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The Food Enthusiast Blog: cooking tips and tasty recipes
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Don't Underestimate OatmealIf you're allergic to gluten, look for oats marked gluten free. Oats are often processed on equipment that is used for wheat and other grains. My secret weapon for a perfect cold weather breakfast is the little dipper slow cooker. The little dipper is the one that is often included with a larger slow cooker, but you can get an inexpensive one on its own as well. It has only one temperature which would correspond to low on a normal sized slow cooker. Steel cut oats are whole oats that have basically been cut in half. The nutritional values are the same as rolled oats, but steel cut oats take 30 minutes to cook on the stove and have more soluble fiber that can lower cholesterol levels. They also cook perfectly in a slow cooker without burning as rolled oats will often do. So I recommend using steel cut oats only when making overnight slow cooker oatmeal. Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal - makes 2 servings
Oil the crock first to have less clean up later on. The oatmeal will stick if you chose to slip this, but after soaking it will come right out. Add all the ingredients to your little dipper Crock-pot, and cook over night - at least 6 hours. Wake up and your breakfast is waiting on you. It's great to take with you to work in a thermos as well. But my favorite way to start the day is eating oatmeal in my favorite Noritake bowl. It's in the Noritake Colorwave Series and makes everything taste better. Remember you eat with your eyes too! To me, the best part about oatmeal is the extras. Try a peeled, chopped apple with cinnamon and cloves, or dried cranberries with a little grated nutmeg and top with slivered almonds. My latest favorite is cooked with a few tablespoons of pureed pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg then topped with toasted chopped pecans. It's like having pumpkin pie for breakfast. Yum! Make your own variations using chopped pear, frozen berries, or anything that you love eating. Remember any winter squash would work well in place of the pumpkin. You are only limited by your imagination and Google skills. All of these tasty variations take about 10 minutes of your time the night before. It's an easy, inexpensive breakfast that's much better for you than anything you can get at a drive-thru on the way to work. Top with low fat milk to add a little protein, or use unsweetened vanilla almond milk for a yummy low calorie addition. Unsweetened almond milk has fewer calories than skim milk. Most traditional oatmeal recipes call for butter, but oats naturally contain some fat. I don't find adding extra fat is necessary for a nice mouth feel. The creaminess of slow cooked steel cut oats is part of its appeal for me. So give oats another try. You and your doctor will be glad you did.
Author: Kathy Hester
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