Legacy: Montana Monster Munchies & Oats
Since 1983, Montana Monster Munchies has produced a wheat-free cookie with oats as the main attraction in its renowned cookie lines. The more we looked at the oats the more we were intrigued with its pure state qualities. It is a gluten-free (GF) grain in its pure state, and if it weren’t for the cross-contamination that occurs in the large/commercial oat growing, harvesting and milling process; oats would be at the top of the grain food chain of GF items. So, how did we solve this issue for our product lines? By leveraging this experience with oats, the third leading cereal crop produced in the United States (after wheat and corn) and the fourth most important crop world-wide to market independently certified (by Auburn, WA based GIG/GFCO) gluten-free oat product lines: regular rolled, quick, bran, flour and whole oat sproutable groats.

Oats have been around for quite some time, dating back to around 2,000 B.C. in the Middle East. Oats date back in Germany to 1,000 B.C. Oats have come a long way since their “weed” beginnings as an interloper with wheat and barley. Leave it to the intuitive European farmers who long ago decided to "join 'em rather than fight 'em," and oats started being planted as a standalone staple crop. It fares best in cool, moist climates, which is why it’s such a popular staple in countries like Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Because oats can grow in conditions where wheat and barley won't produce, they made a place for themselves though history during harsh growing years. It’s also why it fares well here in Montana which is where our oats call home. It takes a hardy grain to make a name for itself in the Northern Rockies!

But hey, we have the great state of Massachusetts to thank for the America-origination, for the grain was introduced in 1602 by a sea captain who planted them in one of the islands off the coast of Massachusetts. They were a popular grain, but corn had a better yield per acre crop, so their popularity wasn't as great as corn. Interestingly enough, nearly half of the world's oat crop today--more than 4 billion bushels a year—is grown in the United States and Canada.

Dynamics of Oats: Look, Touch, and Feel
Oat kernels look very much like wheat in structure. They have an outer covering of bran which protects the starchy endosperm and the germ that sits at the bottom of the grain. Because the oat kernel is soft, the nutritious bran is not removed. Whole grain oats contain seven B vitamins, vitamin E, and nine minerals, including iron and calcium, and the quality and quantity of the protein in oats is far superior to that of wheat and most other grains. How’s that for bragging rights? Did you know that one ounce of oats has two times as much protein of wheat or corn flakes? Pretty cool! Yet, the holy grail of the grain can be traced to the soluble fiber and the GLA (gamma linoleic acid). The soluable fiber is what gives oats their gummy texture, and it helps lower cholesterol levels in the blood. GLA is considered an "activated" essential fatty acid. Very small amounts of it fill the metabolic pipelines and allow the body to make other essential fatty acids, and all this is part of the hormonal control aspects of the Zone Diet as described by Dr. Barry Sears in his first book, "Enter the Zone" (pp. 119-134, Reagan Books, Harper Collins, 1995). Sears reccomends eating 3-5 bowls of oatmeal a week. Yet, all oatmeal can make for a boring daily meal plan. The question is how to spice things up. Thus the recipes that are continually being added to this website page.

The Ins & Outs of Oats: Virtue & Value
First and foremost, oats are considered a ‘cleansing grain.’ They not only cleanse the intestinal tract but the blood as well. Oats contain an excellent balance of amino acids. Its proteins are almost in perfect proportion to the body’s needs. High in lysine which is often low in other cereal grains, oats bring a real balance to a person’s protein needs without the need of mixing foods. Oats contain high levels of complex carbohydrates which have been linked to reducing the risk of cancer and the better control of diabetes.

In the grocery stores of North America, oats are most often found as either regular or quick rolled oats. For those customers of ours who have a flaker handy in their kitchen, we offer an oat groat from which you can produce a fresher, tastier, and more nutritious regular or quick cereal. You can also run our oat groats through a grain grinder, if you have one, to get oat bran or flour for baking or for use in other dishes. Or you can use our oat bran or flour. Using 25% oat flour, the natural vitamin E in oats will help keep your breads from going stale so quickly. Oat flour can also be used as a preservative for ice cream and other dairy products (it’s that vitamin E again). It’s also used as a talc replacer in skin care products. Because of the antioxidants in oats, they are a good storing grain. However, for best storage conditions, pack them in airtight containers, use oxygen absorbers and store them in a cool place.

Just the facts Ma’am: The Oats Cooking Dragnet
It takes about 10-15 minutes to cook regular rolled oats. Quick rolled oats, being thinner, cook much quicker in 2-3 minutes. But aside from eating oatmeal for breakfast, oats aren't used too much in mainstream North America today. This is too bad as oats are extremely healthy! The Scots and Irish base much of their cooking on oats, showing us Americans by good example that oats are a more versatile food than we seem to think. Oat flour makes rich thickeners for soups, gravies and stews. Oat flour will also add nutrition to your breads, muffins, crackers, beverages and desserts. And everybody knows oats are the main ingredient in granola. Check back in 2010 for our GF-granola!

