Oatcakes

[sparkles]

I am interested to know, if anyone can tell me… How oats compare to other grains and flours in terms of low carb diet.

I read the following a year or two back and being from Yorkshire its been on my list of things to research:
The oatcake (said Walker in 1814, in his Costumes of Yorkshire) ...
… is almost exclusively made in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and constitutes the principal food of the labouring classes in that district. It is a very thin cake, composed of oatmeal and water only, and by no means unpalatable, particularly while it is new. The mixture is made of a proper consistence in a large bowl, and measured out for each cake by a ladle. As the price of an oat cake is invariably one penny, the size of the ladle of course depends on the rate of meal in the market. The process of making these cakes will readily be understood by referring to the Plate. Some dry meal is sifted upon a flat board, and a ladle-full of the mixture poured over it. The cake is formed and brought to a proper size and thickness by a horizontal movement of the board, as here represented. It is then laid upon what is termed the Backstone, or hot hearth, to bake, which does not require many seconds of time, and afterwards placed upon a cloth to cool. An inverted chair, as seen in the plate, frequently serves this purpose. The cakes are then hung upon a frame, called a ‘Bread Creel’, suspended from the ceiling of almost every cottage in the district. The people in the neighbourhood of Huddersfield are fond of what they term ‘Browiss’ which is oat cake sopped in broth or gravy.
I’ve searched the net a bit today and know now that oatcakes like these (not to be confused with the little Scottish dry biscuit kind) have survived in Staffordshire as have some speciality shops there which still sell them -with all kinds of fillings. This type of oatcake is more like a soft fluffy pancake and can be savoury or sweet. Raising agents are used today but in the past the oat mix was allowed to sour instead.

I cant have oats yet but as soon as I can I want to experiment with them making home made oatcakes both hard and soft kinds and by adding seeds etc. I’ve found some recipes if anyone else is interested. Being oat based I think they should be low carb
…BUT AM I RIGHT?
SPARKLES

 

[wiflib]

The only way to know if you can eat oats without them affecting your blood sugar is to test.
I can't eat them because it switches on a carb craving that's a reall b*gger to fight.

wiflib

 

[sparkles]

Thats real bad news!!!! I've already kind of decided Im porbably giving up bread (which I love) for life and vastly reducing on rice and spuds... If I cant even make oat cakes.... eeeee too much.

well I do have porridge sometimes and havent suffered so perhaps Ill be ok. will need to see later ...when i can try oats again.
sparkles.

 

[viviennem]

Oatcakes used to be a staple up here in the Dales, too, 'cos up until the 20th century when hardier varieties of wheat were developed, we could only grow oats, rye and barley.

Ours were made in a similar way to the Staffordshire ones (which are a bit like wraps; can't say I like them much) but I think the Dales ones were baked until dry. They used to lay them out on racks like those clothes airers which pull up to the ceiling over the fire.

I'll see if I can find a recipe.

I use scottish oatcakes (mostly Nairns) as a snack, just one or two at a time with butter or cheese. They have about 5 carbs per biscuit and don't do much to my bg levels.

I've also found I can eat Tesco wholemeal multigrain, just a couple of slices occasionally, without affecting my bg, though obviously not on Atkins Induction. You might find that you can eat this type of bread occasionally, once your levels are down and well-controlled. The problem is, whether you can resist it once it's there! I keep mine in the freezer and take out a couple of slices at the time.

I too love bread, in all its varieties. But I've found that now, I really don't crave it any more. As wiflib says, it's the craving that's the problem - 'cos if you give in to it, you'll eat the whole loaf :shock: And then beat yourself up over it :lol: just like I do

Viv 8)

PS where in Yorkshire? I'm Leeds, originally.

 

[sparkles]

I am not quite craving ....but I am missing something solid .. like crackers, biscuits, bread etc.
I checked all the crackers in the supermarket yesterday trying to find something very very very low carb. The best was cheese ryvita thins at about 4 gm carbs per biscuit. Not good enough if I have to stay as low as 20gm carbs a day. (and even when I can have more carbs.. I would like something like a cracker but 0 to 1 gm carb each so I can have a few with my homemade hummous and not use up too much carb allowance.

Anyway.. to cut a long story short.... I am wondering about things like millet, quinoa, couscous... How do these grains stand in terms of low carbs? and would they be suitable for experimenting with to make something flat as a base for spreads etc. perhaps with an egg to bind it? I will look them all up on wikipaedia eventually.. but anyone tried anything like this before? and what are the carbs like in each?

