I'm a reader of Kath Eats Real Food, and anyone who peruses her site knows that oatmeal is a favorite of hers. She inspired me one cold morning last week and I created what I'm pretty certain is the world's best oatmeal. Bold statement? Let's do a deep dive in to the details and you can determine for yourself!
Oh, and I make this on weekday mornings. It takes about as much "hands on" time as instant oatmeal, but keeps my belly full and happy until lunch time. There is no way that instant oatmeal would give me the same results; my tummy would be growling by 8 am!
It's important that you don't use "instant" or "quick cooking" oats for this. Look for the term "old fashioned".
Instant/quick cooking = wonder bread
Old fashioned = whole grain bread
Both are technically "bread", but one is much better for you than the other. I buy my oats from Azure Standard in 25 lb bags; organic for $18.75. So in terms of cheap breakfasts, this one is at the top of the list.
Bestest Ever Oatmeal
(the measurements are doubled since this guy I married seems to get hungry in the morning too. Pfft!)
2 cups of water
1.5 cups of rolled oats (not instant)
sprinkle of salt
1 tsp brown sugar (try homemade)
splash of vanilla (try homemade)
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tblsp almond butter (try homemade <--- that is peanut butter, but I use the same recipe with almonds)
small pat of butter
Fruit of your choice the pièce de résistance : 1 homemade graham cracker
Now before we get started, you need to know four things:
1) I have a huge supply of frozen peach halves in my freezer that I froze this summer.
2) I also have a huge supply of homemade graham crackers in the freezer. So, I'm no knocking out graham crackers every morning for breakfast.
3) I'll explain how I can make non-instant oatmeal on a busy week day morning by sharing my timeline.
4) I like my oatmeal still a bit "chewy". Soggy watery oatmeal is not the result of this recipe.
We good? Ok then!
Timeline: before I start drying my hair, I put the water on to boil.
1) In a medium to large pan (I find the water boils a lot faster when it's not "deep"), boil 2 cups of lightly salted water.
This, for those of you who don't know, is water boiling in a pan. You're welcome.
Timeline: go back to the bathroom and dry my hair. Please keep in mind my hair is wicked fine and dries super quickly. Turn on flat iron.
2) Come back and add the 1.5 cups of oats. Turn the heat to low or off, keep the pan on the burner, and put the lid on it.
You know the captivating photo above of boiling water? I really outdid myself by putting a lid on it!
Put my frozen peach half in the microwave for 45 seconds.
Timeline: back to the bathroom to flat iron my hair. Now that I'm all stylin' and profilin', I'm done with the bathroom and am headed to the kitchen.
3) Give the oats a good stir, add the vanilla and pat of butter, and put the lid back on the pan.
4) In a bowl, chop up the peach, and put the almond butter on top.
5) Cover with the hot oats, chia seeds, and brown sugar. Top with graham cracker.
6) Immediately take to your blog like an ass proclaiming your dish to be superior to all other breakfasts.
