Start Your Day with Steel Cut Oatmeal
When medical researchers announced the fact that oatmeal was “heart healthy”, many adults became motivated to return to this sometimes lack-luster childhood breakfast option. Given our time-crunched mornings, naturally we opted for “Quick Oats”, the kind of oatmeal which cooks in a minute’s time—basically, “Just add hot water and stir.”
However, not all oatmeal is created equally, or should I say, not all oatmeal is processed the same way. Most likely you grew up as I did, eating rolled oats packaged in small packets with a ton of sugar and spices added. Even the five minute, cook-in-a-pot sort of rolled oats are not all they’re rolled up to be. Let me explain.
In order to “roll” oats, the grain of oatmeal is pressed flat by a heavy metal “rolling pin”, steamed, and then toasted. The reason the oats are processed in this way is to shorten their cooking time dramatically—great news for busy, run-out-the-door, morning people. Unfortunately, something else gets “flattened” in the process: some of their B-vitamins and, more importantly, some of the work of digestion. And this is where our guts would really benefit from a bit more “work.”
Enter STEEL CUT OATMEAL.
Steel cut oatmeal consists of grains of oatmeal which have been sliced in half with a sharp steel blade. The cooking time suffers, yes, but the steady fueling brought about by slower digestion is so beneficial in feeding our gut microbiome, maintaining steady blood sugar levels, and, ultimately, avoiding insulin resistance and diabetes. (Not to mention you’ll feel fuller for a longer time.)
Here’s how you could make steel cut oats work as a breakfast option in your fast-paced life:
When you have a half-hour available (maybe while cooking dinner), put up a pot of steel cut oats. When the oats are fully cooked, add cinnamon, walnuts, shredded (unsweetened) coconut, a bit of raw honey, and some milk. Then, portion out 4-5 small containers to be eaten throughout the week. Toss in some blueberries after you’ve reheated it and you will have a VERY nutritious meal (or snack) on hand!