More on steel cut oats, for those who want to know.

We had our oatmeal again so I took some photos to show you what it looks like. I wish I could give you a big ol' bite. It's very good. It tastes a bit different than rolled oatmeal, and it has a bit of bite to it. I don't mean spicy bite, I mean crunchy bite. The difference is sort of like eating brown rice instead of white rice. Or a slice of grainy bread instead of a piece of white bread.



We get these Honeyville Farm oats from Amazon dot com but you can get the oats at most grocery stores. The brand I see most in stores is John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal. It comes in a metal 28 oz. can. Here's what it looks like. I keep both on hand.




Steel-cut oatmeal takes a bit longer to cook and it's a bit pricier, but the health benefits are much better than rolled oats. I guess what they do is to take the oat groat (the inner part of the whole grain) and cut it into 2 or 3 pieces so they look like little square pieces of rice or ...um....oats! It's a whole grain food. They are high in fiber, selenium, B vitamins, they're loaded with calcium and protein, and a fatty acid called gamma linolenic acid.



It takes 1 cup of oats to 6 cups of water, then you just boil them for about half an hour. They begin to thicken as they cook. With those measurements you get about 2 cups of cooked oats. It's just enough for Andy and I. We made some extra today so I can try re-heating them in the morning.



I always eat mine with some Splenda, a dollop of Smuckers Simply Fruit preserves (today I had blueberry...but my fave is strawberry), a spritz of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray (I used to have it with a dollop of butter too...not anymore...I'm trying to keep it healthy!), and a little splash of skim milk. I also add a sprinkle of cinnamon sometimes due to it's aid to blood sugar level health.