Fast food breakfast

Sunday seems to be the busiest morning of the week around here ! Hubby is a church cantor ( soloist and song leader) with one congregation and singer/bass player for a second, so Sunday is another work day in a sense without the amenities that an office job can offer. When you have to start singing at 8 am( not counting warm ups or rehersal) and continue to sing till 1 pm , it's a vocation done out of love. If you are trying to lose weight and said environment only offers your standard coffee and doughnut kind of fellowship gathering fare, you best make sure you are satiated before you enter. So this means a hearty breakfast that can be ready by 6 am. I have tried crocpot oats , flax cereal, cottage cheese and cold cereal, muffins and so on- all of which work well , but have disadvantages. This morning I tried something different, which happens to be something I rank as a champagne of grains- steel cut oats done fast !

First a word about steel cut oats. They are not the same as rolled oats,. When an oat grain is rolled, it becomes a flake. When an oat grain is cut with steel blades, it looks like a broken kernel of rice. It is better for you due to the fact that more of the grain ( germ, bran hull and such) stays attached. A 1/4 cup of dry steel cut oats provides 150 calories, 2 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein and 0 grams sugar. Great stuff for your body ! 10,000 Scots Irish cannot be wrong - oats gave the ancient Celts the strength to not only battle but run around in nothing but kilts in a cold , damp climate ! Problem is, they take a LONG time to cook on the stove ! Mix oats and water, bring to a bpoil and simmer 30-40 minutes . No go ! They work in a crockpot, but become crusty around the edges. So what is the answer ? Enter overnight steel cut oats !!!!

A bowl of the beauties, waiting for toppings of choice

To make them is an absolute no brainer . In a pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Then turn off the heat, add 1 cup of steel cut oats, cover and let it set overnight. In the morning, simply heat and eat. Creamy, robust, soft but munchy texture- oatmeal bliss ! Add a little brown sugar or chocolate chips or dried fruit or cream or........

So fast . So easy. So hearty. This is definitely a breakfast that will be repeated !