The Big O

I done died and gone to oatmeal heaven. It's an Oatmealpalooza Fest in my tummy and I. Am. Freaking. Out.

Where I am: Quaker Ground Zero Headquarters in Chicago
What time it is: Saturday morning
Who I'm with: A whole slew of the most fabulous bloggers, including MizFit and Stephanie from Back in Skinny Jeans.
Why: Quaker Living Proof Weekend

Well, it appears my lifetime dedication to spreading the word about oatmeal-in-a-Ziplock has paid off and I am Living Large with Quaker. Last night, the people behind The Man (code name: Larry, it's just been revealed) put us up in the gorgeous, swanky Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago (John Lennon stared down at me as my husband and I snoozed, with an unreal view of Michigan Avenue out the floor-to-ceiling windows.)

BTW I'm not the savviest when it comes to technology - I still use a LeClic camera and an abacus, for example - so for up-to-the-minute pics, check out Kath Eats Real Food...she's doing a really nice job chronicling this shindig. How does she make a bowl of oatmeal and a spoonful of organic PB look so freaking delish?

So, right now we're in the Quaker building, listening to a woman named Shelley Haus who has the coolest job title ever - Director of Breakfast. We were just treated to the phattest oatmeal buffet, with all sorts of oats, toppings (brown sugar, cinnamon, golden raisins, strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, heaven), and fresh, sliced fruit. So my most ideal breakfast, basically. The bloggers are heated up right now, talking about the high amounts of sugars and fake additives in some of the newer oatmeal bars. I'm trying to stay a little quiet - not like me at all - because my neck is not doing so swell in this chair (although it is made from recycled soda bottles, so at least I'm eco-chic in my pain.) We all have personal laptops and mine is propped up on a box of Quaker shredded cereal. The air feels full of innovation, excitement and health-consciousness, and I feel like the Quaker people are taking our comments to heart. We've been treated to a slew of brand spanking new products, and got some cool oaty info, such as:

*Oatmeal is recession-proof: 22 cents per serving; 36 cents for a big, overflowing, hug-from-the-inside bowl (my description - and no, I was not paid to say that)

*A part of the oat is called the Endosperm, which makes me giggle.

*Americans throw down 346 million bowls oatmeal/year - I estimate 100 million of those are consumed by the oat-obsessed bloggers in this room alone - and if you took all the tubes of Quaker sold in a year and unwrapped them, they would stretch around world TWICE.

*80% of US households have oatmeal in their cabinets at any given time

*Steel cut oatmeal is THE SAME THING as quick or instant oats! So get of yer high horses, steel cut devotees. They all have the same exact nutritional value: Instant or quick oats are just smushed steel cut oats.

More soon...In the meantime, Quaker wants to know if their oatmeal has worked for you - weight loss, cholesterol lowering, healthy snacking, boosting whole grain intake, saving money, making your kids happy. Leave a comment below, either telling me that OR what your favorite way to enjoy oatmeal is, and I'll land you a nationwide commercial pass the info along PLUS three randomly chosen commenters will get hooked up by me via Quaker, with details to come...

Comments

Leslie:

You are simply the coolest. I had such a great time with you and the other bloggers at the Quaker OatmealPalooza fest this weekend.

I love your sense of humor and even more, your mission in helping women to feel good and get fit! You rock.

By the way, I did not raise my hand in response to your previous post...

Oatmeal definitely works for me, I try to eat it for breakfast at least once a week (or more, if I'm on a health kick). I usually have it with brown sugar, a bit of milk, and some kind of either dried fruit or sliced fresh fruit - either dried cranberries or cherries, or fresh strawberries, banana, blueberries or raspberries.

Oatmeal is my weightloss miracle brekkie - it fills me up and keeps me going until lunch. I love love love it. I usually add some protein powder and a little flax seed and it's perfect. Plus it's heaven to have a warm brekkie in the middle of winter!

(Can I just say I wish I could have made it this weekend)

I love oatmeal (and actually had oatmeal for work yesterday - all the tweets I was receiving were about oatmeal). If I eat it for breakfast with a little applesauce & some raisins stirred in, I am full all morning. I love experimenting with different combos (yesterday I had peanut butter & jelly & bananas with my oatmeal I cooked in vanilla soy milk).

I have been eating oatmeal everyday for breakfast over the last 6 years and it has helped me maintain a 40lb weight loss that I had puton during highschool. I usually mix in a tablespoon of sugar free, dry vanilla chai mix, cinnamon and top with sliced almonds, golden raisins and blueberries. With a side of greek yogurt I have found it to be one of the best recovery meals after any high cardio or weight lifting morning workout. So jealous you get the good stuff this weekend from the oatmeal industry insiders :)!

Oatmeal used to make me gag (sorry), but when my first son was little I started trying to eat it, and now I love it. I eat oatmeal, usually with apples and almond butter, just about every morning. YUM!

I always wondered what the deal was with steel cut oats. Glad to know there's no real difference (except in price). And I think I'm one of the 3 people in the world who really HATE steel cut oats. Or maybe it was just the brand I tried.

And my husband makes the best oat-based cookies EVER.

i am ridiculously jealous of all of you bloggers there in chicago this weekend. i'm counting on a "biggest-fan-of-the-big-o-who-doesn't-happen-to-have-a-blog" weekend real soon.

i, too, am an experimenter. i'm on a pumpkin kick right now (pumpkin, butternut squash, whatev) and put that in there with a little soy milk, cinnamon, apple butter and almond butter. mmm. last month is was bananas. and on my more decadent days i can be seen crumbling the mother-in-law's zucchini bread all up in there.

Oatmeal has got me and my husband eating breakfast again. That is a BIG deal in our household!

I make Jenna's overnight oats almost every day now (she was one of the bloggers at that conference.) I used to go through mass quantities of health food store muesli but now I make my own! I mix the oats in the morning with plain fat free yogurt, flax or almonds, banana or blueberries or cranberries, and two spoonfuls of blueberry kefir. My husband asks me every night, "have you rolled your oats?" before bed (I realize his question doesn't make sense, but he thinks he's being clever.)

Here's my real question: why should I buy Quaker instead of the Publix brand or bulk oats (both of which are significantly cheaper per unit price?) Did you learn anything at this conference to sway me?

I want oatmeal! :-)

I've eaten oatmeal nearly every morning for going on 5 years now. Yes, I realize this makes me the most boring breakfast eater ever but I love it. And yeah, they're steel cut:)

Sounds like you guys all had a blast together!!

Love the mental picture of the oatmeal buffet..what I wouldn't give to wake up to that on a cold winter morning :) I share your oatmeal enthusiasm having eaten it for breakfast (sometimes, lunch, dinner, and dessert - but not all in the same day haha) for as long as I can remember.

I have tried it with jellies, butters, fresh and dried fruit, yogurt, trail mix, pb, etc. which are all fantastic but my current fav is a drizzle of maple syrup, dash of cinnamon and splash of almond milk. yum! Oh yeah I did chocolate syrup and m&ms once which did not turn out as successful but it was worth a try :)

My boyfriend (now fiance) turned me on to Oatmeal when we started living together... He's known to be cheap (I love him anyway haha), so it totally fits in his budget, and the whole grain part is good too. :o) My fav is oatmeal mixed with with banana, peanut butter, and brown sugar.

Leslie, you CRACK ME UP! It was so great to finally meet you in person.

and I think you might be have a cameo in our video. Check it out on Tuesday ;)

Do you think Quaker might make gluten-free oatmeal someday?

Sounds like you all had a great time!

Tomorrow I'm going to Kinko's and having business cards printed up that say, "Director of Breakfast". Plus I'm adding it to my resume.

My favorite way to enjoy oatmeal? Oh that's easy: www.backtothefridge.com/blog/oatmeal

THANK YOU for the steel-cut expose! You don't know how happy you've made me. I always wondered...
Anyhow, my favorite way to enjoy oatmeal is with a spoonful of pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Scratch that, my favorite way to enjoy oatmeal is by watching my youngest son hoover it in, because that child eats nothing else that is good for him willingly. And now I know he might as well be eating STEEL CUT FREAKING OATS. Ha!

sad that I was so taking a PAYING ATTENTION BREAK to leave you comment DURING the presentations and it didnt take :)

I know, People. I got to hang with leslie in person.

funfunfun.

(may I say I got a snippet of video of you, oh WG? Im posting it on tuesday!)

Me at 8: "Mommy, this instant oatmeal reminds me of throw up. Please don't make me eat it. If you leave it in front of me I will pick and eat the little apple pieces out of it. The rest goes to the dog."
Me at 28: (talking to my oatmeal) " I love you, I love you, I love you. You are the most delicious breakfast and snack of all time. Let me swirl you with bananas and peanut butter. No wait, let me cover you in apples and walnuts. Perhaps bathe you in blueberries and almonds? Anything for you, oatmeal. Anything"

Next to chocolate, oatmeal is my favourite food. Like the other posters I've tried a variety of combinations but for breakfast one of my favourites is "Banana Bread Oatmeal." All you do is mash up half a banana, add some cinnamon and other banana bread spices and stir it into the oatmeal.

However, for me, a great diet trick has been using oatmeal as a dessert. I can't eat wheat, so when I get a cookie craving, I'll often make "Snowball Oatmeal"
Just add about half a spoonful of cocoa powder, a little mashed banana for sweetness, and coconut to taste!
It's not quite healthy, but it's sure better than two giant brownies!

Oatmeal or oatbran is my breakfast of choice, too. Mix in some banana, walnuts, flax, and cinnamon, and you have a delicious, warm bowl of high cholesterol warfare--a combo I need, what with an appetite that won't quit and with being genetically programmed for cholesterol problems.

