If you haven’t tried steel cut oats yet, you are missing out… The main difference between the types of oatmeal out there are how much they are processed. Quick oats are processed the most, followed by regular old fashioned oats. Then there is steel cut oats which are in their natural state but just cut. The least processed are groats, which are the uncut steel cut oats. I believe you should eat everything as unprocessed as possible. The closer it is to it’s natural state the better. I’ve loved old fashioned oatmeal for years and decided recently to experiment with the steel cut oats again.

I’d tried cooking them in the past and always ended up frustrated. I tried them in the crock pot overnight but ended up with a sticky mess in the morning. The pot was hard to clean and they were totally mush. Cooking them in the morning isn’t an option for me because they take about 35 minutes and you really should be stirring that whole time… So I decided to experiment with the quick cook and soaking method. Here is what works perfectly for me!

Overnight Steel Cut Oats
1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water

Put oats and water into a saucepan. Bring both to a boil, stirring frequently. Once you reach a boil, turn heat down just enough so it doesn’t boil over. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn the burner off, remove pan from heat, put on cover and let sit overnight.

In the morning your oats are ready to eat! All you need to do is heat them up and add whatever fixings you like. I like bananas, cinnamon, raisins and a little almond milk at this time of year. I usually make enough for about a week and store the leftovers in the fridge. Quick and easy breakfast for a whole week in just a few minutes!

Enjoy!

This hummus is so good when you first make it up and serve it at room temperature. I like to make a big batch - this makes a whopping 6 cups! - and then keep it in the fridge. I usually microwave it for a few seconds to take the chill off when I’m using it out of the fridge.

Ingredients:
8 cloves garlic
4 cans of garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained but reserve 1 cup of liquid
2 Tbs tahini
2 Tbs lemon juice
salt to taste (I use about 2 tsps)

Put garlic cloves in food processor and process first, alone. Add rest of ingredients, starting with about 1/2 cup of the chick pea liquid and process until it’s smooth. Use as much of the remaining liquid as you need until you get your desired consistency. I usually end up using about 2/3 cup.

Ingredients

2 bananas
1 cup dates
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
8 cups of rolled oats (not instant)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

2. If the dates are hard, soak in hot water to soften.  Puree the bananas and dates in a food processor or blender. Add 1/2 cup of hot water, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon; mix well.

3. Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl, add oatmeal and mix well.

4.Spread onto large baking sheets and bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours stirring frequently. Cook longer for crunchier if desired.