I have been eating oatmeal for breakfast for years. I love the price, convenience, creaminess and diversity of it. Of course healthy oatmeal is the oatmeal that is least processed. This is generally the ranking of processing of oats starting with the least processed:
- Oat groats
- Steel-cut oats
- Rolled oats
- Instant oats
- Cold cereals made with oat flour (like Cheerios)
What else to do with healthy oatmeal?
I needed a change of texture. Luckily for me I had oat groats in my freezer from a grocery shopping time I was feeling motivated about the effort it might take. Course it has been in my freezer for a while now (months?). So I had it cooked up in my pressure cooker one morning. Good stuff! Sweet and oaty flavor with chewy texture. Love it.
How easy is it to make? Soak 1 cup overnight in 3 cups of water. Pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Done. Healthy oatmeal in a new version. You can run around getting yourself together during the 10 minutes too.
Turn healthy oatmeal in homemade granola
Looking for another version of healthy oatmeal so you can never be sick of it again? How about a crunchy, low fat healthy oatmeal granola?
How about a homemade granola that is ready when you wake up in the morning at a fraction of the cost of boxed cereal kinds and is not loaded with preservatives, oil, and sugar? I think I have your answer and it is quite by accident
Homemade granola by accident
I had heard I could put oat groats in a low temp oven with lots of water and it would be cooked by morning. I woke up to a yummy toast smell that made me think the neighbors are having a great breakfast on a grey weekday morning. But it was my oats that I was smelling! The water was gone. The oats were dried, crunchy and sweet. Reminded me some of Grape Nuts cold cereal. Here is the result:
Increasing flavor with additions to homemade granola
I came up with the following additions to flavor up this granola:
- chopped apples (or other fruit)
- cinnamon
- walnuts
- raisins
- soymilk blended with banana and almond/vanilla extract and a touch of stevia or dates
Crunchy, healthy oatmeal recipe
1/2 cup oat groats
2 cups water
Place in oven safe square pan. Bake at lowest oven temp for 7 hours (i.e. put it in the oven and go to bed). Break into pieces and top with fruit, nuts, seeds, or fruit-sweetened nondairy smoothie.
Serves 2:
Calories per serving: 160
Protein: 7 g
Fat: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 28 g
Fiber: 4 g
