What can I do with expired rolled oats? (7 ideas)

In this article, we will answer the following question: What can I do with expired rolled oats? We will give you 7 zero-waste ideas that you can implement today!

What can I do with expired rolled oats?

There are many ways you can recycle expired oats, but you should know that rolled oats can last up to a year after the expiration date if they are kept in a vacuum container in the pantry or refrigerator.

Cereal flake bags, even open ones, can be stored for days and even months after the expiration date. It is important to close them tightly after each use with a special clip or with a simple clothes hook, to prevent moisture in the air from softening them and making them unappetizing.

How to use oatmeal that has expired? 

Don’t throw away expired oatmeal that does not contain any mold. You can reuse it as a moisturizer for dry and irritated skin. Oatmeal past their expiration date can serve as great exfoliating agents, face scrubs, or for the treatment of dry scalp.

How do you know that rolled oats are no longer good to eat?

Knowing if the rolled oats are no longer safe to consume is much easier than you think. Although it is a food that can have a very long shelf life, it is always good to know when you should get rid of it.

First, you should check the condition of the container where it has been stored, if it is not airtight and has been exposed to different temperatures, it is possible that the cereal is not in optimal condition. If the container is not airtight, we already started badly.

To keep rolled oats in good condition, they should ALWAYS be stored in airtight containers at room temperature, if it is raw, when it has been cooked, it should always be stored in the refrigerator.

Exposing the rolled oats to drastic changes in temperature, from cold to hot and vice versa will help mold to appear and ruin the cereal.

To know if the rolled oats are in good condition, it is enough to see it, analyze it, smell it and consider if its texture has changed, likewise, if it has kept moisture it will have mold. If this is true, then you have to discard it!

7 ways to recycle rolled oats

If you do not feel safe to eat expired rolled oats or believe they aren’t safe to be consumed, here are some ideas on what to do with expired rolled oats:

• Face mask – Oatmeal is a natural remedy for skin imperfections. Just make sure you do not put the hot product on your face! 
• Neutralize bad smells – You can put some rolled oats in a glass container in the fridge to neutralize the food smell.
• Soothe skin irritation – Use lukewarm oatmeal to soothe skin irritation or sunburns. 
• Your pet’s skin – Cooked lukewarm rolled oats are also great for your pet’s irritated skin. 
• Take a bath – Add two cups of uncooked rolled oats and a tablespoon of honey to your bath and pamper yourself!
• Face/body scrub – By mixing rolled oats with honey, you can also create an amazing body scrub to exfoliate your skin.
• Modeling clay –  You will be able to make a 100% natural, zero-waste, and compostable modeling clay. Quick to make, it is ideal for children.

Rolled oats – an essential product

Rolled oats share their high content of slow-absorbing carbohydrates = energy with other cereals, but what makes it different is that it has a higher supply of vegetable proteins and heart-healthy fats, which makes it a complete food. Ideal for us to spend the morning without pecking and for children to endure with energy until recess.

In addition, it provides fiber (good for its satiating power and to improve intestinal transit), vitamins, and minerals such as Magnesium or Phosphorus and helps reduce cholesterol.

In supermarkets and herbalists, we can find it in grain, in flakes, in the form of flour, and the famous muesli, with which you have to be especially careful and look at the label because it is usually “animated” with sugar or honey.

Yes, very good, but it looks like chicken food, a friend told me the other day. Indeed, oatmeal by itself does not have a sweet taste, but if we put imagination into the preparations (as we show you below), it is delicious. This cereal is so versatile that it can be consumed:

Raw: Both grains and flakes can be added to milk or vegetable drink or yogurt directly raw or by leaving it to soak.

Cooked: Some people find it smoother and more digestive to consume cooked oats (for example in baby food). With ten minutes of cooking in water, milk, vegetable drink or broth will be enough.

In other preparations: With oatmeal, you can make cookies or cakes, get crispy batters, give consistency to homemade hamburgers by adding it to the dough.

Conclusions

In this article, we answered the following question: What can I do with expired rolled oats?  

Rolled oats share their high content of slow-absorbing carbohydrates = energy with other cereals, but what makes it different is that it has a higher supply of vegetable proteins and heart-healthy fats, making it a more complete food.

We remind you that rolled oats can be safely consumed even years after the expiration date.

References

Thetakeout.com

Theatlantic.com

Food.com