Overnight Oatmeal

Fall is in the air in Atlanta.  I love waking up to cool morning temperatures.  It never fails, as soon as the temperature drops, I start craving pumpkin muffins and pumpkin spiced coffee.  What a great start to a beautiful Fall day.   

Just in case you're curious, I didn't go to Starbucks to get a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  I made my pumpkin coffee at home - the easy way.  I love the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks but there are 2 big problems with it - it's expensive and it's got way too many calories.  Check out the nutritional information on a grande pumpkin spice latte with 2% milk.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Nutrition Facts Per Serving (16 fl oz)

Calories 380	Calories from Fat 120
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g	20%
Saturated Fat 8g	40%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 50mg	17%
Sodium 220mg	10%
Total Carbohydrate 51g	18%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Sugars 49g
Protein 14g
It's totally worth the splurge sometimes but I certainly couldn't indulge in one of those very often.  I like to make an easy - non fat version at home that is almost as good as Starbucks.

 






I sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice on top of my decaf coffee grounds and brew as usual.  (I know what you're thinking - Amy you're a genius.) 








So there you have it, breakfast of champions - pumpkin chocolate chip muffin and pumpkin spice coffee.  Even though I would be perfectly happy with a muffin, I know that I also need to incorporate protein into my breakfast to get me through my morning workouts.  My new favorite breakfast protein?  Oatmeal.

I'm going to show my true roots now and let you in on a little secret - I'm an oatmeal eater and not a fan of grits.  (I'm pretty sure I could be asked to leave the state of Georgia for a comment like that.)  I know there aren't too many people in the south who share my love of oatmeal but I am a true Midwestern girl and oatmeal is my comfort food.  I'm not talking about the overly sweet and salty oatmeal that you buy in the packets, I'm talking about really great, creamy and nutty steel cut oats.  The biggest problem with steel cut oats is the amount of time that it takes to get them creamy.  I found a recipe for Steel Cut oats in Cook's Illustrated this month that I can put together before I go to bed and then finish in about 10 minutes in the morning.  This recipe may just convert some diehard grit eaters to oatmeal eaters. 

Steel Cut Oats
2 cups water
1/2 cup steel cut oats
pinch of salt

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan.  Stir in oats.  

Cover and remove from heat.  Let sit overnight.  

Add 1/2 cup water to oats, bring to a boil and stir until creamy.  (about 10 minutes.)

This recipe makes 2 generous bowls of oatmeal.  (One for me and one for my son.)  The other 2 oatmeal eaters in the house still prefer the packages of oatmeal.  (I'm still working on them.)  I like to "doctor" mine up with nuts and fruits.  These are some of my favorite ways to enjoy my oatmeal:






Slivered almonds and dried cranberries














Slivered almonds and sliced bananas
















Oats with frozen blueberries from the blueberry farm

Oats with walnuts and brown sugar.

Maybe I will try some pumpkin oatmeal soon too.  Oatmeal is so good for you.  It's hearty and delicious and nutritious - a trifecta of breakfast foods.  Go ahead - try Steel Cut oats - I promise not to tell anyone. 

Ciao!



Steel Cut Oats
2 cups water
1/2 cup steel cut oats
pinch of salt

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan.  Stir in oats.  Cover and remove from heat.  Let sit overnight.  Add 1/2 cup water to oats, bring to a boil and stir until creamy.  (about 10 minutes.)