Currently, my favorite breakfast is Wheat Montana Steel-Cut Oat Cereal with a handful of chopped almonds, dried berries, a couple tablespoons of milk, and a little brown sugar. Just thinking about a warm bowl of it in my hands is what pulls me out of bed on these frosty mornings.
I like quick and easy weekday breakfasts. I use to eat hard-boiled eggs in the morning, but this fall a routine blood test showed that I have high LDL (the bad cholesterol). My numbers were high enough that my doctor said I was “borderline” for taking Lipitor. I knew that high cholesterol is often hereditary and that it can sometimes be controlled by diet, but beyond knowing a couple items to avoid, I was at a loss for an eating plan. (Hmmm…two hard-boiled eggs a day multiplied by 7…that’s probably not the best breakfast for someone with rampant heart disease in her family.)
Dr. Carlson suggested I visit with Livingston Healthcare Clinical Dietician Jessica Wilcox, and I’m so glad I did. I showed her a couple weeks of my food intake on My Fitness Pal. She analyzed it and told me I need more soluble fiber to my diet (good sources include legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds). We talked about doing little things like keeping cooked lentils in the fridge to toss into soups, salads or on top of entrees (lucky for me, delicious Timeless Seeds are grown right here in Montana). Now they’re part of at least one meal a day.
Jessica also said a person with my LDL levels should only be eating 3-5 eggs per week, so we totally had to revamp my breakfasts. I told her I love whole grains but limit my carbohydrate consumption. She looked at how many calories I burn daily through exercise (my Garmin Vivofit—purchased at Bozeman Running Company—is synced with My Fitness Pal) and saw that I was actually consuming too few calories for my activity level. She encouraged me to bump up my caloric intake by adding a couple snacks (like a handful of nuts or an apple with almond butter & a little agave nectar) and to eat a “diet of abundance” and not totally cut out anything. She especially encouraged me to add more whole grains to my breakfasts, which lead me to my current go-to.
Being a fan of quick, portable breakfasts I wasn’t sure I could fit in cooking steel cut oats on a daily basis, but it’s easy! And so much more delicious and satisfying than hard-boiled eggs. It sticks with me so much that I have to set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to have a snack, and there is NOTHING better than a steaming bowl of hot cereal before going skiing. I’ve even gotten my husband Dan and my parents hooked on it.
An unexpected, added benefit—which probably has more to do with bumping up my daily caloric intake—is that I’ve been losing weight by doing nothing but eating MORE…and consuming more complex carbs. (Jessica told me my body had been over-zealously hoarding every calorie it got, because I wasn’t giving it enough, and no matter how crazily I exercised, my body was going to fight to store those calories). Now, I’m fuller, my clothes are looser, and I am regularly purchasing products grown right here in Montana. That’s a win-win-win!
Wheat Montana products are sold in co-ops, grocery and health food stores throughout Montana.
I love my steel cut oats with fresh Montana huckleberries, a pinch of cinnamon, and a generous swirl of honey.
I like to soak them in water overnight so the cook faster before work in the morning!
My favorite steel-cut oat breakfast is pretty simple. I like my oats cooked a little longer so they’re soft and thick. I add a little fresh ground nutmeg and cinnamon, sun-dried golden raisins, Organic Valley whole milk, and just a taste of Wustner’s honey.
I prefer my steel cut oats with raisins and cooked in milk. I also like to add fresh strawberries and agave. MMMMMMMMM good.
I haven’t cooked steel cut oats yet, but I’m eager to try it out. It would be tasty with some blueberries and local honey.
I can’t stop. Besides the coconut, cinnamon, ginger, Macintosh apples mentioned earlier I also add dried cherries, brazil nuts, maple syrup, one carmel and some hemp hearts.
Because it is so labor intensive and I just don’t want to wait that long for my goodness in the morning I chop and combine enough for 4 separate bowls and the night before I add my water to one so the cook time is only 10 min in the morning. Start the day off with pie.
Ok, mine is done cooking now. Looking for my almond milk.
I like to make baked oatmeal with blueberries. Eat it with vanilla Greek Yogurt. It is like dessert for breakfast.
I love my steel-cut oats cooked with a slight crunch left in the oats with brown sugar, milk and a little coconut oil. Yummy!
I eat my steel cut oats with walnuts, raisins, chia seeds, maple syrup and almond milk….one of my favorite breakfasts!
I like my steel cuts carrot cake style…Matchstick carrots, unsweetened coconut, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, crystallized ginger and honey!
You can’t go wrong just eating these oats all by themselves but to make them extra special, I like to add our frozen hand picked Montana huckleberries…Delicious!
I like to mix my steel cut oats with yogurt, Chia seed, and fruit the night before.
steel cut oatmeal with blueberries & a little brown sugar is so yummy!
i put brown sugar,dried cranberries walnuts and cream on the oats.
Love oats with baked cinnamon apples.