Sometimes there’s nothing better than a warm bowl of oatmeal in the morning. There are a million different way to dress up oatmeal, but this is an easy and delicious way. It’s also one of my favorite.
Steel cut oats are superior in that they are more “whole” or less processed than quicker cooking rolled oats. Oats are incredible blood sugar stabilizers. They are a good source of complex carbs and soluble fiber and do well to lower cholesterol, regulate the thyroid and soothe the digestive system. My sister, who is studying to become an herbalist, would be proud of this next tidbit of oat info : oats are the one adaptogen grain, which means they improve resistance to stress and support a healthy state of balance. (See Rebecca Wood’s, The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia for more info.)
Oh, and regular organic milk works beautifully in this recipe, too.
You’ll need:
1 C steel cut oats, soaked overnight in 2 cups water and 1 T lemon juice
1 C coconut milk
¼ C dried fruit, raisins or cranberries or cherries or blueberries, etc
1 T ground flaxseeds or chia seeds
1-2 T maple syrup
¼ t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/8 t fresh nutmeg
1 t vanilla extract (optional)
¼ C chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans or almonds or pistachios
a handful of pepitas
To make:
1. Place oats with soaking water, coconut milk, dried fruit and spices in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered until oats are tender and oatmeal looks creamy, about 20-30min.
2. When oatmeal is creamy, stir in flaxseeds or chia seeds and vanilla if using.
3. Dress each serving individually, placing ½ cup of oatmeal in a bowl and top with nuts, a dash of cinnamon and 1t maple syrup.
4. Enjoy!
Note: For variations, use fresh fruit such as bananas or berries instead of dried fruit. Add 1T almond or cashew butter. There are no limits to how you can play with oatmeal!