Again proving my theory that every cuisine's version of "bread with meat in it" is awesome.

That sounds like a good theory. I think I will test it as often as possible.

Dana,

Wheatberries (and kamut) don't need an overnight presoak, but if you do, you can reduce the time spent boiling them. What has worked for us is to use a slow cooker for wheatberries overnight. Otherwise the 1:4 ratio means we are boiling FOREVER.

In terms of overnight steel cut oatmeal, I boil it in a pain then turn it off and let it sit overnight to absorb the rest of the water. I also do a 1:4 ratio of grain to liquid on these. In the AM, I will turn the flame under it for like 3 minutes to heat and drop in frozen fruit.

I don't have a slow cooker. (Which sounds kind of like heresy with the whole oatmeal discussion.)

I guess I will put them in to soak tonight. Thanks, Kat.

I'm dubious on meat+potatoes in bread. Potatoes+ bread is just too much for me. The ethiopian somoasas (I have no idea the spelling) I got last week were awesome in their spices, but potato+bread. Ngheh.

Need to ask the vendor if they'll just bake me the bread. Nomnomnom.

Dana, then I'd do a presoak. If you do 1:4 grains to water as your presoak, then don't change the water. Just boil it in that. The grains will soak up a (very) little before the boil.

Grace means we experiment with grains more. Kamut is my fave so far.

I made cake pops, successfully for once, but without the lolli sticks. [link]

I need to find a place to buy wheatberries.

shrift: [link] we usually get this one, though it would be cheaper to buy a 25 lb from Amazon. Some of the Whole Foods have it too.

I'm just going to say that, barring specific health issues, sugar is not evil.

Too much of anything is not good, and concentrated sources make it easier to get "too much". Sugar is a concentrated carb. Added to an already high carb dish like oatmeal, it probably is too much for someone like me already fighting obesity.

Oatmeal is "high carb" in much the same way broccoli is "high carb." Neither one is protein, fat, or alcohol, so they are indeed carbohydrate. And yet you never hear broccoli called "high carb." because it -- like oatmeal -- is full of fiber.

Oatmeal is not a starchy carb like bread and the almighty white tater. There's a reason that doctors recommend it to heart patients and diabetic patients.

So yes, it is "high carb" by dint of being a food that grows in the earth. But the term "high carb" is what's slapped on starchy, sugary, zero-fiber carbs, and it's disingenous to lump oatmeal in with a Moon Pie.

I'm not telling anyone else what to do, though I wonder who exactly something that unbalanced is healthy for.

Oatmeal with dried fruit and maple syrup? Healthy for more people than not. I'd even say most people.

Mind you, every meal does not have to be pure health food. But when oatmeal with dried fruit and maple syrup is described as "healthy" I do wonder a bit.

I don't mean to be contentious, and I'm not on Quaker's payroll, but this is NOT UNHEALTHY. Sure, with a gallon of syrup, it would cause a sugar high heard round the world. But who does that? I doubt most people -- or McDonald's kitchens -- put more than a tablespoon or 2 of maple syrup on their oatmeal. A teaspoon (or even a tablespoon) of syrup? Not unhealthy.

Now, if you personally have that sensitive of an insulin window -- and many diabetics do -- then it's up to you and your doctor to decide if maple syrup, even in a small amount, is okay for you yourself to consume. But to wonder if it's healthy for anyone? That's off the mark.

My issue with oatmeal is that even though I feel full after eating it, I will be hungry in about an hour. I need more protein with my breakfast.

I don't have any problem with McDonald's having oatmeal, though I'm sure it's more expensive than what oatmeal at home costs. I also don't have a problem with Starbucks and Jamba Juice also price gouging their consumers. I'd not get oatmeal at a fastfood place because that's not the sort of thing I crave and oatmeal is so simple to make.