'Oats as flour': Solenn Heussaff, Luis Manzano share oats recipes

MANILA, Philippines — Did you know that oats can be used as a healthier alternative to flour? Solenn Heussaff revealed that she uses oats to make bread and pancakes.

The actress said that her daughter, Thylane, loves pancakes. Her version is packed with nutrients and topped with tasty treats.

"Every kid loves pancakes so I love to prepare oat pancakes. I grind my oats and make them into flour. Put a bit of mashed bananas and egg and then make oat pancakes," Solenn said at last week's Quaker Oats Kitchen Face-off with Luis Manzano.

She also experimented with oats and nuts and came up with her own recipe.

"I  got every type of nut in my pantry. Toasted them, mixed in some oats. Use any kind of oil (such as) coconut, vegetable, canola oil as a binder. Then add flax seeds, chia or whatever puffs up so it kinda sticks together and then pop it into the oven. It's bread. It sounds intimidating but I promise it's super easy to make," Solenn shared.

At the event, she shared her recipe of Rainbow Superfloat, a no-cook easy-to-prepare dessert made with yogurt, oats, calamansi zest and fresh slices of fruits.

"It's so versatile. You will find something that at least one family member can like. You can do the cookies, the pancakes, you can bread your chicken with it. You can make it into stir-fry rice. You can even use it on your face. It's very good on your skin," she shared.

Solenn's favorite is fried chicken with oats breading. She mixes the oats with different kinds of seasoning and herbs. She also tops her baked salmon with seasoned oats for an extra layer of crispiness. Oats can also be made into croutons or crackers to be paired with cheese, Solenn said.

Luis, meanwhile, shared that he has been a fan of oats for quite some time. His fond memories of the super grain include eating a bowl of oats for breakfast prepared by his mother, actress and former Batangas governor Vilma Santos. He said oats, particularly Quaker Oats, has been a staple in their household, even until today that he is already married.

These days, Luis shared that overnight oats works wonders for him and is his go-to snack.

“Yun talaga ang ginawa ko, baon-baon ko yan. Yung ginagawa ko, of course, oatmeal tapos may konting soymilk, tapos nilalagyan ko ng mga blueberries, tapos may konting almonds. Perfect na baon na yan,” he shared.

Quaker nutrition manager for Asia Pacific Kit Phanvijhitsiri said that oats contain a lot of fiber, at seven times more than long grain rice per 100 grams of serving. It is also rich in proteins and contains beta-glucan, a type of fiber that helps lower cholesterol.  

Recipes

Rainbow Superfloat

*serves 2 glasses or jars

Ingredients:

• 250 g or 2 pots of Yogurt (0% Fat or any other kind of yogurt)
• 30 g of coco sugar (3-4 tablespoon)
• 2 Calamansi fruits (for the zests)
• 1/4 pink dragon fruit
• 1 Kiwi
• 1 Mango
• 50 g of strawberry (¼ cup)
• 1⁄2 Pineapple (fresh or in can)
• 50 g of Blueberry fresh or frozen (¼ cup)
• 70 g of Oats (¼ cup)

Note: All fruits can be substituted based on your sweetness preference as long as it's colorful fruits to create that rainbow effect!

Prepare the Calamansi Yogurt Base:

Mix together yogurt, coco sugar and calamansi zests. Remove zest from citrus, you can use a cheese grater.

Prepare the fruits:
Wash all fruits, then peel and cut the dragonfruit, pineapple, kiwi and mango in 2 cm cubes.
Cut the strawberries in two. For the blueberries, keep them whole.
Keep each fruit in a separated container.

Assemble the dessert:
First with a spoon, pour the calamansi yogurt and add a generous layer of Quaker Rolled Oats.
Add multiple layers of fruits to create the rainbow effect.
Place it in the refrigerator and serve cold!

Caramelized Bananas No-Bake Cheesecake

*Serves a 7” cake

Ingredients:

• Caramelized bananas
• 20 g of light brown sugar (3 tablespoons)
• 2 sweet bananas
• 10 g of margarine (2 tablespoons)

Oats Crust

• 70 g crushed rolled oats (1 cup)
• 10 g of all purpose flour (2 tablespoon)
•  50 g of light brown sugar (¼  cup)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 60 g of margarine (¼ cup)

Cream Cheese Batter

• 450 g of cream cheese (2 cups)
• 1 can of condensed milk
• 50 g of fresh lemon juice (1/4 Cup)
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla

Note: You can also decorate your cheesecake with berries, fruits or even chocolate shavings.
 
Make the Caramelized Bananas:
In a pot, pour the light brown sugar and caramelize it.
Using a fork, mash the bananas.
Add the bananas in the light brown caramel and add margarine.
Cook it until the caramel is well dissolved in the mashed bananas.
Keep these in the refrigerator.

Make the Oats Crust:
In a bowl, mix all ingredients together with the melted margarine.
Press the crust using a spoon into a 7-inch mold (bottom only). If you don’t have a pastry ring, you can use a glass, an aluminum tray, or a ramequin.
Chill it for an hour minimum before adding the filling.

Make the Cream Cheese Batter:
Squeeze the lemon to obtain fresh lemon juice.
In a bowl, mix all ingredients together until you obtain a smooth and no-lump consistency.
Pour this mix over your oats crust and chill it for a minimum of five hours.
Spread the Caramelized Banana Jam using a spoon.
Decorate with oats and fresh bananas. You can also decorate your cheesecake with berries or fruits or even chocolate shavings.

Homemade Sorbetes

Ingredients:

• 300g of yogurt or 300g of light cream (1 ½ cup)
• 60 g of light brown sugar (? cup)
• 75 g of canned peaches
• 50 g of oats (½ cup)
• Optional: 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Note: All fruits can be fresh / canned / frozen

Make the sorbetes:
Using a spoon and a saucepot, melt the brown sugar into the cream or yogurt (for a lighter version). Place it on the side.
Wash, peel and cut fruits in big chunks.
Add fruits and oats inside the sweet mix and carefully pour it into the sorbetes molds.
Keep it in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
Remove the sorbetes from the mold and serve frozen.