Up a little later today, as I’m saving exercise for the afternoon with Girls on the Run. I started the day with a shower, a bummed out suit of workout clothes, and a decadent bowl of oatmeal with my Duke University spoon:
Today’s batch was full of sweet flavor:
- 1/3 cup oats/milk/water plus a splash more for raisins
- 1/2 medium banana
- Salt + vanilla bean paste
- Wheatberries
- Raisins
- 2 fresh figs (pretty good, but the skins were kinda gross and grassy)
- Flax
- Sliced almonds
- 2 walnut halves, crumbled
- AB
Plus low-acid coffee and milk. Can you see a trend here? Kath says she’s not going to have coffee. The fall weather makes her crave the roasted flavor. She has some. She slowly gets dependent again. Let’s hope the smaller portions are keeping the headache dependency away.
Many of you ask me how to cook and store wheatberries. It’s really quite simple:
To Cook:
Put as many wheatberries as you like in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until they are chewy to your liking. Drain.
It’s really just all to taste. Your only goal is to make them edible. Since there are no water absorption issues, the measurements don’t matter!
To Store:
Put in tupperware, cook and use within 7-10 days or so.
Off to Organic, then test studying, then lunch, then studying, then GOTR, Micro, bed!
Ooop – forgot dinner in there somewhere! And fold laundry that just beeped at me.
Happy Humpday!
haya says
i think you’re supposed to peel figs…they’re much better like that anyway.
ha! that spoon kinda looks like someone’s fist giving the finger from far.
Katie says
I think you got a mealy batch of figs. Just so you know. that’s what it sounds like, at least. 🙂
Oh, and I TOTALLY hate coffee in the summer but it was about 50 out this morning (freezing) and coffee was better than ever! lol
Meghan says
Kath, about a year ago I wrote a paper on coffee addiction. I believe the final conclusion was that if you drink less than 8 ounces a day, you won’t be dependent.
madison (follow my weigh) says
hey kath, how much of the vanilla bean paste do you put in your oatmeal? just a tsp or so i’m guessing?
shawna says
Thanks for the wheatberries info. Do you not need to soak them beforehand at all? If not, I’m going to prepare a small batch today. I’m so happy I found them at Whole Foods!
VeggieGirl says
My mom would LOVE that spoon (she collects the fancy ones like that, haha 🙂 ).
Mmm, lovin’ the wheatberry-mix breakfast!
Good luck with your busy Wednesday!
Christie i. says
Lovely bowl of oats.
I love wheatberries!
Biz319 says
I am going to try the wheatberries in my oatmeal today – hope I like it!
happy wednesday all!
Nicole says
Ha, love the title!
Rose says
Love that cute little spoon!
Heather says
Do you soak your wheatberries overnight? I’ve read sites that recommend soaking and some that don’t…
Have a great day 🙂
Megan says
LOVE the spoon! I am the same way with coffee. It’s warmth and roasted flavors are a part of Fall for me!
I bought that vanilla bean paste and I love it!
Betsy in Pittsburgh says
This is what Martha Stewart says:
Wheatberries — whole, unprocessed wheat kernels — should be soaked overnight to facilitate cooking the next day. They contain oils that turn rancid quickly. Be sure to refrigerate them in an airtight container.
I’ve never done it, but that’s what she says!
Kath says
Meghan ,
Good to know!! I only have about 4-6 oz, so hopefully I’m good.
madison ,
Only about a 1/2 tsp – tsp.
Re. Wheatberries,
NO SOAKING!!!!!!! I updated the “A Wheatberry Lesson” page with this info too.
Kath
Shelby says
Thanks for the tips on wheatberries. I’ll make sure to look for them next time I’m at the store!
Melissa (the other one) says
MMM – thanks for the reminder about wheatberries. At first when I saw them on your blog I made them all the time, but haven’t for 2 months or so. Need to pull them out again as they are DE-LISH!
Jo says
oooh I love figs! I have an obsession with them at the moment! They have them on sale in all the supermarkets at the moment so I’m taking advantage of that. They are so good in porridge (as you had) but a great recipe for lunch/supper is to stuff them with goats cheese, wrap in parma ham and bake – serve with sald and a sweet chutney or something. Delish! Recently for pudding i have also been baking figs, bramley apples, plums, raisins together with cinnamon, honey and a bit of water and having that with greek yoghurt – really good and very warming!!! (its freezing in the UK).
Biz says
UPDATE: LOVED the wheatberries. I tried one by itself and didn’t really like it, but mixed in my strawberry banana oatmeal – heaven!
Charlie Hills says
Okay, I’ve got to figure out what these wheatberry things are.
magpie says
Wow, that is really flavorful oatmeal. I still have to jump on the wheatberry boat 🙂
bobbi says
going to have my hubby pick some of these berries up today!
Twinks says
why don’t you use decaf if it’s the flavor you crave? you can get swiss water which doesn’t use all the nasty chemicals…
runjess says
So do wheatberries actually go bad if you cook them and don’t eat them within 7-10 days?
noella says
I know you’ve prob writtenit a million times…but the name of the vanilla paste please?Thanks mucho!!
BethT says
You can also get half-caf coffee if you want to avoid the caffeine effects.
Annie says
Kath, you are so creative with your blog titles! 🙂
tfh says
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who seems to have been under the impression that wheatberries require soaking. I’d avoided them for just that reason! Now I have no excuses.
TracyJ says
How many calories are in wheatberries?
the husband says
Twinks,
I know some people will argue this to the death, but decaf coffee just doesn’t taste good, unless you buy the super expensive stuff.
As it was explained to me, the extra steps required to process decaf coffee costs quite a bit. And yet, when you see it in the store, it’s always the same price as the comparable regular version. How can this be? Well, they just start with much lower quality beans than the regular. So the resolution is: if you really want the taste of coffee but without caffeine, you need to be spending twice as much to buy it because that’s the only way you’ll get quality.
Too bad, cause that would be a great solution!
Stephanie says
I drink a caffeine-free herbal coffee called “Teeccino”. It tastes just like coffee but with no caf and and is made with herbs, grains, fruits and nuts. It comes in quite a few flavors, vanilla, hazelnut, mocha mint… They have it at whole foods.
Stephanie says
here’s an example of the ingredients in the hazelnut flavor…Ingredients: organic roasted carob, organic roasted barley, chicory root, organic dates, almonds, organic chicory, organic figs, natural hazelnut flavor.
Kath says
runjess ,
I wouldn’t know – they never have on me.
TracyJ ,
Read the “A Wheatberry Lesson” on the sidebar.
K
Bee says
Kath – how do your teeth stay white when you are a regular coffee drinker? If I so much as look at coffee my smile gets dark : (
– Bee
adrianna says
go on w/ the coffee girl! a cup a day is sooo worth it…or in my case 3 😉 nothin hits the spot better in the fall.
just started reading your blog this past week and really enjoy it. lots of similarities in our eating patterns and work-outs. keep up the good work, and good luck on tests!
Kath says
Bee ,
Genetics? I dunno. I do brush them a lot.
adrianna ,
Welcome!!
Kath
C. says
Stephanie, I drink Teeccino no-caf as well!! I love coffee for the flavor, but unfortunately the bitterness kills my tummy. 🙁 I always get the mocha flavor because I like the added carob deliciousness – so good! …and good for you. 😉