Irish Steel Cut Oats

First of all let me say the oatmeal craze among food and health bloggers has been off the charts lately. It is making me crave oatmeal like never before. Growing up oatmeal was always an “old person” food to me – something grandparents ate. I’m so glad the health benefits have come out and now it seems to be enjoyed by just about everyone.

Once I found out how good homemade whole oats were I left instant oatmeal behind a few years ago. All that artificial flavor just can’t compare. The time issue isn’t an argument either. It takes me 2 ½ minutes to make my oatmeal in the microwave and maybe an extra 5 to add ingredients and the flavor is 10 times better.

Before I go on, I have to tell you some very cool news I found out last week – I’m part Irish! As I’ve gotten older I’ve become a lot more interested in my roots especially regarding food. I’ve always known I was German and I’m very drawn to that culture and food. My recent trips to Ireland over the past two years have created similar feelings.

I have an uncle who has followed our family tree back and last week he shared some of the information with us. Apparently my grandfather’s family (not sure how far back yet) came over from Ireland to Virginia. I have to say I’m very proud of this. Bring on the brown bread, scones and Guinness pie!

So anyway, this really doesn’t have anything to do with my new family history finding, but I have always wanted to try Irish Steel Cut Oats. I’m pretty sure this is what I had in the form of porridge while in Dun Laoghaire this year, but I had never made them myself.

The difference in the steel cut oats isn’t really in the nutritional value, but as the name implies, in the way they are cut and processed. They are the whole grain groats cut into 2-3 pieces. Everything I read talked about the heartier texture and I agree. They have a bite to them; a chewiness. Boiling them also results in a creamy texture so there is no need to make them with milk.

I was worried I wouldn’t want to put in the time to cook them, but I have learned it is completely worth it. I may not always have time to make them during the week, but Irish Steel Cut Oats will definitely be a part of my regular weekend breakfast.

For this type of oat, ¼ cup dry is considered on serving. I prepared a ½ cup and it really made three small, but adequate servings. Combine ½ cup of the oats with 2 cups of water and boil stirring often. Watch them because they might boil over if the heat is too high. As they begin to thicken, stir constantly until they reach your desired thickness. The whole process took me about 30 minutes.

I topped mine with frozen blueberries, brown sugar and walnuts. If you’ve seen these oats in stores and haven’t tried them yet, I say go for it. They are one of my new favorite breakfasts.

PS. I also wanted to mention that I got my Larabar JamFrakas thanks to Megan’s Munchies! They were pretty good. I saved the banana chocolate one to the very last because I thought I wouldn’t like it, but it ended up being my favorite. I’ve eaten a lot of bars in the past when I worked in gyms from the ultra high protein to those filled with ephedrine (when it was allowed). I try to steer clear of them now and go for real food, but from time to time they are convenient. I did like the health profile for the Larabar. A good choice for traveling for me.