Well, it's day 2 of my oatmeal challenge, and day 2 of having no voice. Yes, I can hear people rejoicing...Curt doesn't have to listen to me whine, my mom doesn't have me calling 6 times/day, Jethro can get away with about anything. Honestly, it stinks. Kind of frustrating because if people ask me questions, I can't respond, if I have a question I can't just ask...etc. I have learned my lesson, I'm ready to have my voice back please!
So today I promised you 10 Ways to Use Oats. After much brainstorming, I can't say I have like ten SOLID ways, so I'll just kind of present MY 10 ways- a few of them being edible things haha. My goal was to find ten different ways, only 1 being eating them, but....as with my voice, things don't always go as planned, right?
10 Ways to Use Oats
1. Cook them up into oatmeal & enjoy for breakfast- throw in fruit to make it tastier & add nutrition, or perhaps toss in a handful of chocolate chips- or butterscotch! mmm.
2. Use in cookies! Honestly probably one of my favorite uses- yes I do enjoy eating oatmeal for breakfast...but I loooove me some cookies! Oatmeal raisin, oatmeal chocolate chip (even better), No-bake cookies (look for a recipe soon....like tomorrow's post!)
3. Use to make granola or granola bars. Some people even just toast oats with/without some spices & put them on yogurt or applesauce to add a little nutrition & fiber.
4. Use oats as a binding agent when making meatloaf, burgers, or meatballs!
5. Use to make other breakfasts, such as pancakes & muffins!
(insert random comment- yes, I realize I have a habit of adding in too many !!! and ... 's)
6. Use oats to absorb odors. Example 1- place a small open container of oats in your fridge & it will help soak up any odors floating around. Example 2- some people are known to put some oats on the bottom of their ashtrays, as oats are supposed to help neutralize the smell of smoke. Not a smoker myself, I can not vouch for this, but knowing that oats can neutralize odors, I suppose it's worth a shot!
7. Use oats as an art project for kids- such as the recipe I found here for oatmeal clay- mix up a playdough like substance, let it dry overnight, and your kids will wake up to a fun figure of their creation. Or as they suggested, make oatmeal clay beads & create a necklace- roll into balls, pierce a hole through with a toothpick, & allow to dry. Now to find some kids to do fun projects with...
8. Use oats to make a face mask! It's debatable whether some claims that oatmeal can help reduce acne are truth or rumor, but oatmeal can help soothe skin, so def worth a shot! Do a quick google search to find a recipe for oatmeal face mask, but a quick recipe I found was -grind up 2 tbsp oats, add in 1 tsp baking soda, add small water to create a paste, spread on skin, let soak for 10 mins, rinse with cool water. Baking soda I know can help get rid of dead skin, so it has to be somewhat good, right?!?
9. Oatmeal can help reduce itch from rash, allergies, insect bites, etc. Creating a paste & covering insect bites with it can help reduce the itch, but I know when it comes to using for eczema/more severe cases, it is most beneficial in "colloidal" form (oats are ground into fine powder & added to water/liquid). Aveeno makes many great products (body wash, bubble bath/soak, shampoo) with colloidal oatmeal, & I do recommend it to patients. Although I must say it can be pricey, there are getting to be better generic alternatives.
10. Use oats to make a dry shampoo! (sorry for the extra !, but this I am legit excited about!) I'll admit, I found the idea for this one here, but it's great. haven't tried it, but I will have to & report back to you. It would be easy enough to make in advance, and it does make sense it would work.
Sooooo that's it folks! 10 ways to use oats. When I did a little search on oats a couple days ago, I found a study that researchers in Europe I believe did a test on the longevity of oats & they found some taste-testers found oatmeal that was 28 years old to still be edible. Guess it didn't taste quite perfectly "oat-y", but I'm thinking if you find a container of oats in the back of your pantry & you're my age....you're safe to bake some cookies with it. Just sayin'
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