Cooking 20 servings takes no longer than cooking one. PHOTO by Sally Squires Copyright 2012 THE WILHELM GROUP, INC. All rights reserved.
Few things taste as good on a brisk winter morning as a steaming bowl of steel cut Irish oatmeal. This whole grain is not only hearty, but it also packs fiber, complex carbohydrates (which don’t raise blood sugar as high as simple carbs) and some protein.
Trouble is that few people have the half hour or so it takes to prepare this whole grain wonder on a busy weekday morning. So here’s how you can have your oatmeal–and eat it too: Make it ahead.
The secret? It takes no longer to cook a full pot of oatmeal than it takes to cook a single serving. On Saturday mornings when I am puttering around the house, I put on a full pot of oatmeal. We eat it for breakfast.
Once it cools, I measure the oatmeal into one cup servings.Each goes into sealable bag. The bags then go into a large plastic bag, which is put into the freezer, where they can remain for up to three months–although we always eat ours before that time.
One cup portions of steel-cut oatmeal ready-to-freeze PHOTO by Sally Squires Copyright 2012 THE WILHELM GROUP, INC. All rights reserved
Ready for the freezer PHOTO by Sally Squires Copyright 2012 THE WILHELM GROUP, INC. All rights reserved
It’s easy to take out one serving or several. On hurried days, I heat up my oatmeal in the microwave at work for about two minutes on high, then top with a little skim milk, slivered almonds and golden raisins. Yum! A half cup has 150 calories; a cup, 300 calories.
Some Lean Plate Club members say that they add a teaspoon or two of peanut butter for a nutty taste and more protein.Here are other methods to cook steel cut oatmeal. How about you? What do you do to make a tasty, nutritious breakfast easier?