My Late Night Ritual

In the last 3 months, I have made some changes to the way I eat.  One thing I initiated a couple months ago was a "bedtime" snack.  We had read somewhere that if we ate at night to make it a complex carb and it would also help to induce sleep.  I settled on oatmeal.

Up until then oatmeal was only something I enjoyed in baked goods.  I will not eat regular oatmeal.  It's consistency is unappealing to me.  Mushy, sticky and slimy.  Oh like bananas!  I don't touch those either.  For me, it has to be steel cut and not instant either.

Steel cut oats look like grain!

I do them in my rice cooker.  I make a cups worth and it lasts me 4 nights.  I feed it to the kids when they are here too.  It's become our ritual a couple hours before bed.  This is my usual recipe.

Rice Cooker Oatmeal
1 cup regular steel cut oats (I prefer McCann's)
3 1/3 cup water
1 tsp salt
3 T vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

I mix it all in the pot and then set it to porridge and forget it.  You could also make it in a crock pot or on the stove the internet has many instructions on how to do this.

It's Done

I use less water than the instructions call for as I like mine with some substance and like the feel of the intact kernels of oats.  This smells heavenly when it's cooking.

Stir well when done.  You can refrigerate it for later use.

I take serving and pour some milk over it (I like almond milk or coconut milk but anything is good).  Microwave it for 90 sec and then stir until creamy, adding more milk if needed.

You can be creative with toppings.  Brown sugar, nuts, fruit, cinnamon.

My go to is unsweetened shredded coconut, sliced almonds, brown sugar and a Tb of dark chocolate chips.  I have a bowl nearly every night.  I had stopped losing weight and when I started doing this, the scale started moving again.  My daughter said it happened for her too.

Now my boys like it better savory than sweet.  I make a separate batch with just salt and chicken broth.  I serve it with minced green onions, minced salted radish and shoyu (soy sauce).  My oldest adds a bit of chili sauce too.  If you are familiar with Chinese jook or congee, this is very similar.

It is a comforting, soothing way to end my night and keep me from waking up with hunger pains in the middle of the night.

How do you like your oatmeal?