Small steps food series
Breakfast
Oats and how to prepare them
For many, porridge is a staple breakfast. And it makes total sense - we love reaching for warming breakfast options when cool weather rolls around. Our family definitely loves porridge!
How you prepare oats isn’t just a game-changer for flavour and texture, it also makes them better for your body. We have lost the art of preparing food for optimal digestion. For example: generations ago, before packets of dried yeast were available, bread was fermented and risen naturally - which is far easier to digest (as you would have read about yesterday).
Oats contain a lot of phytic acid - an anti-nutrient. In other words - dodgy. We want to reduce this. Luckily there is a cheeky little enzyme in oats called phytase that we can activate which kills off a lot of the phytic acid and means that our bodies can absorb all of the gorgeous nutrients from the grain. It's really simple to do and you might notice a difference in how you feel after eating it.
So before you go to bed at night, soak your oats. We use organic rolled oats but the soaking process definitely turns them into 'quick oats' as it takes no time at all to cook them in the morning!
And things taking no time in the morning? It’s definitely something a lot of us feel we need to aim for. When it comes to breakfast - so many of us struggle thinking that we have NO TIME to eat well. The morning routine doesn’t allow us the opportunity to prepare something nutritious. We are going to turn that belief on its head this week - and as we move through the daily ideas, I want you to think about a few things…
Do you believe it’s possible to create a morning that works for you?
Do you believe you deserve to be nourished and cared for just as much as your family?
How we feel about ourselves - our self-worth - dictates a lot of our actions. I see so many women’s desire to feed their family well coming from a genuine, loving and giving place. I often wonder if they are treating themselves with as much love and care?
This stuff matters - often more than the food! So if you struggle to believe you are worthy of feeling fantastic - then sit with that for a little while. See what comes up. Here’s what I know - you are BEYOND worthy. You are precious. You are important to so many people and your life, health, happiness is your #1 priority.
Just saying….. x
Recipes to try
The following recipe is enough for four of us.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups oats
Water (enough to cover)
Squeeze of lemon or splash of apple cider vinegar
½ cup additional water
1 Tbls of butter or coconut cream
Instructions
1. Put the oats into a bowl and cover them with room temperature/tepid water
2. Once covered, add about another inch of water on top
3. Then the important part is to add an acid hit - a little squeeze of lemon juice OR a tiny splash of good quality Apple Cider Vinegar (the Braggsbrand is good) will do
4. Cover it and leave it out on the bench overnight
5. In the morning put it in a saucepan, add about 1/2 cup more water and either a tbls butter or tbls coconut cream. Crack some salt in if it tickles your fancy
6. Cook it over a moderate heat for around 5 minutes. Don't forget to stir or else it will stick to the bottom!
7. Once it's at the consistency you like take it off the stove and top with whatever your taste buds desire.
We top with pureed pear, cinnamon and chia seeds.
Or perhaps a drizzle of pure maple syrup.
I also love slicing apple in matchsticks and adding chopped almonds, a little desiccated coconut and maple syrup.
Or top with berries and a dollop of natural full-fat yoghurt.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 level tsp cinnamon
1 apple grated
small squeeze of lemon juice or a few drops of apple cider vinegar
2 cups milk (dairy or dairy free) + more if not completely covered with liquid
Instructions:
1. Put all ingredients in a container and stir until well combined
2. Cover and place in the fridge overnight
3. In the morning add your choice of toppings – nuts, seeds, berries, fruit – and extra milk if required
If all else fails and no one eats it - then whip up a batch of these beauties!
Ingredients:
1 cup of leftover cooked porridge
1 cup wholemeal spelt flour (you could use normal wheat flour if you prefer)
1 egg
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of sultanas
1/4 cup of rapadura sugar (you can use brown sugar but rapadura which is available at the health food store is a healthier option)
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a mini-muffin tin with butter or oil (I used macadamia oil or olive oil would work too). It makes around 16 mini-cupcakes. (Feel free to try larger cupcakes moulds but I have a feeling that the cakes would end up not rising and being a little too dense. These ones are a perfect snack size.)
2. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until fully combined. The mixture should be thick and sticky.
3. Then divide the mixture evenly (about a large teaspoon full for each cake). Remember they will rise.
4. Put into the oven for twenty minutes or until cooked through.
So delicious still warm. Or not. Either way I think you’ll love them. Let me know!
A short watch
Jana Kingsford (a female entrepreneur with a young family) explains how it wasn’t that she had NO TIME to eat well. It’s that she had NO ENERGY! She makes a game-changing point. Watch this clip to get a sense of what she’s talking about.
I wonder if you relate?
Want more? View the full interview with Jana here.
Need help? Email us on info@smallstepsliving.com