milk/water (I go for about one third milk, two thirds water)
Pinch of salt

All the ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil, then put on the lowest simmer you can manage for 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve with a splash of cold milk.

Each to his own, but it certainly works for me. It's probably not as nice as having chocolate for breakfast, though :-)