Morning Shortcuts

Healthful steel cut oats prepared in a slow cooker

     Mornings are hectic in most homes. Healthy eating options take extra time and add to your budget. I prefer tea to coffee and was repeatedly heating cups of water in my expensive microwave, shortening its life span. Two helpful small kitchen appliances provide healthful shortcuts that I recently began to practice:

• Brew tea in a coffee maker... 1) Measure water to the 6-cup mark of the pot and then pour into the reservoir. 2) Lay one or two tea bags in the glass coffeepot, and let the brewing begin. (Dr. Oz claims that letting a green tea bag steep for 20 minutes adds to the health benefits.)

• Prepare steel cuts oats overnight in a slow cooker. FYI Steel-cut oats are not processed in the same way as commercial breakfast cereals or prepared foods --- meaning vitamins and minerals that support healthy functioning of your body are not removed by processing. The minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, manganese and copper are present in steel-cut oats, the USDA reports. Steel-cut oats also contain small amounts of folate, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine and vitamin B-6.) Click to read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/327764-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-steel-cut-oats/#ixzz2W72penqG.  I use the slow cooker at this site:  Walgreen's 1.5 qt. slow cooker review. Lightly grease the sides of a 1.5 qt. slow cooker and pour in steel cut oats with other ingredients. Set to low. My experiments include different variations, and add healthful extras* in the morning:

1/2 C steel cut oats

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 C water (experiment for preferred consistency)
1 chopped apple (I add in the a.m.)

Salt & Cinnamon to taste
 

Cook overnight (@ 8 hours). In the morning stir and let sit briefly, then enjoy a hardy breakfast. This generally serves 2 people, depending on the size of appetites and extra ingredients added.
To increase this recipe & still use the smaller crockpot, add 3/4 C oats and 3 C water (or refer to package directions; the water generally does not double).
*Healthful a.m. extras include milk, nuts, flax  or chia seeds, raisins or dried cranberries, crumbled Fig Newton bars, agave nectar, etc.

Using a larger crockpot with an increased bottom surface area may lead to a more difficult clean-up unless making a substantial amount. After experimenting, I prefer the 1.5-qt. crockpot size, to serve 3 or less people.