Clean Eating Crockpot Overnight Oatmeal

Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each
This will seem kind of silly written out as a recipe because it’s so simple but this oatmeal has changed my life. I felt like I was running around all day and never having enough time for anything. My Mom suggested I take a day to write down what I was doing every 10 minutes to see where I was really spending (and possibly wasting) most of my time.

I found out that it took me 55 minutes to microwave oatmeal for the boys and I for breakfast! It only takes 2 or 3 minutes to make each bowl but, with the 700 interruptions from the baby and toddler, it actually took that long from when I took the bowls out of the cupboard to when we were actually sitting at the table eating. With overnight oatmeal we all wake up to a delicious smell and it’s like someone’s gotten up early and made me breakfast.

Now it only takes me 4 minutes from cupboard to eating. Very cool. Especially if you consider the fact that we have oatmeal for breakfast at least 4 times a week year round. That's 173 1/3 hours or 7 days of work that I'm saving myself!

Made with Chocolate Soy Milk
(otherwise known as the morning I won Mom of the Year)

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup steel cut oats (or other whole grains like brown rice, millet, or quinoa)
• 1 cup almond milk (or whatever kind of milk you like)
• 3 ¼ cups water
• 1 tsp almond extract (optional)

ONE: Place a small baking dish into the center of your crockpot (I use a 1 ½ quart round corningware). This decreases the cooking area and stops the oatmeal from drying out. (If you have a 2 qt crockpot... like the one I got for Valentine's day specifically for making oatmeal hehehe... you can omit this step).

TWO: Dump the oats into the baking dish and add the almond milk and water (you can use any type of milk you like or replace the milk with an extra cup of water but the milk certainly makes it creamier).

THREE: Pour about a cup of water into the larger crock outside of the baking dish to make a water bath (this also helps to prevent the oatmeal from drying out). Cover the crock and cook on low overnight, about 8 hours.

Porridge with Dried Peaches added the night before
(taken BEFORE it was stirred... kinda gross looking, right?)

After it was stirred...yum :)
(and much more appetizing looking)

This makes a very thick oatmeal (or porridge as we call it in our house). I’m talking your-spoon-can-stand-up-in-it thick and it gets even thicker as it cools. The oatmeal will stick to the spoon, which is excellent if it’s being eaten by a toddler who insists on feeding themself. However, If you like your oatmeal more liquidy, I recommend stirring some extra milk or water into it while it’s still hot in the baking dish.

Look, Mom, no mess!!

And I’m not going to lie, it looks kind of gross in the morning because the very top dries out and makes a little bit of a crust. Once you stir it all together, though, all you’ll see is warm, creamy goodness. You can eat it as is or add your own favorite mix-ins. In our house we usually mix in 2 frozen banana cubes (from the freezer stash made using the small portions method) but we’ve also done berries, honey, agave nectar, and even peanut butter. You could also add 1 cup of dried fruit, such as raisins, to the raw steel cut oats and it will be plump and moist in the morning. Make it your own :)

You could certainly freeze this in 1-cup servings using the medium/large portions method but it is so easy to throw in the night before it would probably take less time to make it fresh than it would take to defrost it.

NUTRITION INFO:

Per 1-cup Serving - 160 Calories (34 Calories from Fat), 3g Fat, 0g Saturated Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 45mg Sodium, 27g Total Carbohydrates, 3g Dietary Fiber, 0g Sugars, 4g Protein, 2% DV Vitamin A, 0% DV Vitamin C, 9% DV Calcium, 9% DV Iron
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