When I was little, I ate oatmeal all the time. And by oatmeal I mean the convenient flavored packets. At my office, a lot of people eat oatmeal for breakfast, including myself. However, there's something about those packets that makes me wonder. For one, I always have a funky taste in my mouth after I eat them. Secondly...what exactly is in that powder? Also, have you ever read the ingredient list for the strawberries and cream or peaches and cream flavors? Those "strawberries" or "peaches" that you're eating actually are dehydrated apples, and then there is flavoring to make it taste like the fruit. That seems a liiiiittle devious to me. Yet despite all those factors, I was still eating the packets. Until now.
I came across this recipe on the Sprinkled With Flour blog and immediately was intrigued. I had never had steel cut oats before, but they're good--they have some texture to them. In case you've never had them, let me save you a head-scratching minute of standing in the breakfast aisle looking at the oats. They're not there. They're in the fancy flours section (or the organic section). I found them at my regular grocery store with all the small Bob's Red Mill bags...those little bags with the yellow or blue labels.
The great thing about these is that you boil the oats at night, place them in the individual jars, and let them sit on the counter overnight. The next morning, you add your sweetener/spices/fruit and stick them in the fridge. There's a bit of prep work involved, but it's so easy when you're ready to eat. You can grab a jar, take it to work or wherever, microwave it, and eat. No more packets with questionable ingredients! The original recipe calls for 6 jars, but I switched this to 8 because I don't like to eat a lot for weekday breakfasts. Plus, it was hard to stir in the add-in ingredients, and when I heated them up in the microwave they overflowed. So your jars will be a little less full than the ones in my pictures. If you like a big breakfast or you're making them for hungry people, I would use 6 or 7 jars. Or you can use bigger jars, too.
Update (April 17, 2012): I ate my last jar this morning (more than 2 weeks after I made them), and it still tasted great. It didn't have any fruit in it, so I'm not sure how long those would last. If you have jars with just spices in them, you can keep them for at least 2 weeks in the fridge.
Grab and Go Oatmeal
Print this recipe
1 2/3 cups steel cut oats
4 cups water
Pinch of salt
8 half-pint jars (8 ounces)
In a large saucepan, combine the oats, water, and salt and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes and then turn off the heat. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon the oats and water into the jars. Cover tightly and let sit on the counter overnight.
The next morning, add the spices/sweetener/fruit for the flavors you want. I used sugar, but I think you could use Splenda or another sweetener with good results. I recommend starting with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of spice. I ended up doubling both of those, but you can adjust according to your tastes. Here's the flavor combinations I tried:
Strawberry:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 strawberry cut into pieces
Brown sugar cinnamon:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon raisin:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons raisins
Apple cinnamon:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 of a Granny Smith apple peeled and cut into small pieces. Microwave with a splash of lemon juice for 30 seconds to 1 minute until soft.
Cinnamon spice:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
Stir the ingredients of your desired flavor and 2 tablespoons of milk (optional) into the jars. Seal tightly and store in the fridge. When you're ready to eat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot. You also can add the milk before or after you microwave them.
Once peaches come into season or I have enough motivation to buy a bag of frozen peaches, I plan on trying peaches with 1 tablespoon sugar, too.
My favorite flavor so far is the apple cinnamon. Love it. The cinnamon raisin is good, but the raisins get very plump sitting in the liquid for so long. If you aren't a fan of that, I would make it without the raisins and then add the raisins in right before you microwave it to eat.
Source: Barely adapted from Sprinkled With Flour
I came across this recipe on the Sprinkled With Flour blog and immediately was intrigued. I had never had steel cut oats before, but they're good--they have some texture to them. In case you've never had them, let me save you a head-scratching minute of standing in the breakfast aisle looking at the oats. They're not there. They're in the fancy flours section (or the organic section). I found them at my regular grocery store with all the small Bob's Red Mill bags...those little bags with the yellow or blue labels.
The great thing about these is that you boil the oats at night, place them in the individual jars, and let them sit on the counter overnight. The next morning, you add your sweetener/spices/fruit and stick them in the fridge. There's a bit of prep work involved, but it's so easy when you're ready to eat. You can grab a jar, take it to work or wherever, microwave it, and eat. No more packets with questionable ingredients! The original recipe calls for 6 jars, but I switched this to 8 because I don't like to eat a lot for weekday breakfasts. Plus, it was hard to stir in the add-in ingredients, and when I heated them up in the microwave they overflowed. So your jars will be a little less full than the ones in my pictures. If you like a big breakfast or you're making them for hungry people, I would use 6 or 7 jars. Or you can use bigger jars, too.
Update (April 17, 2012): I ate my last jar this morning (more than 2 weeks after I made them), and it still tasted great. It didn't have any fruit in it, so I'm not sure how long those would last. If you have jars with just spices in them, you can keep them for at least 2 weeks in the fridge.
Grab and Go Oatmeal
Print this recipe
1 2/3 cups steel cut oats
4 cups water
Pinch of salt
8 half-pint jars (8 ounces)
In a large saucepan, combine the oats, water, and salt and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes and then turn off the heat. Using a large spoon or ladle, spoon the oats and water into the jars. Cover tightly and let sit on the counter overnight.
The next morning, add the spices/sweetener/fruit for the flavors you want. I used sugar, but I think you could use Splenda or another sweetener with good results. I recommend starting with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of spice. I ended up doubling both of those, but you can adjust according to your tastes. Here's the flavor combinations I tried:
Strawberry:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 strawberry cut into pieces
Brown sugar cinnamon:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon raisin:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons raisins
Apple cinnamon:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 of a Granny Smith apple peeled and cut into small pieces. Microwave with a splash of lemon juice for 30 seconds to 1 minute until soft.
Cinnamon spice:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
Stir the ingredients of your desired flavor and 2 tablespoons of milk (optional) into the jars. Seal tightly and store in the fridge. When you're ready to eat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot. You also can add the milk before or after you microwave them.
Once peaches come into season or I have enough motivation to buy a bag of frozen peaches, I plan on trying peaches with 1 tablespoon sugar, too.
My favorite flavor so far is the apple cinnamon. Love it. The cinnamon raisin is good, but the raisins get very plump sitting in the liquid for so long. If you aren't a fan of that, I would make it without the raisins and then add the raisins in right before you microwave it to eat.
Source: Barely adapted from Sprinkled With Flour
