Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Oatmeal gets even less exciting

Mush at the Farmers’ Market

They add milk (or whatever) the night before, and you eat it cold. It’s extra healthy.
They add milk (or whatever) the night before, and you eat it cold. It’s extra healthy.

“Revolutionizing oatmeal.” That’s the claim made by Mush, a food stand at the Hillcrest Farmers’ Market. I have a doubt that anything oat-related can qualify as revolutionary, but it’s certain that the appearance of Mush follows a trend.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The term “overnight oats” has crept into the vernacular of health-minded eaters, particularly those drawn to the notion that eating raw food adds a nutritional boost. So rather than boiling oats to make oatmeal, you steep them in liquid overnight — seasoned, sweetened, fruited, or nutted to taste — and the resulting mush gives you all the excitement of oatmeal without that pesky warmth.

Not everybody’s going to be accepting of cold oatmeal, but I gave it a shot at home and became used to it pretty quickly. My issue with it is more logistical. Namely, I can’t get used to making breakfast ahead of time. It’s easy to make, but to be able to eat it first thing in the morning you positively have to make it the night before.

A cup filled with overnight oats

Mush has solved this problem, offering something like eight ready-to-eat varieties including chocolate, vanilla, and cranberry-apple. Like other stands it offers samples, so I was able to taste my way to what I liked best. I settled on peanut butter/banana, not because it was my favorite taste-wise but because if I’m going to eat healthy I might as well knock down some banana at the same time. Also, they use homemade peanut butter.

Mush also uses homemade almond milk in all of its overnight oats. Some people like to use regular milk or yogurt, but looking at the various recipes that have popped up online, over the past year milk alternatives seem to be the most popular. It works fine to soften the oats, though I would say having the soft yet fresh banana to break up the consistency really helps. The apple-cranberry did well in this regard as well, and I’m kicking myself for ignoring the banana-walnut because crunch is definitely welcome when you’re eating cold oatmeal.

At four bucks, Mush is affordable, though I would have liked to see some berries or other fruit included for the price, especially considering how easy it is to make your own at home. However, since I keep forgetting to do exactly that, I’m glad someone else has some ready to go.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
They add milk (or whatever) the night before, and you eat it cold. It’s extra healthy.
They add milk (or whatever) the night before, and you eat it cold. It’s extra healthy.

“Revolutionizing oatmeal.” That’s the claim made by Mush, a food stand at the Hillcrest Farmers’ Market. I have a doubt that anything oat-related can qualify as revolutionary, but it’s certain that the appearance of Mush follows a trend.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The term “overnight oats” has crept into the vernacular of health-minded eaters, particularly those drawn to the notion that eating raw food adds a nutritional boost. So rather than boiling oats to make oatmeal, you steep them in liquid overnight — seasoned, sweetened, fruited, or nutted to taste — and the resulting mush gives you all the excitement of oatmeal without that pesky warmth.

Not everybody’s going to be accepting of cold oatmeal, but I gave it a shot at home and became used to it pretty quickly. My issue with it is more logistical. Namely, I can’t get used to making breakfast ahead of time. It’s easy to make, but to be able to eat it first thing in the morning you positively have to make it the night before.

A cup filled with overnight oats

Mush has solved this problem, offering something like eight ready-to-eat varieties including chocolate, vanilla, and cranberry-apple. Like other stands it offers samples, so I was able to taste my way to what I liked best. I settled on peanut butter/banana, not because it was my favorite taste-wise but because if I’m going to eat healthy I might as well knock down some banana at the same time. Also, they use homemade peanut butter.

Mush also uses homemade almond milk in all of its overnight oats. Some people like to use regular milk or yogurt, but looking at the various recipes that have popped up online, over the past year milk alternatives seem to be the most popular. It works fine to soften the oats, though I would say having the soft yet fresh banana to break up the consistency really helps. The apple-cranberry did well in this regard as well, and I’m kicking myself for ignoring the banana-walnut because crunch is definitely welcome when you’re eating cold oatmeal.

At four bucks, Mush is affordable, though I would have liked to see some berries or other fruit included for the price, especially considering how easy it is to make your own at home. However, since I keep forgetting to do exactly that, I’m glad someone else has some ready to go.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader