Horrified by oatmeal

[Iris]

I made Kashi instant oatmeal this morning like I usually do. After I finished, I went to a meeting. When I got back, mold was already beginning to form on the remnants in my oatmeal dish. I'm horrified and wondering if anyone has any idea what happened.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Reminds me of Quaker Instant Oatmeal. When I added water,

reconstituted larva started to be animated. I like protein in my diet, but not like that.

[Iris]

2. wtf? You're kidding!

Did it happen just one time?

[hedgehog]

5. Most people aren't really aware that grains are grown outdoors in the

dirt where all kinds of bugs crawl. (People know this, but they really don't think about it!) Grains and raw grain products come with a certain number of bug eggs. In the right conditions, these bugs hatch out. Relax, and tell yourself this proves the pesticide level is low enough to be safe!

[uppityperson]

11. happened to me with instant mac/cheese yrs back.

still can't stand the stuff. It was gross

[Quantess]

29. Quaker Instant Oatmeal is more processed than regular oatmeal.

How in the world would larva stay intact through all the processing?
I think the larvae got into your oatmeal sometime after it was packaged.

[tavalon]

3. Really long meeting?

[mike_c]

4. that's pretty fast....

I'm assuming you made it with boiling or very hot water. If that's the case, you have little to be concerned about in terms of your own exposure.

Presumably, air borne mold spores settled on the cooling oatmeal and began to reproduce. Unless your meeting was several hours long, what you've described is pretty fast growth, but not outrageously so. Yeast grows in bread dough that quickly, i.e. the dough rises in an hour or so. The main impediment to that happening more often is probably the relative sparcity of fast growing mold strains in indoor, filtered atmosphere. Sounds like you won the lottery.

[Iris]

9. ok. That sounds reasonable. It was probably a 2 hour span

[kestrel91316]

6. Sorry. Mold doesn't grow that fast. And yes, I spent an entire semester

in college in charge of a mycology laboratory, so I know a thing or two about mold.

I have no idea what you saw, but mold takes a few days to grow. When we culture dermatophytes ("ringworm") from cats' skin, there is often a little bit of fuzz after about 48 hours, and that's fast as far as these things go.

No need to be horrified, anyway. Mold spores are part of dust and dirt and are found everywhere in our environment. They are a main reason why refrigerators are such a nice thing to have.

[mike_c]

14. some do....

Yeasts for example.

on edit: Of course, yeasts are single celled, not hyphal.

[kestrel91316]

16. Exactly. And oatmeal isn't going to get visibly yeasty/fermenty in half a day.

It WILL dry out and get gummy. Ask me how I know, lol.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

7. Welcome to the George W. Bush FDA

Regulation and inspection of our food? Eat shit and die. W.

[TNDemo]

8. I am horrified by oatmeal because it is so gross.

I really, really want to like the stuff because it is the perfect frugal healthy food but it literally makes me gag, no matter what is in it. I used to give it to my kids and it would turn into concrete if left in the bowl. Maybe it is just the solidifying thing you saw and not mold maybe??

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Try Scottish oatmeal. Different texture and wonderful taste.

[thegoodbyegirl]

20. First of all, try old-fashioned oats

They are not going to be as mushy. Also, make sure you don't just use water, which will render your cereal as not very rich-tasting. Half mylk, half water (and 2:1 ratio of oats to liquid).

[teachthemwell15]

24. I'll have to try the milk/water..

...with the old-fasioned oats oatmeal next time.

Have to admit I love oatmeal..I load about five teaspoons of brown sugar (dark) and raisins. A one portion of it enables me to skip lunch though that's not ideal, I guess.

[Quantess]

28. You're not skipping lunch if you're eating a serving of oatmeal.

[tularetom]

10. Oatmeal, gak! When I was a kid my parents used to buy it by the truckload

and kept it in these big canisters. We used to find weevils and eggs n the canisters. Didn't bother them though. They kept dishing it up hot or cold every morning. My mom thought we actually ate the stuff until the dog puked up a big pile of it undigested on the kitchen floor one morning. Turns out all three of us had been feeding it to him.

[katmondoo]

13. I hated oatmeal as a kid

My Mom forced me to eat it by having me sit in the highchair (yes I remember that)until I ate it. I was stubborn and refused no matter what. To this day I gag when seeing it or smelling it. Yuck

[silverweb]

15. I love oatmeal.

...cooked my way, with: half an apple (diced up), a small handful of raisins, vanilla, cinnamon, and honey.

Mmmmmm.... :)

[Iris]

17. I love oatmeal, too. I like it best when cooked at home.

This experience may make me wary of the instant kind for a while.

[silverweb]

18. I haven't used instant in years.

Try using a microwaveable bowl and raw oatmeal (or the 3-minute kind). It's fast, easy, and soooo much better.

[a la izquierda]

25. Wow, that sounds delicious.

Have to try tomorrow.

I love oatmeal, but man alive, it can really turn into bathroom spackle in a jiffy.

[thegoodbyegirl]

19. That doesn't sound right...Mold wouldn't grow that quickly...

Perhaps something looked similar to mold but wasn't actually it.

[Mamacrat]

21. Semi-off-topic

Since everyone is discussing oatmeal, I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for anything to add to it for flavor that adds protein? I've just been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and am having trouble with breakfast the most. Uncle Sam with flaxseed is a good one for health, by the way.

[grasswire]

22. here's what I eat for breakfast ..

...since being diagnosed as type 2: a handful of raw almonds and a glass of low fat milk. Sometimes I have half of an avocado with that, or half a cup of cottage cheese and a few berries.

I learned real fast that carbs are NO FRIEND to people with pre-diabetes or diabetes.

[Mamacrat]

23. Breakfast

I do eat cottage cheese a lot for breakfast. So glad I like it! The only problem with other foods is that I'm not just trying to eat more protein, but also lose weight. (My diabetic status began with gestational diabetes, and the doctor thinks if I lose this weight I will no longer be even insulin resistant.) It's hard to eat the protein (e.g. avocados, which I love) and eat a 1,200 calorie diet. I guess I could put some almonds in my oatmeal. Thanks for the suggestion. And, I apologize to the OP for hijacking the thread for a few posts.

[Why Syzygy]

26. My favorite low carb (high protein)

breakfast .. scrambled eggs with a little grated cheese, add a few jalapeño slices if you like spicy.
Sliced strawberries on the side (or other low carb fruit). mmm . lots of energy!

[AllieB]

27. Sounds like what I eat. I grew jalapenos last year and made a bunch of salsa.

I love salsa, eggs, and cheese. I have also been on a chorizo kick lately. I feel a lot better eating this way than the diabetic diet, which is really misguided.