Slow Cooker Oatmeal – Eat More and Live Longer

I’ve seen many recipes for slow cooker oatmeal that include coconut and milk, and other add-ins, but I actually prefer pure, unadulterated oatmeal. I finally realized that to make it creamy you just need to add extra water and cook for a long time. What could be simpler than this: 

2 cups of John McCann Steel Cut Oatmeal

8-9 cups of water

Place in slow cooker. Turn to low for 6 hours. Stir after an hour if possible.

Toppings of your choice:

• berries
• sliced or slivered almonds or chopped walnuts (courtesy of Trader Joe’s)
• cinnamon sugar (mix up 1 Tbsp of cinnamon to 5 Tbsp of sugar and keep in sealed container; stays for months.

The leftover oatmeal can be kept in a sealed container and re-heated in separate portions over the week. It solidifies in the fridge, so just break it up a bit and microwave briefly and you can have a healthy breakfast all week. Oatmeal is a good lowfat source of fiber with some protein (4 grams in a one-cup serving). By adding the berries and nuts, it becomes a filling meal that should keep you going for a good few hours every morning. It may reduce cholesterol and is good for bowel health. For added benefit in the case of constipation, you can sprinkle it with ground flax seed.

Oatmeal isn’t usually found on a list of ‘wonder foods’ but it actually is! An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week looked at 120,000 health professionals over decades and found that higher whole grain consumption is associated with lower death rate overall and for cardiac causes in particular. These results are consistent with prior recommendations to eat more whole grains to prevent chronic disease.

Reference:

JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 05, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.6283