Power Porridge

New "hybrid" oats, with a better protein profile — and no powders

Longtime readers know I have a thing for oatmeal. And with temps taking a bit of a plunge over the past few weeks where I live, there’s been nothing that sounds more delicious in the morning.

Typically, I make a batch of creamy steel-cut oats, pack it up, put it in the fridge, and then reheat it over the course of the following few days for breakfast. Each bowl becomes an opportunity to be creative and resourceful with my toppings — sometimes it’s just a little fruit, yogurt, and a drizzle of maple syrup, but more often than not I often skew savory.

This is how I’ll use up leftovers like roasted vegetables, lingering leafy greens that are quick to wilt, that odd scallion or few sprigs of herbs, various seedy toppings and condiments in my pantry, and a boiled or fried egg. It’s a delicious, fortifying breakfast.

A few years ago, I tried to get into “proats,” which if you’re unfamiliar, is just a mashup of the words protein and oats. These usually involve stirring protein powder into your oatmeal, and I can’t say that I ever really enjoyed it. The gluey texture, stevia-forward sweetness, and lingering chalkiness — I’m not opposed to protein powders (I drink one most days after I go to the gym), but in my oats, they really dulled the pleasure. And the most disappointing part was how limiting it was, really only suitable for sweet toppings.

Still, I’ve always been curious about giving my oatmeal a protein boost. This is easy to do with the toppings (through nuts, seeds, or seedy sprinkles; an egg or big plop of Greek yogurt; a spoonful of nut butter). But building it into the oats themselves, ensuring that they taste good, and can go in a savory direction… that’s been less easy. But then I recently had an a-ha moment.