SPARKLES

 

[sparkles]

Oh, Viv Im also from leeds originally.. but North yorkshire now. And here in N yorks today the weather is beautiful. So I'm out to weed my flower patch. This diet must be doing me good. The depression which had dogged me for a couple of months has lifted and I'm actually taking an interest in things again. Not before time!
Sparkles :roll:

 

[noblehead]

There's a dart player called Phil 'the power' Taylor who originates from Stoke, I was watching a documentary on him when he took the crew to a shop in Stoke which sold Oatcakes with bacon & cheese, he swore they were the best in the country, next time I am heading north I'll stop off in Stoke and try one! :wink:

Nigel

 

[anniep]

I don'teat the starchy carbs but do sometimes want smeo 'texture' or crunch to a meal. I am wheat intolerant so I tried rice cakes but they raised the BG. I then found in Holland a Barratt a corn cracker, it has 2.9gm carb per cracker, they may not be the craved crusty bread but do give me some of the 'chewing' that I sometimes miss with my lunch.

 

[pms543]

Which one was that Annie?

I have seen and think, tried ones from Sainsburys - but forgot name...was like 99p

 

[pms543]

Just remembered....Cornthins

 

[anniep]

Sadly I don't have a sainsburys near me :cry: these are called Kallo and I get them from Holland and barrat

 

[sparkles]

Beautiful day…. Weedings going well but stopping for a breather…

Nigel (Noblehead) I was reading about the patcakes they still make in the potteries area online. Apparently there are still some speciality oatcake shops there and some of them you can place an online order and they’ll post them. They do look good. I imagine them to look and tast a bit like a pancake but I understand there’s variety in that some are finished under the grill, some are baked etc.. and I think this affects texture. I don’t know what it’d cost to have them sent.

Anniep you hit the nail on the head for me… this is what I miss …something with a bit of substance, that doesn’t crunch like a crisp vegetable but is chewy and satisfying.. The Kallo corn cracker is good at just under 3 gms of carbs per cracker- less than a Nairns oatcake…that’s good! … I havent tried them…(yet) but I’m sure we can push this limit down to below one gram of carbohydrate. I’m going to keep searching and experimenting utill I do because I’d like to eat a few at a time. (when Im allowed.)
How many carbs do corn thins have per cracker PMS543? I saw somewhere someone resorting to topings on ‘cucumber slice crackers’ - ten out of ten for invention but somehow, in my book not a patch on bread and crackers! The hunt goes on…..
SPARKLES.

 

[sparkles]

sorry should read oatcakes not patcakes. SPARKLES

 

[noblehead]

Just be careful if you google 'Stoke Oatcakes' as my anti virus software has picked up one or two threats.

Nigel

 

[pms543]

I believe they are more widely available than sainsburys Annie, as seen them in Tesco and in somewhere else...can't think

OO just looked online for the carb content ...YIKES 8.5 per serving = 2 slices


The H&B corn ones sound good tho xx

 

[anniep]

They are about the size and shape of a cream cracker, and as I said add the missing texture to a meal, I do eat cheese on quorn slices but sometimes you just need to crunch.........

 

[sparkles]

Hi..
After my last post all this talk of crackerss made me hungry... and they say neccesity is the mother of invention.... So, remebering I had two parsnips that needed using up quick. I cut them into circles which were about 2 millimeters thick and deep fried them. When done I dried them on kitchen towel and have stored them in an airtight box. I had several with a quick sour cream dip i made. They kept their shape well so I think can use them for spread snacks over the next day or two. Can anyone tell me the carb count in a large parsnip? I''ll have to try some other root vegies... beetroot, celeriac, swede, big vegie crackers!!!! well not quite crackers but certainly had more chew factor than Ive had all week! and should take spreads well... cream cheese, blue cheese dip, mayo, garlic butter, marmite.... at last! hope the carbs will be kosher...
Sparkles

 

[wiflib]

Try flax crackers. The recipe is here. It's a staple for a lot of us low-carbers, even for those like me, who don't like the taste of flax.
Flax is high in carbs but in fibrous form so it doesn't get digested. Good if constipated, but remember, wanting to 'go' and not being able to is true constipation. Not going as regularly as you used to is not.

wiflib

 

[sparkles]

Thanks.. will look them up..
I just checked the usda website for parsnips and celariac. Celariac has much more fiber in it than carbs. So this might be one for me to try. its big too perhaps I could even make a sandwich! Dream on....
How would sesme compare to flax I wonder.. I love the taste of seseme seeds.
Sparkles.

 

[sparkles]

I couldnt find a flax cracker recipe when I searched this website but found several variations on line. I'll put a standard one into the recipe section in case anyone else ends up looking for one.
THanks. ...now to buy some flax.
Sparkles.