Superfood Oat Breakfast: 4 Ways
Mornings can be a bit chaotic around our house and having a quick, easy, and superfood-packed breakfast option is key. One of the easiest ways I’ve found to do this is preparing steel-cut oats for the week and then heating them up and topping with superfoods (think ancient grains, coconut flakes, berries, nut butter, etc.) when it’s time to eat. This superfood breakfast satisfies my criteria for making food that is nutritious, yummy, and quick-we’re talking 5 minutes, baby!
Unfortunately, most quick breakfast foods will leave you feeling more tired and hungry than energized. Cereal is the number one breakfast that people eat in the United States. But, while some cereals have wholesome ingredients that is much more the exception than the rule. If you are a cereal eater, take a few minutes to check out the ingredients and nutrition facts on your boxes and ask yourself these questions:
- Do you know what all those ingredients are?
- Are the grams of protein greater than the grams of sugar (or at least close)?
If you answered no to either or both of these questions, it might be time to rethink your cereal or breakfast. Finding breakfast options that are made with whole ingredients and provide at least two food groups will leave you feeling full longer and prevent food cravings later on in the day (yes, please!). Here is a four-in-one idea that you can add to your list!
Helen tends to get a bit carried away with the nut butter… a girl after my own heart! 😉
Superfood Oat Breakfast: 4 Ways
1. Steel-Cut Oats featuring “Berry Nutty” toppings
2. Steel-Cut Oats featuring “Apple Cinnamon” toppings
3. Steel-Cut Oats featuring “Savory Style” toppings
4. Steel-Cut Oats featuring “Feeling Exotic” toppings
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup milk of choice: almond milk, cow’s milk, coconut milk, etc.
- 1 cup steel-cut oats
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Fresh or frozen organic berries (I use frozen and they soften perfectly while also cooling off the oats for Helen)
- Nut butter of choice (e.g., almond, cashew, peanut, sunflower, etc.)
- Super seeds or grains (e.g., Trader Joe’s Super Seeds & Ancient Grain Blend, chia seeds, hemp hearts, sprouted buckwheat and millet, ground flax seed, etc.)
- Drizzle with raw local honey
- Fresh organic apple pieces
- Nut butter of choice (e.g., almond, cashew, peanut, sunflower, etc.)
- Cinnamon
- Drizzle with raw local honey
- Steam fried egg
- Avocado slices
- Hemp hearts, chia seeds, ground flax seed, or other super seeds or grains
- Ground turmeric
- Salt and pepper
- Unsweetened dried cherries, goji berries, or other unsweetened dried fruit
- Pistachio nuts (or other nuts/nutbutter)
- 1 square of >70% dark chocolate, sliced
- Unsweetened shaved coconut
- In a large saucepan, combine the water and milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat.
- Stir the oats into the simmering water/milk mixture. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is very thick.
- Stir in the salt. Continue to simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to prevent scorching on the bottom, until almost all of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. (If you have doubled the recipe, your oatmeal might need an extra 5 minutes cooking time here.) The oatmeal will be very creamy when it's done.
- Let the oatmeal rest for 5 minutes before serving so it has more time to thicken up and cool down.
- Serve desired amount of oatmeal into bowls if eating right away and add toppings.
- Allow extra oatmeal to cool completely before covering, dating (oatmeal will last 5-7 days in fridge), and refrigerating for future breakfasts.
- Place desired amount of oatmeal into bowl, stir in a splash of your milk of choice (or more depending on how thick you like your oatmeal).
- Microwave for 1-2 minutes, stir, then touch to make sure it is to your desired temperature.
- Once desired temperature is reached, add toppings and enjoy! *If you are adding frozen berries you might want the oatmeal a bit hotter than you would otherwise since the berries will cool it off some.
- Milk alternatives (almond, coconut, hemp, etc.): Try to find options WITHOUT added sugar (look for unsweetened) and WITHOUT carrageenan (particularly if you have a history of digestive problems) on the ingredients list.
- Berries and apples: Go organic! They are both on the dirty dozen list and it is worth the extra money to reduce the toxic pesticides that you are ingesting.
- Nut Butters: The ONLY ingredient you want to read on the label is the nut for whatever type of nutbutter you are using; salt is ok too. Make sure the label does NOT have sugar or partially hydrogenated oils (contrary to Jif's slogan, if you have Jif or Skippy you might want to rethink your choice...). These ingredients cause inflammation in the body and can contribute to weight gain and a number of health issues.
- Raw local honey: Getting local honey has been shown to reduce allergy symptoms through introducing your immune system to pollen spores picked up by the bees from local plants. Getting raw honey honey provides you with a greater amount of phytonutrients which are otherwise largely eliminated by the heating process of pasteurization.
- Unsweetened dried fruit: The only ingredient on the package should be the fruit itself. Steer clear of dried fruits that contain sulfur dioxide or sulfites in the ingredients; this perservative can cause serious health problems including breathing problems or allergy like symptoms. Additionally, stay away from brands that add sugar. Added sugars contributes to inflammation in the body and can prompt further sugar cravings and eventually weight gain.
- *Because of the four different toppings ideas the nutrition facts did not process correctly.
To nourishing our bodies from the start! Chris
P.S. What are your favorite ways to top oats?
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