Oatmeal

Oatmeal was one of my favorite breakfasts though I had not had it in a long time. I ate the instant oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every day throughout university but eventually I had had enough. I was taking a really long break from oatmeal until I came across this post about steel cut oatmeal. One of the reasons that I had continued to not eat oatmeal after university was that I knew that the instant oatmeals were not all that healthy. The steel cut oats with almost no processing promised to be pretty healthy so I had no excuse not to try them. I am glad that I did try the steel cut oatmeal as I enjoyed it and I have been eating fairly often since.

The first time that I cooked the steel cut oatmeal I followed the directions on the box. Simmer 1 cup of the steel cut oats in 4 cups of water for 30 minutes. The oatmeal came out perfectly. It was thicker that the instant oatmeal. I would describe it as "al dente". It had a bit of bite and you could chew it. I really enjoyed the texture of the steel cut oatmeal. There was enough for 4 serving in the batch so I placed the other 3 servings into plastic containers and tossed them in the fridge. The next morning the oatmeal was almost solid when it came out of the fridge. I added a tablespoon of milk and put it in the microwave for a minute. I stirred the oatmeal and added another tablespoon of milk and put it back in the microwave for another minute. I stirred it and added another table spoon of milk and it was perfect. So if you cook a big batch of oatmeal one night it is super quick to reheat for breakfast.

I have a rice cooker with a timer and a porridge setting so I though I would try cooking the oatmeal in it. I placed 1/4 cup of the steel cut oats and 1 cup of warm water in the rice cooker and set it to porridge mode and set the timer the night before. When I woke up I could smell the oatmeal cooking and by the time I was ready for breakfast it was done cooking. I have to say that the rice cooker cooked the steel cut oatmeal perfectly.

Despite the fact that the steel cut oatmeal requires 30 minutes to cook there are two convenient ways to have it for breakfast even on a weekday.

Update: I tried toasting the steel cut oatmeal before cooking it and it turned out pretty good. When the oatmeal was cooking its nice aroma was stronger and nuttier. When it was done cooking it had a really nice flavour. I think that I will be toasting my steel cut oatmeal from now on.

Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

This was the first oatmeal that I tried as it was my favorite flavour in the instant oatmeals.



Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup
1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 serving oatmeal

Banana and Peanut Butter Oatmeal

This was my favorite one so far. The peanut butter and mashed bananas made this oatmeal was nice and creamy. The peanuts on top added a nice contrast in texture.



Ingredients:
1/2 banana (mashed)
1/2 banana sliced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional depending on how sweet the banana is)
1 serving oatmeal
1 tablespoon peanuts for garnish

Strawberries with Sour Cream and Brown Sugar Oatmeal

I enjoy eating strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar and I though I would try adding those flavours to oatmeal.



Ingredients:
2 strawberries (pureed)
2 strawberries (sliced)
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 serving oatmeal

Blueberry Oatmeal with Pecans and Maple Syrup

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon blueberries
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon pecans (chopped)
1 serving oatmeal

Apple Crisp Oatmeal

Apple crisp is one of my favorite desserts and I thought that I would try making an oatmeal out of it. For this oatmeal I used the microwave cooking method so that the apples would get cooked in the microwave for two minutes and become just slightly tender but still firm.







Ingredients:
1/2 apple cut into bite sized pieces
1 pinch cinnamon (optional)
1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon dried cranberries (optional)
1 serving oatmeal

Pear Crisp Oatmeal

Once I had tried apple crisp oatmeal, pear crisp was not far behind.







Ingredients:
1/2 pear cut into bite sized pieces
1 pinch cinnamon (optional)
1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon raisins (optional)
1 tablespoon dried cranberries (optional)
1 serving oatmeal

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oatmeal

When I saw this post about chocolate and peanut butter butter oatmeal I knew that I would have to try it. I decided to use nuttela as my source of chocolate. It turned out to be really good! It was nice and creamy and chocolaty and peanut buttery. Such a great combination of flavours.



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon nutella
1/2 banana (mashed)
1/2 banana sliced
1 serving oatmeal

Chocolate and Banana Oatmeal

Having tried and enjoyed the chocolate and peanut butter oatmeal I though that I would try turning my favorite way to use nuttela into oatmeal. I like a nice and simple nuttela and banana sandwich. Nutella and bananas go really well together and the chocolate and banana oatmeal did not disappoint.



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon nutella
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 serving oatmeal
some peanuts for garnish
some hazelnuts for garnish

Banana and Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1/2 banana (mashed)
1/2 banana sliced
1 pinch cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional depending on how sweet the banana is)
1 serving oatmeal

Strawberry and Banana Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1/2 banana (mashed)
1/2 banana sliced
2 strawberries (pureed)
2 strawberries (sliced)
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional depending on how sweet the banana is)
1 serving oatmeal

Banana, Honey and Walnut Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1/2 banana (mashed)
1/2 banana sliced
1 tablespoon walnuts (chopped)
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional depending on how sweet the banana is)
1 serving oatmeal

Strawberry and Cranberry Oatmeal

Ingredients:
2 strawberries (pureed)
2 strawberries (sliced)
1 handful cranberries
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 serving oatmeal

Banana Bread Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1/2 banana (mashed)
1/2 banana sliced
1 tablespoon nuts (chopped)
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar (optional depending on how sweet the banana is)
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 serving oatmeal

Honey and Dates Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon dates (chopped)
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 serving oatmeal

Butter Toasted Pecan Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons pecans (chopped)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 serving oatmeal

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the pecans and toast until the butter browns.
3. Mix everything into the oatmeal.

Similar Recipes:
Baked Sweet Potato Oatmeal with Pecan Streusel
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal
Slow Cooker Apple Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal

For me, oatmeal is great comfort food, especially on cold winter days. Take a look at the Comfort Food Cook Off at The Garden of Eating.