Oats get innovative makeover by TP students

LESS than one-third of Singapore youths aged 15 to 22 eat oats at least once a month. That’s what Temasek Polytechnic (TP) found out in a recent survey.

To help more young Singaporeans include this healthy ingredient in their diet, a team of Applied Food Science & Nutrition students from TP has created delicious recipes that incorporate oats. Working together with Harper’s Trading Pte Ltd, the local distributor of Quaker products, they are also making these recipes easily available at local supermarkets and shops.

The students have produced five recipes using oats: Hainanese oat chicken rice, tandoori, chicken kiev with oats, oats carrot cake, oats pancake, and tropical oat smoothie. These recipes incorporate the known health benefits of oats into dishes that are more palatable to Asians and are better-received by the younger generation.

The collaboration between Harper’s Trading and Temasek Applied Science School started with the former approaching the School, confident of its competencies in food product development. Throughout the development of the recipes, the students ensured that the food was prepared using healthy cooking methods and created with locally available ingredients.

The School also looks forward to offering more consultancy services to industries with a special focus on nutrition and food product development. Staff supervisor, Ms Kalpana Bhaskaran, was very encouraged by Harper’s endorsement of the recipes. In fact, the company has expressed interest in collaborating with the School to develop 20 more recipes with a different concept. She said: “With more oats-incorporated recipes, consumers will be able to plan a day’s meal with such recipes so that they can ensure they consume the recommended 70g of oatmeal a day with ease.”