I don't always use Quaker oats, but my cholesterol has dropped something like 25 points (almost to the normal range...yeah!) in the last year, and I credit my breakfast regimen. I always ate healthy food for breakfast, but this oatmeal combo is the best.

Hmmm...do Quaker Oatmeal Squares count? The box says they do!

I can't do oatmeal. I just don't like it. My mother never made it for me as a child so I don't associate it with warm creamy home cooked goodness.

I have really enjoyed reading all the many blogs about Quaker weekend. Sounds like a lot of fun!

I don't usually comment on blogs, but with a little Quaker motivation, how can I resist? I've lost about 46 pounds since April and I've eaten oatmeal almost every morning. I am very non-traditional in how I eat mine though - I love it uncooked to add bulk and extra nutrition to yogurt (or when I'm feeling naughty - sf ff chocolate pudding). It's so good that way and really sticks with me.

I don't normally eat oatmeal as oatmeal because I tend to be terribly picky about breakfast. I have a protein fruit shake for breakfast.

But I sometimes make oatmeal pancakes to bring in to work as snacks and that works very well.

Sounds like such a great time!

Since moving out I've been counting my pennies:) Oatmeal is the best staple ever. And the perfect healthy snack or meal- fills you up enough to be a good substitute for dinner if needs be. I eat it pretty much constantly, usually mixed with a mashed banana and cinnamon. So tasty and simple.

That's kind of funny about the steel cut oats... I just eat quick oats. They taste great to me! Although it would be nice to try some different kinds of oatmeal.

yes, we do a lot of oatmeal around here every day.

No, I don't eat steel cut oats. Just old fashioned and back in the day of cookie making, I would add 2 cups to all of my recipes. They would come out perfect everytime. I'm sure they've thought of this, but, isn't there some high protein kinds of oats coming out?

I haven't been a great oatmeal fan except that I make a mean Oatmeal Roll (actually a Boone Tavern, KY recipe) that friends and family think are to die for.

My sister introduced me to Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal a couple year's ago, and whenever I've been able to I've bought a package. It's hard to find. But worth it!!! Don't like additives, though, other than butter and salt. I don't make it often, though, because I'm afraid I'll run out of it. And so it gets so old I'm afraid to use it.

I think I'll go make some right now!!

I love oatmeal! I keep a conatiner in my desk at work and make it every morning. I have a shaker of cinnamon in my desk as a back-up topping, but usually I raid the office kitchen in search of new toppings on a daily basis! Favs so far: banana crunch trail mix and vanilla coffee creamer!

I love Oatmeal!!! Unfortunately it wasnt until recently that I finally swayed myself away from the bagged kind and kicked it up adult style to the giant Costco bags. It was time to make it more healthy and mix in my own toppings. Favorite still remains cinnamon and some splenda. Although just plain old salt works wonders too!

I love it with pears, apples and walnuts - with a splash of vanilla extract! :)

Yay Quaker Oats!!

I love, love, love oatmeal! I eat it for breakfast every day and haven't gotten sick of it yet. I like the sugar free variety and multi-packs featuring several different flavors. My fav is banana nut bread. It is so easy for me to just pour in some hot water via the water cooler at work and voila! Perfect breakfast!

what has oatmeal helped me accomplish? How about staying full a rediculously long time, like weirdly long. Some days I have class at 8am and don't get my lunch at work till 2, and oatmeal keeps me full the whole freakin time...strange substance! But delish :D

You, MizF, Skinny and unlimited oatmeal. This is just like a dream I had the other night. Oh wait...that had Daniel Craig in it.

Well drat it all, I had a whole confessional of my undying love of oatmeal all written here, and then my computer ate it.

Suffice it to say, it was a very moving personal portrait of one woman's morning (and even sometimes afternoon) ritual involving her fuzzy robe, her favorite blue and green Japanese bowl, a jumbo container of Quaker Oats, and a kitchen full of possibilities: berries, nuts, pumpkin, milk, applesauce, figs, cocoa powder, honey, freeze-dried fruit, almond butter, peaches, cinnamon, pumpkin spice. . . Truly, it was a beautiful story, now lost forever in the cold abyss of cyberspace.

I shall simply have to go home and have a bowl of cherry chocolate oatmeal (frozen dark sweet cherries, milk, cocoa baking powder, and a little honey) to console myself.

I am eating oatmeal as I read this... and it's hugging me from the inside out as I type, which is fabulous, because it's freezing out. Oatmeal really is perfect, for any meal and any time of year.

I'm so jealous of all you guys and your weekend! I can't wait for the Oatmeal festival in Lafeyette, CO in January here in my home state!

I eat oatmeal every morning, and if for some crazy reason I can't have it for breakfast, i eat it with dinner, I'm obsessed. I usually eat it with a banana, cinnamon, flax, and a drop of stevia. So delicious!

I love mine with a spoonful of peanut butter. And I mean LOVE it.