Love in the Kitchen | Steel-Cut Oats and Strawberries

It’s winter here in my part of the globe and a COLD winter it is.  Over the past few weeks we have been experiencing unusually low temperatures for our region.  When the weather gets like this I switch into to “warming” mode, which means that I focus on keeping my body as warm as possible and protecting against seasonal cold and flu.

I typically increase my intake of teas.  However, this week I decided that I also felt inclined to add soups and hearty oatmeal.  There is something that is comforting for me about warm, hearty oatmeal on a cold, winter morning.  Because I am conscious of my sugar and carb intake, due to my challenges with PCOS and Insulin Resistance,  I don’t really trust the conventional store brands of oatmeal.  I have found that most of them contain ingredients that are unhealthy for me like high fructose corn syrup, added sugars, and have a high carb load.

So I choose to make my own oatmeal with lots of love and fresh, all natural ingredients that I know are healing and beneficial to my health.   Here is a picture of my most recent adventure making steel cut oats with love in the kitchen:

I’m excited to share this recipe with you!  Give it a try and let me know how it turned out for you.

Ingredients

4 cups of almond milk (regular, sweetened is best)

2 cups of steel cut oats

1/2 cup of quinoa (I used rainbow, but you can use any kind)

1/4 cup of flax seeds

3 tablespoons of chia seeds

1 full scoop of vegan protein powder (this is optional)

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (I like mine spicy so I use extra)

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1 cup of fresh strawberries (I prefer organic)

Cooking Instructions: 

1. Combine the oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, quinoa, protein powder, and cinnamon in the pan and stir dry to mix up the ingredients well
2. Add the almond milk
3. Begin cooking on low heat for approximately 5 minutes
4. Stir slowly and continuously
5. Add coconut oil
6. Add vanilla extract
7. Add natural sweetener if desired (maple syrup,  stevia)
8. Once the liquid begins to “bubble” turn off heat.
9. Serve in a beautiful bowl and top with sliced strawberries

Serves 4 people.

For alternate ingredients you can always add these items for variety:

• nuts
• other berries
• bananas
• apples
• peaches

So go ahead and give it a try!  Then leave me a message to let me know how it went.  I’d love to hear from you.