Nourishing Oat recipes
Oats were a staple food and medicine in my home even before I started a formal herbalism practice almost 10 years ago! This is a plant who, like Marshmallow, I’ve learned to lean on throughout the cold and dry seasons of fall and winter when needing deep grounding and nourishment.
I started craving oatmeal just last week and have been starting the day with oats since then! But there are so many more ways to work with this plant.
I mix Oats into a lot of herbal products in my shop because they tend to agree with many folks’ energy profiles and medications as a nutritive nervine. They are especially grounding to an undernourished bodymind and frazzled or worn-out nervous system! All the aerial parts of the plant are cultivated and harvested at various stages of growth for food and medicine. Among their constituents are starch (fiber), proteins, calcium, B-vitamins, vitamin E, and silica.
Check out these recipes for more inspiration, and find dried Milky Oat tops in the BIPOC Herb exchange for making teas.
Cardamom black walnut oat milk
Yummy and super simple homemade oat milk, made warm and nutty with cardamom and black walnut liqueur, aka nocino. I missed Black walnut season this year, but I do have a veryyy old batch of nocino in the back of my kitchen cabinet just waiting to be added to Oat milk! Nocino is made in the summer with young Black Walnuts (recipes all over the internet if you’re curious, and you can probably also find some at a hipster bottle shop near you). I mostly use it in place of Vanilla extract.
Here’s what I’ll be making next time I’m home sweet home. Yields 1 quart oat milk.
Ingredients:
1 cup organic rolled Oats
4 cups cold water
2-3 tsp Maple syrup, to taste
1 tsp nocino (Black Walnut liqueur), sub for Vanilla or other extract
Pinch of Cardamom or 2-3 pods
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a high powered blender and blend for only 20-30 seconds. Strain the oat milk through a clean cloth like a nut milk bag or dish towel. Squeezing the mixture will yield a slimier milk texture. Double straining will yield a smoother milk texture. Transfer strained oat milk into a sealed container, and store it in the fridge for up to 1 week. Shake well before each use.
Most people don’t like the sliminess of homemade oat milk but if you are going for moistening mucilage - squeeze that nut milk bag - the slimier the better.
Mukhang Bulaklak (“flower face,” or “looks like a flower”) face scrub
Oats are lovely for the skin and work well in baths, hand/foot soaks, and facial products. This is a plant-forward blend for weekly to monthly gentle exfoliation and cleansing. I find it so sweet and playful to mix and apply. Oats and almonds bring moisture to the skin. Lavender and Rose calm the skin and reduce inflammation and bacteria. Rose is cooling and toning.
Ingredients:
1 part organic rolled Oats, powdered
1 part Almond meal
1/2 part dried Rose petals, powdered
1/2 part dried Lavender buds, powdered
Optional: Sprinkle of Cornflower, Rose, or Calendula petals
Directions:
The easiest way to powder these herbs is in a dedicated coffee/spice grinder. Once ground well, mix the herbs together and sprinkle additional flower petals, if using, throughout. Store in a sealed container away and keep dry.
To use, add a spoonful of the powder into a bowl, then mix in drops of water until a wet paste forms. Water can be substituted for Rosewater or other hydrosol, yogurt, or milk. A few drops of facial oil or honey or flower essence can also be added for extra mmmm goodness. With your fingers or a face mask brush, massage the paste onto face and neck, avoiding the eyes. Breathe. Leave to dry up to 10 minutes, then gently remove with a wet washcloth and mist and moisturize as usual.
Fresh Milky Oat tincture
Milky Oat can be extracted and preserved by tincturing fresh in high proof alcohol.
To tincture, gather the Oat tops at the unripe “milky” stage. Test this by squeezing an Oat top. If it bursts with a white milky “sap”, you’re right on time. Add equal parts Milky Oats and high proof ethanol (I would use 95% ABV) to a blender. Some folks use the folk method of measuring volume of herb and volume of liquid. Others measure weight of herb and volume of liquid. I say choose one method and stick with it for ease. Blend the mixture well. This process opens the plant cell walls and allows for more of the fluffy plant matter to stay submerged in liquid. Transfer the whole mixture into a covered glass jar, label, and shake regularly. This tincture will be ready to strain in 6-8 weeks.
Milky Oat tincture is wonderful on its own, and can also be added to a variety of nervous system supporting blends. As a great example, here’s a formula from herbalist Robin Rose Bennett:
Super Soother Oat Tincture blend
Formula:
1 part fresh Motherwort tincture (leaf, stalk, and flower)
1 part fresh California poppy tincture (leaf, stalk, and flower)
1 part fresh Oat tops tincture
1 part fresh Skullcap tincture (leaf, stalk, and flower)
Directions:
She writes, “Combine the four tinctures together in equal proportions. Add 25-75 drops into water or infusion, as needed. This is a recipe to use for a finite period of time, not for years on end.”
This blend can be useful in a variety of stressful situations, for example: in an instance of acute shock, for caregivers, for encouraging restful sleep. California poppy, Motherwort, and Skullcap have sedative effects for many people, so I recommend first trying this tincture when you are ready to unwind from the day, in the evening, or waking up in the middle of the night, to see how it feels for you. The tincture may be less noticeably effective or increase a sense of grogginess when combined with cannabis, and it’s not recommended to take alongside SSRI medications.