Raw Oat Groats

[CrazyDelicious]

I got some raw oat groats from our local health store yesterday!!! YAY!
They could only get the cooked ones for the past year and finally sourced some raw ones. I used to use oat groats for grinding into flour, but I am thinking of soaking/sprouting for use in raw granola. So my question is do they actually sprout? And how is the taste? I would love to have something oat-y tasting, and oats are very good for milk production as I am breastfeeding and my little guy is growing like a weed so I need all the help I can get.

thx!

[Basenjimamma]

What a great topic..I just got some the other day too, but don't know what to do with them..I am eagerly waiting for the more experienced to answer..

[Baby Bird]

If they are truly raw, they will sprout. Just soak, drain, and rinse as for other grains. Watch for the little tail. I like my tails just budding on most all sprouts. I feel like they taste fresher and better at that early stage of growth. They taste nice in homemade grawnola.

[CrazyDelicious]

If they are truly raw, they will sprout. Just soak, drain, and rinse as for other grains. Watch for the little tail. I like my tails just budding on most all sprouts. I feel like they taste fresher and better at that early stage of growth. They taste nice in homemade grawnola.

Thanks!
I actually have never sprouted grains before. It always seemed like too much work when I could just sprout buckwheat in 1 day. But now I think I will try! Just a question - how long does it take? I already have buckwheat and almonds soaking for the rawnola - so I think I might be too late to add it to this batch!

:)

[Baby Bird]

Yeah, buckwheat grows pretty quick. And I don't often sprout grains myself, since I don't digest them all that well. But depending on your groats (age and storage history) and the temperature of your kitchen, maybe a day or two? That's why I recommend watching for the tail. That's the surest indicator of flavor for me. I can't even stand buckwheat that's been growing too long. And sunflowers, I just "potentiate" them--soak for 4-6 hours. Otherwise, ick! until they get to be greens, and then yum! again.

[CrazyDelicious]

I am the same - as soon as I see the very beginnings of a tail, that's the time for me to eat them! Thats why I like buckwheat - they sprout so quick... I don't usually plan my meals 5 days in advance. Even buckwheat is more of a special occasion thing - though I do make rawnola. I tried sprouting beans a few times too, but I just don't like the taste at all and I find they don't digest well. Hopefully the oats work out though!

xx

[DebB]

I posted my FAVORITE granola recipe here (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=58480&highlight=ruby%27s+granola), post #4. Mmmm - it's so yummy!

The recipe calls for rolled oats, but I use whole oat groats that I soak for 4-5 days in the fridge, changing the water daily. (I've tried, but cannot get this to sprout.) Then I dehydrate them and have them on hand to make granola. *Ü*

[Raisingplenty]

Have you ever considered buying an oat flaker? I make oats(rolled oats) all the time with oat groats using my flaker. Wonderful!
Crystal

[CrazyDelicious]

DebB - It was your recipe that got me excited about rawnola again!!! :D I wonder if sprouting for 1-2 days would work for the oats.... hmmm Maybe I could soak them then grind them in the food processor and it would dryy into oat clusters - mmmm

[CrazyDelicious]

Raisingplenty - I forgot that they existed! A member that used to come here when I was on a few years ago had one and I remember wanting one then. I will have to look into it! Thanks!

[Baby Bird]

DebB, in order to get them to sprout, drain them after soaking overnight, then leave them in a darkish area outside your fridge. I drape a tea towl over the sprouting jar which I leave upside down in the dish drain. If they are too cold, they won't grow very quickly, and might rot before they sprout properly. Rinse 2-3 times a day, this keeps them growing fresh and healthy.

Also, most whole "raw" oat groats are heat treated to stabilize the fats in them. This gives them a longer shelf life. If after proper soaking and draining they still won't sprout, then they aren't "really raw". Maybe it matters to you, maybe not. Just FYI.

Gold mine foods (mostly a macrobiotic company, I think) sells 1 lb packages of sproutable oat groats. I can get them at the local co-op in the macrobiotic section, and Whole Foods might have them now too. A pound costs around $5, if I remember correctly. You can also get them at gold mine's own website. I verified with the company before purchasing and have successfully sprouted this brand myself.

[DebB]

DebB, in order to get them to sprout, drain them after soaking overnight, then leave them in a darkish area outside your fridge. I drape a tea towl over the sprouting jar which I leave upside down in the dish drain. If they are too cold, they won't grow very quickly, and might rot before they sprout properly. Rinse 2-3 times a day, this keeps them growing fresh and healthy.

Also, most whole "raw" oat groats are heat treated to stabilize the fats in them. This gives them a longer shelf life. If after proper soaking and draining they still won't sprout, then they aren't "really raw". Maybe it matters to you, maybe not. Just FYI.

Gold mine foods (mostly a macrobiotic company, I think) sells 1 lb packages of sproutable oat groats. I can get them at the local co-op in the macrobiotic section, and Whole Foods might have them now too. A pound costs around $5, if I remember correctly. You can also get them at gold mine's own website. I verified with the company before purchasing and have successfully sprouted this brand myself.

Thank you Baby Bird - that was really kind of you to post back how you sprout! Yeah, I've tried - so I'm assuming they're not really raw... But - I would like to find some truly raw oats because I'd like to try to grow oat grass with my wheat grass, so I thank you for pointing me a couple different ways! *Ü*

Back to add - I just went to Azure Standard's site where I ordered them and you are 100% correct. This is what the description says - note the very last sentence:

Organically grown. These are whole oats with only the outer husk removed. Oat groats may be cooked whole or ground into flour. Oatmeal is made by steaming and then rolling these whole groats. Stabilized, not for sprouting.

(The price is $4.25 for 5#)

[Baby Bird]

Happy to share, DebB. I got totally obsessed by oat groats about a year ago, so I'm glad someone else can profit from my experiments, too. I never could justify the purchase of the oat flaker, though. *Sigh* Maybe when my pockets are a little more flush it'd be a nice toy to try!

The gold mine oats are more expensive than what is readily available at the bulk bins in my area, but they seemed to go a long way, and I think they were at least half the price of what the Raw Bakery was selling at the time. Also, I found the Raw bakery's oat groats had a lot of the outer husks still in with the oats. The husks did not get soft when soaked, and felt sort of sharp and twig-like in my mouth.

[DebB]

Well, so far the only thing I use the oat groats for is granola. It smells very oat-y when they're dehydrating too ~ reminds of the smell of oatmeal cookin'.

But - I'll definitely need some truly raw sproutable oats if I do grow it for grass. Mary Kay pointed me towards wheatgrasskits.com over on the wheatgrass thread. I don't know if you'd be interested in those or not - but might be worth a peek to compare prices. I've ordered from them before for my WG supplies and they're a good company to do business with, no complaints here! *Ü*

[Lunar*Fey]

You could soak, sprout, then blend them up in a food processor to make an oatmeal. Add dried fruit, banana, cinnamon, whatever you like in oatmeal. They are nice savory instead of sweet as well.
Or you could make some sort of banana bread cookie by blending them with ripe bananas and a couple dates and adding raisins (and maybe cinnamon) forming into cookie shapes and dehydrating for a bit.
Another thing you can do is eat them sort of like you might eat rice. Soak, sprout, and once reading, add sea vegetables and chopped baby bella mushrooms. :)

enjoy