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What are Oat Groats? How are they different than traditional Rolled Oats or Instant Oats? What is the best recipe to cook oat groats?

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Gerbs oat groats are incredibly flavorful & nutritious

Oat groats, traditional rolled oats and instant quick cooking oats are essential ingredients to make piping hot bowls of oatmeal, their high fiber and protein content are slowly digested and as a result, you will find yourself eating less throughout the day. Oat groats, or raw hulled Oat grains are delicious and make a healthful addition to your diet. Like other whole grains, they help fight Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Commonly called whole oats, oat groats, are the untreated, natural, hulled oats with the outermost inedible chaff, or hull, removed. Steel cut oats, are whole oat groats that have been sliced in half, nutritionally they are the same, the only difference is the cooking time is slightly less. They offer superior nutrition because the endosperm, the germ, and the bran are all preserved. They contain loads of fiber plus protein, antioxidants, minerals, various B vitamins, plus the heart healthy polysaccharide fats.

Nutritional Information for 1/4 Cup – Gerbs Oat Groats

 

Minerals

Calcium – 16.20 mg (1 % DV)

Iron – 2.00 mg (11 % DV)

Potassium – 144.00 mg (3 % DV)

Sodium – 0.00 mg (0 % DV)

Proteins & Amino acids

Protein – 5.00 g (10 % DV)

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate – 34.00 g (12 % DV)

Fiber – 5.00 g (18 % DV)

Sugars  0.00 g

Net carbs – 29 g

Fats and Fatty Acids

Fat – 2.502 g (3 % DV)

Saturated fatty acids – 0.500 g  (2 % DV)

Fatty acids (total trans) – 0.000 g

Sterols

Cholesterol – 0.00 mg     0 %

So, what is the difference between whole oat groats, traditional rolled oats and Instant oats?

If you think about it in regards of processing time at the farm, as we move from left to right, marginal amounts of fiber content and nutritional benefits are lost as the whole oat groat, is steamed, smashed/pressed (Gerbs Traditional Rolled Oats) and ultimately cut or smashed into smaller pieces yielding the Gerbs quick cooking oat grain. Conversely the cooking time will dramatically decrease from the whole Oat groat to the instant quick cooking oats, but the ‘nutty’ flavor, texture and consistency will also change. Outside of how much time you have in a given morning, the best way to determine which of these three you like the most is to order some below, set aside an hour or so, make batches of each this weekend, and do a family blind taste test (how fun right!) You never know what will be your favorite, and do not let cooking time dictate your preference.

Gerbs Oat Groats

Key Features of Oat Groats:

  • Oat groats contribute beneficial minerals — including iron and phosphorus — to your diet. Both iron and phosphorus make up components of compounds essential to good health. Phosphorus is incorporated into your DNA, bone mineral tissue and ATP — a source of energy — while iron is incorporated into hemoglobin and myoglobin, two proteins you need to transport and store oxygen. Each serving of oat groats contains 204 milligrams of phosphorus, or 29 percent of your recommended daily intake.
  • Oat groats also offer antioxidant benefits due to their zinc and copper content. Both minerals protect your tissues from free radicals, which would otherwise damage your DNA, contributing to genetic mutations and disease. Zinc also plays a role in immune function, while copper supports nervous system health. Each serving of oat groats offers 244 micrograms of copper — 27 percent of the recommended daily intake, according to the Institute of Medicine.
  • Oat groats take much longer to cook than rolled or steel-cut oats — up to an hour — so they’re best suited to leisurely breakfasts rather than a quick meal before you jump into your daily grind. Try them topped with fresh berries, sliced banana and pecans. Alternatively, use cooked oat groats in grain salads. Combine the groats with dried cranberries, chopped dried figs and an orange-and-mint dressing, or mix them with toasted walnuts, chopped kale, slices of roasted carrots and parsnips.
  • Each serving — a 1/4 cup raw, or approximately 1 cup cooked — contains 152 calories and provides 8 percent of the daily calorie intake in a 2,000-calorie diet. The groats provide 6 grams of protein per serving, which helps maintain healthy tissue and a strong immune system. A serving of groats also contains 26 grams of carbohydrates, including 4.1 grams of dietary fiber. These carbs fuel your active lifestyle and provide energy needed for brain function.

Gerbs Traditional Rolled Oats (Oatmeal)

Gerbs Traditional Oats are among the healthiest grains on earth. They’re a gluten-free whole grain and a great source of important vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Studies show that oats and oatmeal have many health benefits. These include weight loss, lower blood sugar levels and a reduced risk of heart disease.

