Oats

What about doing an online order and having it delivered if you can't get to a big store easily? Doing a search on the Tesco website, they have 62 results listed under 'oats' (although many are not relevant).

However, they do have:
- Tesco Porridge Oats (rolled oatflakes)
- Quaker Oats (rolled oats)
- Scotts Porage Oats (rolled oats)
- Quaker Jumbo Rolled Oats
- Flahavan's Irish Porridge Oats (wholegrain rolled oats)

It's still going to depend upon what is kept in the warehouse that delivers to her area. The Tesco she's talkng about in Newcastle is HUGE and she should be able to find what she wants there... but I doubt that's where the delivery warehouse is for where she lives. Still, it is worth a try, Jewlz!

BTW, I loved that Tesco! It was the only place I could find frozen blueberries when I lived there back in 2003, though now I think many places carry them.

Sainsburys has their own rolled oats found in the granola section and those were good for cooking. I am nearly positive I used to see McCann's Irish oats at Sainsbury's as well in the section near the gluten free and specialty foods but I don't see McCann's listed on their website. I am pretty sure Julian Graves sells some form of rolled oat too.

I used to use pureed prunes as a fat free sub and it is especially good in chocolate things. It does make the end product slightly darker. You can take prunes and soak them for a while in liquid until they get soft enough to blend and it works great.

It's still going to depend upon what is kept in the warehouse that delivers to her area. The Tesco she's talkng about in Newcastle is HUGE and she should be able to find what she wants there... but I doubt that's where the delivery warehouse is for where she lives. Still, it is worth a try, Jewlz!

BTW, I loved that Tesco! It was the only place I could find frozen blueberries when I lived there back in 2003, though now I think many places carry them.

Oh, thanks! I might give it a try! Well, DH suggested we get some clothes for DSS this weekend, so maybe I can convince him to do our weekly grocery shop there so we can get both done! (Unless you think Asda might have something? It's a smaller store close to us, though...)
I could look into the online thing, though.

Does anyone have a low-fat healthy baking recipe they would like to share with me? 

Jewlz, if you get really desperate, try goodnessdirect.co.uk. They have black beans, too.

Jewlz, if you get really desperate, try goodnessdirect.co.uk. They have black beans, too.

Oh I ADORE Goodness Direct! We do all our bulk food shopping with them, as unlike Costco, they sell really great organic basics, and not just branded junk food (yeah yeah I know Costco do fresh produce, too!). Off the top of my head, we get bulk oats, museli, dried fruits and nuts, Rocks organic cordial, shampoo/conditioner, eco washing up liquid, cases of Nakd bars, oat meal (oat flour), bran cereal, rice, soya, and brown lentils.

We keep everything in huge tupperware containers in the hold, and decant into glass jars in the kitchen. So when the jars are empty, we only have to fill up from the big containers rather than go out to the store and end up buying ten extra things that looked pretty.

Oh I ADORE Goodness Direct! We do all our bulk food shopping with them, as unlike Costco, they sell really great organic basics, and not just branded junk food (yeah yeah I know Costco do fresh produce, too!). Off the top of my head, we get bulk oats, museli, dried fruits and nuts, Rocks organic cordial, shampoo/conditioner, eco washing up liquid, cases of Nakd bars, oat meal (oat flour), bran cereal, rice, soya, and brown lentils.

We keep everything in huge tupperware containers in the hold, and decant into glass jars in the kitchen. So when the jars are empty, we only have to fill up from the big containers rather than go out to the store and end up buying ten extra things that looked pretty.

Wow.... you are super organised!  I will look into this... that sounds like my pantry's dream come true!

I saw the Scot's Porage Oats and some others at ASDA (some that were called rolled oats.. in a giant bag) but is this what I am looking for? I kept thinking it might be more ReadyBrek type mushy porridge. Would you cook these in a slow cooker or should I use steel cut oats for that? Why is it so hard to be healthy? I'm so confused... lol.

Wow.... you are super organised!  I will look into this... that sounds like my pantry's dream come true!

