Oat Bran

Oat Bran - The magic food

So what exactly is oat bran? Where does it come from and how is it different to normal rolled oats?

On the bottom right, we have a diagram of an oat plant and the cross-section of a grain. Notice the germ in the middle and the bran outside that. The chaff surrounds the germ and bran.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Rolled oats breakfast cereal; is usually made from the grain that has had the chaff and bran removed. See more info on Oats here (Wikipedia).

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains. See more info on Bran here (Wikipedia).

So what does it look like?

Here on the top right we have Rolled Oats, Oat Bran and Wheat Bran.

Some people confuse Oats (Rolled Oats or Porridge Oats) with Oat Bran.

We're interested in Oat Bran (Son d'avoine in French), not Rolled Oats. To remain healthy, we can have two tablespoons of Oat Bran per day and one tablespoon of Wheat Bran per day. Mix it up with an egg and a couple of tablespoons of 0% cream cheese and you can have a substantial pancake or add it to your yoghurt or 0% cream cheese as a desert. We sometimes add a teaspoon or two to a chicken curry sauce to thicken it.

What is it made up of? See the table on the right:

Where do you get it?

We have only found it in Health shops. Organic shops in France that specialise in Bio foods. The bran is not too expensive, but it is difficult to get hold of on a regular basis. We are luck to have three Bio-shops within our area, but all three don't always have what we want. So we now order it in bulk. For one we get it at a good price and for two, we can share it with the few friends and family around us who are also on the diet. We buy the Oat Bran for €4.25 / Kg and the Wheat Bran for €1.80 / Kg. These are the best prices in our region.

Some supermarkets are now selling it too.

What do you  do with it? See here for the recipe of an oat bran galette.