Oatmeal In An Instant

The weekday breakfast project: entry #1

I never eat breakfast anymore. Well, never excluding the weekends lol…
If I do eat breakfast during the week, it’s usually just a packet of instant oatmeal or a toasted bagel…not.good.

So I’ve made a new year’s commitment to start eating a healthy breakfast on the weekdays more often. I realize I won’t always be on the ball with this, but I’m committed to make progress as the year goes on.

And yeah, I guess instant oatmeal is better than no breakfast at all, but I still felt I could do better… so that’s where this comes in:


Steel cut oats are supposed to be the tops when it comes to nutritional value, more than standard quaker rolled oats, and way more than instant. They also have a naturally creamy, nutty texture that’s really nice…the downside: they take forever to cook!

Much longer than I have time for when I’m in a rush to get to work.

Since I’d seen frozen Irish-style oatmeal at Trader Joe’s, I figured I could do it myself and save some money. So here’s my solution, if you, like me, crave a comforting and healthy bowl of oats in the morning:

Freeze-ahead Steel Cut Oatmeal
1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water
Pinch of salt

When you’ve got some down time, combine 1 cup of steel cut oats and 4 cups of water in bowl and cover. This should soak for at least 2 hours in the fridge, or better yet, overnight.

After soaking, pour the entire contents into a saucepan and cook, uncovered, over medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.

Once the oatmeal has cooked down to a creamy consistency, stir in the pinch of salt.

Allow to cool slightly, and then scoop 3/4 cup servings into small freezer ziploc bags. This recipe makes about 5 servings.

Squeeze out as much air as you can from the bags, and press them flat so they take up minimal space in your freezer. Seal and date. These keep well for about 3 months.

steel cut, old fashioned rolled, instant

When you’re ready to eat: run warm water over the bag to break up the oatmeal, then dump it into a bowl and microwave.

And there it is, “instant” oatmeal with a nutritional kick!
Now it's ready to be dressed up…or not…however you like it!

Here’s what I’ve been having recently:

Cranberry Maple Oatmeal

Empty the thawed oatmeal into a microwavable bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries.

Stir in 1-3 tablespoons of liquid (milk, water, soy) depending on what consistency you like...

Microwave, covered, for 2-3 minutes on HIGH, stirring once or twice.

Drizzle the warm oatmeal with a tablespoon maple syrup, and top with ground flax or wheat germ if desired.

A healthy homemade breakfast in under 5 minutes!

If you have ideas for quick & healthy breakfasts, please share!