by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC
This week I was craving a warm breakfast with our cooler Arizona weather, so I decided to cook steel cut oats with apples, spices, and local Arizona honey. In my cookbook “A New View of Healthy Eating” I share how to cook steel cut oats in a rice cooker. This week, I cooked them stovetop and enjoyed the aromatherapy of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Stovetop Steel Cut Oats
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 2 cups water
- 2 apples sliced
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp goji berries
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Local honey
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom
SIMPLE STEPS
- Thoroughly rinse steel cut oats multiple times until water is clear.
- Put all ingredients, except honey in small pot.
- Bring oats to a boil.
- Lower to simmer, cover pot, and cook for about 15-20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.
- Enjoy with local honey and additional cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom.
Excerpt from “A New View of Healthy Eating”
BREAKFAST Whole Grains: Simple Steel-Cut Oats in Rice Cooker
Steel-cut oats make a quick, easy, and good-for-you breakfast. This recipe is the perfect foundation for a breakfast made with whole grains. You can use any whole grain and add your favorite nuts, seeds, trail mix, and fruit. The rice cooker method is a simple way to cook steel-cut oats as well as other whole grains.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup steel-cut oats
- ½ cup trail mix or your favorite nuts and seeds
- 2 ¼ cups water
- Organic apple, sliced
- Fresh grated cinnamon and nutmeg
- Local honey
SIMPLE STEPS
- Thoroughly rinse steel-cut oats by placing them in a strainer and bowl of water. Rinse several times until the water is clear, not cloudy.
- Pour steel-cut oats into a rice cooker.
- Add trail mix and sliced apple.
- Pour water into the rice cooker.
- Grate cinnamon and nutmeg into the rice cooker.
- Turn on the rice cooker.
- Oats will be ready when the cooker turns off, after about 20 minutes.
- Enjoy with a drizzle of local honey.
Steel-Cut Oats: Ireland
Steel-cut oats are sometimes called Irish or Scottish oats and grow in the cold, wet climates of northern Europe and North America. Oats are unique among popular grains, as the bran and germ are rarely removed in processing.
Why Oats
- The fiber, beta-glucan, in oats helps lower cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, and enhances the body’s immune system.
- Avenanthramide, a polyphenol antioxidant in oats, may have anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy, and anti-itch properties.
- Fiber helps us feel fuller longer, which controls weight.
- They have the highest protein content of popular cereals.
Eat Oats
- Available as steel-cut oats or oat groats (hulled grains).
- Do not eat instant quick-cooking oats. They are low in fiber because most of the bran is removed. In addition, sugars and preservatives are usually added to the package.
- The mild, smooth, sweet flavor makes oats a perfect breakfast grain to enjoy with nuts, seeds, and fruit.
- Oats are naturally gluten-free, but may be contaminated with gluten during growing and processing. Look for oats certified gluten-free if you are sensitive to gluten.
Interested in “A New View of Healthy Eating,” I’m happy to gift-wrap and mail to you.
