A Way With Oats

The scene: breakfast.  You’re getting ready for work (or school) and it’s “oh-dark-thirty,” as my mother would say.  You need something quick, something easy.  Something that won’t require you to think before you’ve had your cup of joe.  You hold the refrigerator door open and scan the shelves with bleary eyes.  With a yawn, you feel around in the cupboards.  

At last!  Your eyes settle on the box of cereal.  You start the coffee, glance at the clock, and grab a bowl.  Mmm.  Sugar-laced and fresh from the box, you watch your meal swim in the pool of milk you just doused it with.  Your pancreas shudders in apprehension.  

This is breakfast?  You deserve so much more!  Really!

You’re busy. I totally get it.  In fact, pour me a bowl of Life® and I’ll get downright nostalgic—a pleasant feeling, until the sugar makes me crash an hour or two later.  It used to be a default in our home.  Wake up, convince my husband that it’s his turn to make coffee, and feel my heart beat excitedly in anticipation of the coming jolt. We were being healthy!  After all, our cereal boxes boasted whole grains and were “all natural!”  

I have since reached for a timeless classic, known to many a child as one of the boring-est breakfasts ever: oatmeal.   Only this time, instead of overcooked mush with a trembling glob of butter and fake maple syrup on top, I take great pride in my oats.  Never again will I have vomit-inducing oatmeal [yes, I've had it before].  And I promise, oats are not only delicious and healthy...they're quick!  You can use the simmering time to comb out that unruly bed hair.   

Crazy Fruity Steel Cut Oats

I started out as a strictly-rolled-oats sort of gal.  I remember being slightly confused when other forms were mentioned.  Steel cut?  Groats?  And yet, they are amazing.  Here is a recipe I eat at least three or four days a week:

1/2 c. steel cut oats
1 1/2 c. water or nondairy milk
1/4 c. raisins
Sliced banana, apple, pear, nectarine, peach, grapes, plums, berries (be creative!)
1 tbsp nut butter or diced nuts
Lots of cinnamon, if you dig it like I do!
A pinch of nutmeg
A drizzle of pure maple syrup

Put the steel cut oats and water/"milk" in a little pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the oats are soft and have absorbed the water.  If they aren't done and start sticking, add a little more liquid.

Combine with all the fruit you want and top with nut butter/nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup. Easy, delicious, and healthy! 
Serves 2