Contains Fiber
Oats contain dietary fiber. Although it’s indigestible by your body, fiber helps to regulate digestion and prevent constipation. It may also help control your blood sugar and promote a feeling of fullness after eating, allowing you to cut calories with less hunger. Soluble fiber found in oats is particularly helpful for lowering bad cholesterol levels.

Lower Cholesterol
Oats may lower the risk of heart disease by reducing both total and LDL cholesterol and protecting LDL cholesterol from oxidation.

Lower Blood Sugar
Due to the soluble fiber beta-glucan, oats may improve insulin sensitivity and help lower blood sugar levels.

Lose Weight
Oatmeal may help you lose weight by making you feel more full. It does this by slowing down the emptying of the stomach and increasing production of the satiety hormone PYY.

Gerbs Instant Quick Cooking Oats (Oatmeal)

Features of Gerbs Instant Oats

  • Starting your day with a bowl of instant oatmeal boosts your intake of B-complex vitamins. Each cooked cup provides half of your recommended daily intake for vitamin B-6, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, nutrients that help your body metabolize the carbohydrates, protein and fat in food. It also gives you half of your daily requirement of vitamin A, an antioxidant that benefits your vision and helps strengthen your immune system. It also contains 30 percent of the folate you need daily.
  • The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get 55 micrograms of selenium per day. Selenium is a mineral that may benefit your immune system, heart and thyroid, according to the National Institutes of Health. A cup of cooked instant oatmeal provides 12 micrograms of selenium, giving you one-fifth of the selenium you need each day. Selenium acts as an antioxidant, scavenging free radicals that damage cells, so an adequate intake may help prevent premature aging and chronic diseases.
  • Instant Oats are also rich in calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, which are crucial for the health of your bones, nerve function and muscle development. A cup of instant oatmeal contains 20 to 30 percent of each of those minerals. It provides men with 13 percent of the zinc and more than 100 percent of the iron they need daily, and it gives women 18 percent of the zinc and 80 percent of the iron they need each day. Zinc is an antioxidant that may shorten the duration of colds and viral infection.

Gerbs Whole Oat Groat Porridge Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups water

1 cup Gerbs Oat Groats

dash powdered sea salt

Stove Top Directions

Bring water and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the oat groats, cover, and reduce temperature to a gentle simmer for 40 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until soft and water is absorbed.

If desired, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Excellent Topping Ideas

Storing, Reheating, And Freezing

Since making groat has a longer preparation time compared to standard oatmeal, we like to make super large batches on Sunday’s to refrigerate in individual lock n’ stack containers to have on hand for and entire week of breakfasts. Properly stored Groats in airtight containers will last up to a week+.

To reheat, add a tablespoon or so of oat milk or water and in the microwave for a minute, stir midway thru, until heat for another 1 minute until desired temperature.

Gerbs Oat Groats may also be frozen in the same single size serve containers. Just take them out and thaw overnight in the fridge and then re-heat using the steps detailed above.

Uncooked groats have a shelf life of 18 months to 2 years in the pantry. Store in the packaging or transfer to a storage container.

Jaime’s Christmas Morning Cinnamon Buns

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Gerbs Ultimate Top 14 Food Allergy Free Cinnamon Bun Recipe

Kid Friendly Cinnamon Bun Recipe

Santa and Rudolf are fast asleep in bed after another successful Christmas Eve mission and before kid’s come galloping downstairs into the living room like Paul Revere being chased by the ghost of Christmas past! What do you say about setting this morning up for success? Mommy & Daddy Style!

Set Christmas Morning Up for Success (freshly brewed coffee, mimosas, bowls of dried fruits & seeds, and Gerbs Oatmeal)

Brew up a large pot of dark roast Italian coffee, chill the Champagne (Mimosas optional, lol) pour some freshly squeezed orange & grapefruit juice into large decanters. Grab your largest dark oat cutting board and begin assembling a world famous breakfast charcutier board, filled with bowls of delicious Gerbs dried fruits, protein packed Gerbs raw seeds, Gerbs original granola, Gerbs mini dark chocolate chips and a large bowl of piping hot Gerbs oatmeal.

But everyone’s still waiting patiently for the rockstar of this breakfast, warm ooey gooey cinnamon buns, free from the top 14 food allergies.  Ohhhh, people will come Ray, people will most definitely come, they’ll come to Iowa looking for Cinnamon Buns! The smell of these baking rolls will ensconce everyone’s bedrooms and fill their lungs with a most welcoming holiday aroma, even the grumpiest of family guests will stop in their tracks and run (ok maybe not run) into the kitchen and patiently wait for the frosting to be slathered on while warm.

Admit it, you can smell these?

