Eating Disorder Support Forum banner
  • Important - Please Read This website may include conversations, media, and content around topics relating to eating disorders, trauma, addiction, and mental health. Please be aware that this content may be upsetting, difficult, or triggering for some. EDSF is intended as a place of safety. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, Feast-ED.org is a resource that lists the organizations set up to help.

How to make oatmeal look like more without adding tons of calories?

9.9K views 76 replies 47 participants last post by  not_my_body  
#1 ·
I usually use 40g of oatmeal (~150kcal) with 150ml water and a tsp of cinnamon. But I worry my mom will mention that it looks like too little food. I've tried adding apples but they're expensive so we don't always have them, and they do add a bit too many calories in my opinion.
I've thought about adding more water, but I worry that it will get too runny. Could I maybe add baking powder? Would that make it "grow" like it does with cake?
Do you have any other tips?
 
#2 ·
something i really liked was adding in egg whites, cooking them into the oatmeal. it gives volume & adds significant protein for not a lot of calories. you could also add more liquid, and make oats overnight, letting them sit to absorb (can be water or like milk/nondairy milk) and puff up, adds a lot of volume
 
#5 ·
I always add any kind of fruits (mostly banana)
 
#9 ·
Twice the water, twice the time cooked, I forget what it’s called, like growing oatmeal. I do it every time and add raw pumpkin. Use real oatmeal, not those instant packets. Steel cut or thick cut oats. Has a better nutritional profile anyway. You have to cook it on the stove unless you do overnight oats
 
#10 ·
I always use a shit ton of water (sometimes carbonated, it really makes the oats puff up) and cook it extra long
 
#11 ·
I use sugar free Maple syrup and add berries. I also don't make it with water, I find it's rather gross that way. I make it with unsweetened cashew milk but the trick is to soak the oats in the milk for 3 hours at least in the fridge. It makes it ultra creamy and tastes soooo much better.
 
#12 ·
Twice the water, twice the time cooked, I forget what it's called, like growing oatmeal. I do it every time and add raw pumpkin. Use real oatmeal, not those instant packets. Steel cut or thick cut oats. Has a better nutritional profile anyway. You have to cook it on the stove unless you do overnight oats
I second this! I do this all the time and it really increases the volume of the oats :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
It could still look disordered but egg whites and shredded zucchini add a lot of bulk w/o raising cals too much. One of my fav combos is zuchinni, cocoa powder, sweetener, egg white, and a few raisins. Looks HUGE and very filling, plus vitamins and protein :)
A dollop of low cal yogurt and some lower cal. Fruits could also help it look more complete.
 
#14 ·
something i really liked was adding in egg whites, cooking them into the oatmeal. it gives volume & adds significant protein for not a lot of calories. you could also add more liquid, and make oats overnight, letting them sit to absorb (can be water or like milk/nondairy milk) and puff up, adds a lot of volume
It could still look disordered but egg whites and shredded zucchini add a lot of bulk w/o raising cals too much. One of my fav combos is zuchinni, cocoa powder, sweetener, egg white, and a few raisins. Looks HUGE and very filling, plus vitamins and protein :)
A dollop of low cal yogurt and some lower cal. Fruits could also help it look more complete.
I am interested. How does it taste with adding the egg whites? I've never even considered that before.
 
  • Like
Reactions: gabriellexoxo
#16 ·
I do oatbran (1/3 cup) and 2 cups of water. First I add oat bran and 1 cup of water. Heat til it starts to boil. Stir and add more water. Let sit. Add more water until eventually I have 2 cups and heat. Add cinnamon and sweetner.
 
#17 ·
I do oatbran (1/3 cup) and 2 cups of water. First I add oat bran and 1 cup of water. Heat til it starts to boil. Stir and add more water. Let sit. Add more water until eventually I have 2 cups and heat. Add cinnamon and sweetner.
Ohh I think it was you who introduced me to oatbran last year. It's definitely really good and I find it's more filling than oats but I guess that's not surprising since it's 'bran'.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dancinggirl
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
Voluminous Oatmeal Trick. It's amazing! And CCK is one of my fave thinspos. Good luck! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2009/07/03/kozyshack-oatmeal-pudding/
I already do this! It's what I was meaning in my post and it works. But I don't microwave the oats before putting it in the fridge. I mix the milk and oats and then put in the fridge. 3+ hours later I get it out, mix it, and then microwave it. Easy.

I do 55g (about 1/3rd or half a cup) of oats and by the time I've let it soak the milk, its made like 2 cups worth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CocoaPebbles
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
I already do this! It's what I was meaning in my post and it works. But I don't microwave the oats before putting it in the fridge. I mix the milk and oats and then put in the fridge. 3+ hours later I get it out, mix it, and then microwave it. Easy.

I do 55g (about 1/3rd or half a cup) of oats and by the time I've let it soak the milk, its made like 2 cups worth.
Did NOT know you could mix first and microwave after! Must try. Thank you luv!
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Did NOT know you could mix first and microwave after! Must try. Thank you luv!
No worries :) it makes them taste so much better too. Much more creamy. I'd never go back to doing it the old way where you mix and microwave then eat right away. No way. That way now tastes quite gross to me. It's amazing what a few hours of it soaking before microwaving can do.

Ps- I'm not sure how it would work with water instead of milk. But I use unsweetened cashew milk and it's a great combination.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CocoaPebbles
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
courgette
That's Zucchini in Australia...? You add that to oats?

Sorry I don't mean that to sound rude, it's just a combination I haven't heard of.
 
#26 ·
not sure if someone already mentioned this (too exhausted to read all the replies):

shredded zucchini as oats known as "zoats"

if you core and peel them, it has neutral texture and adds bulk with barely any calories.

Also I'm a huge fan of winter squash like pumpkin or butternut. I'll add some of that to my oats to get more flavor.

if you add more water, you can also add some yogurt at the end to make it thicker. I sometimes do overnight oats with yogurt and a bit of water, milk, or chai/spice tea.

Otherwise, if you can buy it yourself, you can get xanthan gum and sprinkle it into the oatmeal to thicken it up for barely any calories. You only need like 1/8 tsp for 1 cup of liquid, which only adds 1-2 calories.