I saw the Scot's Porage Oats and some others at ASDA (some that were called rolled oats.. in a giant bag) but is this what I am looking for? I kept thinking it might be more ReadyBrek type mushy porridge. Would you cook these in a slow cooker or should I use steel cut oats for that? Why is it so hard to be healthy? I'm so confused... lol.

Ready Brek isnt porridge... only oats are porridge.  So for your oatmeal cookies or whatever, you want to buy rolled oats.

I have no idea what steel cut oats are.

Scott's Porage Oats (the slow-cook kind in the box with the red sides) should be the best for a crock pot.  To echo Q-G's comment, definitely not Ready Brek or any other kind of wimpy oat for the crock pot.  Steel cut oats are very good for the crock pot, but they seem hard to find.

Scott's Porage Oats (the slow-cook kind in the box with the red sides) should be the best for a crock pot.  To echo Q-G's comment, definitely not Ready Brek or any other kind of wimpy oat for the crock pot.  Steel cut oats are very good for the crock pot, but they seem hard to find.

Ready Brek isnt porridge... only oats are porridge.  So for your oatmeal cookies or whatever, you want to buy rolled oats.

I have no idea what steel cut oats are.

Ahoy! Thanks, maties! I think I am finally starting to understand the errors of my ways. 

Maybe this will help:

Porridge oats (= US quick oats)
Jumbo oats (= US old-fashioned oats)
Both of these are rolled oats, just different thicknesses. The thinner porridge oats are generally better for cookies, while the thicker jumbo oats make nicer breakfast oatmeal and would hold up better in the crock pot.

Pinhead oats (= US steel-cut oats)
These are chopped up rather than rolled. They take a long time to cook, so are good for the crock pot, and come out with a great nubbly chewy texture.

It looks like Ready Brek is the instant sort of stuff, so the oats are probably rolled quite thin, and it has oat flour as well. I wouldn't use that for cookies, and definitely not for the crock pot.

To add to the confusion, "oatmeal" in the UK is more like coarse oat flour. Like, well, cornmeal! The only thing I've ever used it for is parkin.

 

We keep everything in huge tupperware containers in the hold, and decant into glass jars in the kitchen. So when the jars are empty, we only have to fill up from the big containers rather than go out to the store and end up buying ten extra things that looked pretty.

I love that you have a hold!!

On your other question, have you tried using yoghurt for a substitute item?  I used it as a substitute in place of applesauce and find it sometimes works even better. 

I also made some pumpkin bran muffins the other day using a bag of mixed oats, bran and fibre I found at Tesco Extra.  I got the pumpkin from Waitrose, and it worked like an applesauce substitute.  It was pretty good.  http://www.low-carb-recipes.co.uk/Low-fat/Fat-Free-Pumpkin-Bran-Muffins.html

I only ever used the supermarket porridge oats for making cookies, etc.  And they seemed fine.
This last trip I did find largish jars of applesauce in WholeFoods (well, the Fresh and Wild branch in Camden) -- think it was their 365 brand.  Also found individual tubs of it (4 to a pack) in the health food store in Kentish Town.  That came in some interesting flavour variations.
I was annoyed that I couldn't find puffed wheat anywhere.  I'm sure Sainsbury's used to sell it.  And why doesn't WholeFoods sell any Kashi products?  I am addicted to their TLC bars, particularly the trail mix one.

Elynor, you are a goddess!!! 

Cadenza, thanks for the recipe... sounds good! I've not seen any pumpkin around here and there isn't a Waitrose nearby, but I bet I could sub mashed banana for the pumpkin, wouldn't you think? I will try the yoghurt... I assume you would just use plain, non-fat or reduced fat for this? (the regular, unstrained kind?)

Thanks for answering all my questions... you guys rock! 

Elynor, you are a goddess!!! 

Cadenza, thanks for the recipe... sounds good! I've not seen any pumpkin around here and there isn't a Waitrose nearby, but I bet I could sub mashed banana for the pumpkin, wouldn't you think? I will try the yoghurt... I assume you would just use plain, non-fat or reduced fat for this? (the regular, unstrained kind?)

You can use mashed butternut squash as a substitute for pumpkin.