This recipe can easily be made using Gerbs ingredients and can be made with a dairy-free butter alternative. Substitutes can be made based upon your family’s food allergy concerns and should not dramatically alter the flavor profile. If you want to add a crunchy topping and you have a tree nut allergy and cannot use pecans, we strongly recommend using Gerbs roasted sunflower seed kernels. These cinnamon buns can also be safely wrapped up in a Christmas tin and shared with friends and loved ones, with a kind note denoting their special allergy messaging.

A bread machine can be used to aid with the rising of the dough, but if you like, this recipe can be created with a standard mixer with a dough hook. You will need a nice warm spot for the dough to rise, as well as a bit of patience.

Dough Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups Oat Milk (sub. Sunflower or rice milk) heated to 110°F
  • 1/3 cup melted dairy-free butter substitute
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups Gerbs All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast

Cinnamon Filling Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup melted dairy-free butter substitute
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp. natural maple syrup
  • Dash of nutmeg (optional)

For the icing:

  • 4 tablespoons dairy-free butter substitute
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 teaspoons blood orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 2 1/2 to 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Step by Step Recipe # 1: Prepare the Dough (Stand Mixer)

  • Start by proofing the yeast in the mixing bowl that comes with your stand mixer.
  • Warm up the water (or milk substitute) to 110°F, add the sugar, and stir to dissolve.
  • Then add the yeast, and do not stir. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
  • Now add in the remaining liquid ingredients (starting with the melted dairy-free butter alternative), and slowly add the remaining dry ingredients.
  • The stand mixer with dough hook will need to run for about 5 minutes to work the dough well.
  • Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Pre-warm and lightly grease a large bowl. Once the dough has rested, place it into the prepared bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place it somewhere warm to allow to rise for at least 2 hours. When finished resting and rising, the dough should be very soft, loose, and easy to work with. A warm kitchen is needed for the dough to rise properly! If your dough is still too elastic to work with and hasn’t risen, try this:

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and place a loaf or cake pan in the bottom of the oven. Place the container of dough on the middle rack and pour 3 cups of boiling water into the pan on the bottom rack. Close the oven door and allow the dough to rise as instructed.

Step 2: Make a Cinnamon Spread Pizza

You simply cannot add too much Cinnamon & Sugar (ok maybe you can)

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup and nutmeg in a medium bowl and stir well. Melt the dairy-free butter alternative in separate bowl, stand by with a pastry brush.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle shape with a floured rolling pin to be roughly 20″ x 12″. Spread the melted dairy-free butter over the surface of the dough with your brush, apply liberally this step is essential. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture heavily across the dough, press sugar firmly into the melted butter with your hands. Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the longer side. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into rolls the size 2-3” thick.

Lightly grease a large baking sheet and place parchment paper on it. Place the rolls onto the pan, leaving a gap between each to allow room for expansion as they bake. Gently press down on the lower sections of the rolls to give each roll a somewhat angled shape (like a hill, so they won’t be totally flat). Brush the tops lightly with some of the remaining melted dairy-free butter alternative.

Roll tight, cut into thick wedges and press down outside edges to form a hill!

Step 3: Bake

Bake at 350°F for 21 to 25 minutes. Poke the inner layers gently with a fork to test that they are done and not doughy inside, but also keep an eye that they aren’t burning on the bottoms either. The parchment paper helps with that.

These are best served warm!

Step 4: Make the Icing

While the rolls are baking, combine all icing ingredients and mix with a hand mixer on medium-low at first. Once the sugar has been incorporated, increase the speed to high and whip the icing until it gets smooth and airy. Spread the icing on the rolls immediately after they come out of the oven. Devour and enjoy!

Gerbs Allergy Friendly Dark Chocolate Chip Pancakes & Pumpkin Chocolate Spread

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Kid Friendly, Kid Tested, Kid Approved Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients, use a whisky to incorporate everything evenly.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter onto a non-pan, top with a sprinkle of Gerbs Dark Chocolate Mini Chips. Cook on medium heat until golden brown.

Use an extra-large spatula, flip each pancake with a quick and smooth motion, cook until second side is golden brown. Remove from pan and serve immediately with toppings of choice. We have added more Dark Chocolate Chips, Roasted Sunflower Seeds, or for a little more texture, crunch up some Gerbs Sweet Banana Chips.

Gerbs Homemade Chocolate Pumpkin Spread

We strongly recommend making a few extra plain pancakes, put them in the refrigerator overnight to make a delicious chocolate pumpkin butter spread, for a unique dessert or mid-day ‘pick me up’.

Add 1 cup Gerbs Dark Chocolate chips, microwave safe bowl with a little dairy free milk until creamy for 1 minute, pause and mix with a spatula. Once all the chips are melted, stir in either Gerbs Lightly Salted Pumpkin Butter or Gerbs Sweet Pumpkin Butter, to make an allergy free Gerbs Chocolate Pumpkin-tella spread.