My Head is Spinning: Is a GF-Oat an Oat or What?
Here is where things can get crazy. Over the years, our phone lines have received queries about the oats we use. Are we using groats, steel cuts, Scotch, flour, bran, regular or quick oats? Are they GF (gluten-free)? It’s a crazy world and here’s our take on it:

GF-Regular Rolled Oats - These are made by flattening the GF-groats with a roller. Our GF-rolled oats are thicker than most found on the grocery shelves, and these make a lovely, less creamy version of GF-oatmeal than the standard fare.

GF-Quick-cooking rolled oats - We make these by flattening pre-cut groats. They cook in less time.

GF-Oat Groats - Whole grain of the GF-oat, with only the outer hard husks removed. It is traditionally toasted. Looks like a seed and tastes even better. Ours is a hull-less GF-oat. Naturally a GF-groat is raw because it is yet to be modified by the toasting or steaming operation.

GF-Oat bran - It only takes 2 minutes to cook oat bran in boiling water. It’s almost a convenience food when thinking of things to have for breakfast.

GF-Oat Flour - Oat flour adds lovely flavor to breads and because of certain natural preservative in the GF-oats themselves, it improves the shelf life. If your recipe is for a quick bread, no addition of other flours is necessary.

GF-Oat sprouts - Raw, unadulterated GF-oat groats are very easy to sprout! Sprouting increases their nutritive values. Add them to sandwiches, salads, stir-fry and soups. Chop them and add them to your bread dough. Our germination rate is clocking in currently at 93%-95%. This makes the 10th grade biology class experiment a cinch to achieve.

GF-Steel Cut Oats or Scottish Oats or Irish Oats - These are GF-groats which have been cut into two or three pieces. Cooking time is considerably longer than for GF-rolled oats. This takes a special machine costing into the hundreds of thousands of dollars to mill. As an artisan-miller, we aspire to produce this. As an artisan-miller, we can’t afford it yet. More news at 11 on this one.

Which form of oats should You buy?
Anytime you do make a change to a food besides "pick it off the tree," you have processed it. The main concern should be how much is done to the food item to break down the cell structure of the carbohydrate food. One way this can be done is by cooking the food item. Cooking means that you have subjected it to heat, water or chemicals to break down the cell structure or inactivate certain enzymes. You can "cook" a food by chemically altering it (like fresh seafood being "cooked" by adding lime juice to it). The longer the cooking time, the greater the breakdown of the cell walls, and the faster that food can enter your blood stream and the faster your body will react to it by producing insulin to break down the carbohydrates (sugars) into simple, readily useable forms. Some grains you can begin the "cooking" process by soaking them, but even with the increase in size because of rehydration, the starch in the carbohydrate has not broken down and the food item will still taste...green. Raw. All of our oat products are raw!

Oat FAQs

1. Can I eat oats RAW?
Yes, with a caveat. Most of the oats on the market are not really raw. Oats are a very soft, moist grain, and they go rancid quickly, so manufacturers steam them at about 212 degrees to set the flavors so they won't go bad. So even a whole kernal oat grain will not sprout because it has been killed by this steaming process unless you were lucky enough to find a real live raw oat grain. Ours are raw and the shelf life is 15 months.

2. What's the difference between thick and thin rolled oats?
How far apart the rollers are set. No other prep work is done to the oat (other than the steaming mentioned above). The thinner the rolling, the quicker the oats cook because of the greater surface area of the grain. That's why you may want to approach cooking the oats by not boiling the grain itself, but to boil the water, add it to the oats and cover them, letting them set for 3-5 minutes. 1 part boiling water to 1 part rolled oats is a good ratio to start with. Add more or less water to suit your tastes.

3. Should I prepare my oats any differently if I have a history of digestive distress?
It was occasionally reported that digestive distress could occur after eating our GF-Oats, but follow on investigation in conjunction with the Montana Celiac Society determined that gluten was not the issue. The robust fiber content of oats makes it necessary to use proper cooking methods in order to prevent an irritated response. Newly-diagnosed Celiac patients may initially have difficulty digesting fiber. We suggest that oatmeal be cooked using more water that called for, be cooked longer and at a higher temperature which all work together to break down the fiber, especially if its whole or coarse cut, and that those with a history of digestive disorders start out eating small sized portions and at a dietary pace that allows their digestive system to learn how to re-accept oats into their diet.

Click here for delicious Gluten-Free oat based recipes.