While oatmeal is a wonderful way to add fiber, grains and nutrients to your diet, most folks think of it only as a breakfast food. It’s time to take oatmeal beyond the first meal of the day!

Oatmeal is a whole grain because it contains all of the parts of the oat grain, including the bran, endosperm and germ. Interestingly, “regular oatmeal”—the kind most of us have eaten our entire lives—isn’t the grain in its original form.

You probably recognize the term “rolled oats.” Rolled oats have been steamed and flattened. This reduces the cooking time. Old-fashioned oatmeal can be prepared in 10 to 25 minutes. If you use quick-cooking oats, which have been cut even more finely, oatmeal can be made in three to five minutes.

Adding oatmeal to these delicious salmon cakes boosts the nutrient content and adds a delicious texture. The yogurt dill sauce complements the flavor and is the perfect topping when the salmon cakes are served on a bun.

Salmon Cakes with Yogurt Dill Sauce

Serves 6

Yogurt Dill Sauce

1/2 cup plain, nonfat yogurt

1/3 cup seeded, chopped tomato

1/3 cup seeded, chopped cucumber

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salmon Cakes

2 cans (7.5 ounces) pink salmon, drained, skin and bones removed

3/4 cup oatmeal, quick-cooking or rolled, uncooked

1/3 cup skim milk

1/3 cup liquid egg substitute with yolk or 1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

In small bowl, combine all Yogurt Dill Sauce ingredients; mix well. Cover and chill while making salmon cakes.

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients for salmon cakes; mix well. Let stand 5 minutes. Shape into 6 oval patties.

Lightly spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Cook salmon cakes over medium heat, 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown and heated through. Serve with sauce.

 

The Kitchen Diva is Angela Shelf Medearis, a regular guest chef on “The Dr. Oz Show” and “The Today Show.” She is the author of many cookbooks, including, “The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook.” She blogs for Vitacost.com and Momonomics.com on a weekly basis.