Breakfast Updates

A while ago I wrote about my attempts to healthify our breakfasts (don't you just love made up words, you don't? - well, too bad, I do). Here is an update on what I have learned:

Oatmeal - I bought some steel cuts oats and tried both the overnight soak/stovetop method and the crockpot as a double boiler technique. Both worked.

The crockpot method - It left a little bit of what I could only describe as "goo" on top of the bowl but once I stirred it into the oatmeal and it didn't have a taste effect so don't let that scare you. And it was really easy and made practically no mess (just one bowl more to clean that cold cereal).

The overnight soak/stove top - This was nice since it incorporated soaking which is even more healthy but it took too long for me to do on a weekday. It was easy and didn't need much watching, but I don't have an extra 15 minutes on a weekday, it would be fine for a weekend though.

The biggest discovery was really that we don't like steel cut oats. Craig doesn't really like oatmeal at all, he will tolerate it when we are camping but in general, he prefers cold cereal. I like oatmeal from rolled oats but steel cut oats are too chewy or nutty or something. Anyway, if you like steel cut oats, either of those two methods would probably work fine for you but I would rather eat oats either in granola or meusli form.

Refrigerator Muffins - Love, Love, Love these. I just pop them in the oven before I take my shower and Craig takes them out when he heads downstairs. By the time I am dressed, they are sitting there for me, all warm and yummy.

I used this recipe because it uses applesauce instead of oil, not only because it is healthier but it means the muffins are super moist. And I hate dry muffins. The first time, I made the recipe as it is written, except for using all sugar, not half splenda. I just made a second batch using half wheat flour and I couldn't really taste a difference at all. Next time, I will try cutting down the sugar since with the applesauce and sugar in the cereal plus the extra you add, they are pretty sweet. I think they will be fine with 1/2 of the amount listed but I haven't tried it yet. I didn't want to make too many adjustments at one time. The recipe says it makes 50 servings but I only made three muffins a day for 7 days and it was all gone. That also means I can't vouch for the batter lasting more than a week but they are so good, you probably won't have that problem either. Oh, and this week we splurged a bought a big thing of blueberries and a couple blueberries added to top each morning also does not hurt these muffins one bit.

Granola - I have had a request for my granola recipe. It isn't a family secret, just something I made up after reading several different recipes online and combining what I thought sounded good. The first time it was great. The second time it sat for a week on my counter waiting for the new oven to arrive. It was edible, but had a weird texture. I am pretty sure it was because it sat there and soaked up moisture but I want to try it again to make sure I really do like it before I post it. But it should be coming soon.