Herbal Oatbran

Most people i know hear the word "oatbran" and already start throwing up in their brains a little bit. Images of those dry, nasty muffins (usually with raisins, wtf is up wit oatbran and raisins?) are conjured up and people automatically go into 'no thanks' mode.

A couple of weeks ago, my Weightwatchers leader challenged us all to go out and try something we've either never had before, or something we've always thought we hated. The point was to broaden your food horizons by trying something new, or seeing if your tastebuds have changed, and incorporating healthier foods we always said 'yuck' to before. I picked oatbran because i was looking for couscous (which always sounded nasty to me), and it was out of stock. Oatbran was sitting there next to the empty couscous place, TVP (textured vegetable protein) and steelcut oats on the natural foods aisle. In the end, oatbran won out because it was lower in points and much faster to cook. If this was going to be an experiment, i didn't want to waste a lot of time making it in case i hated it.

So i took it home, cooked it according to the directions, and tried it. It was a hot cereal with the consistency of a coarser version of Cream of Wheat with absolutely no flavour at all. I can deal with no flavour. 'No flavour' means it's just sitting there waiting to have some added! So of course, the first thing i did was add fruit. Not bad, but still something missing. I added a teaspoon of margarine and some splenda. It was better, but still kinda bland. I didn't scratch it from the list of possibilities, but i stopped thinking about it for the time being.

The next morning i got up and i was making myself a cup of tea when inspiration hit! And here's the recipe i came up with:

Herbal Oatbran

Place 1 1/4 c water in a small sauce pan along with 1-2 bags of your favourite herbal tea. Heat to boiling. Remove teabags and add 1/3 c oatbran. Boil to desired consistency and remove from heat. Add 1/2 c of your favourite fruit and splenda to taste.

Here are some tea/fruit combinations i've tried:

1 bag Bengal Spice tea (Celestial Seasonings) and one mashed up banana

2 bags decaf Vanilla Chai (Bigelow) and 1/2 c apple sauce

2 bags Country Peach Passion (CS) and one sliced peach or nectarine or mango

2 bags Very Cherry Berry (CS) and 1/2 c quartered and pitted cherries

2 bags Raspberry Zinger (CS) and 1/2 c strawberries

2 bags Mango Chamomile (Bigelow) and 1/2 a mango

2 bags Madagascar Vanilla Red (CS) and 5 dried figs, chopped up

1 bag Constant Comment (B) and 1 mashed banana or handful of raisins.

2 bags Mango Passionfruit (Stash) and 1/2 a mango or 1/2 cup diced peaches/nectarines/apricots.

2 bags Sweet Coconut Chai (CS) and a few slivered almonds with 5 dried figs or dates, chopped up.

The possibilities are absolutely endless! The tea adds no points, and the fruit adds 0-2, depending on the fruit you choose. Dare ya to try it ;)