Soaked Oatmeal With Gluten-Free Option

Soaked Oatmeal With Gluten-Free Option

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients

Step One: Soaking Oats
• 1 cup organic oats make sure it is not quick oats
• 1 tbsp rolled rye flakes (For Gluten Free see note below)
• 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar (or fresh-squeezed lemon juice)
• Pinch of Celtic sea salt
Step Two: Cooking
• 1 1/4 cup plain homemade almond milk (or raw whole milk)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon( Be sure not to add to much cinnamon as this can lower you sugar)
• 1/3 cup your favorite fruit, raisins, cherries, blueberries or a combo (Remember dried fruit is higher in sugar so I personally do not recommend it)
• Pure organic raw honey to taste (about 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoon or less if you are trying to control your sugar or you can omit this part and just use fruits to sweeten the oatmeal)

Instructions On Soaking Oats

Step One: Soaking Instructions
1. Place above ingredients into a glass mixing bowl or jar. Add enough warm filtered water to completely cover the mixture by 1-2 inches. Mix well to combine.
2. Cover the bowl or jar and place it in a warm area of your kitchen for about 12-24 hours.
Step Two: Cooking Instructions
3. Once soaking time is completed, drain oat mixture in a fine-mesh strainer and gently rinse.
4. Add drained oat mixture to a small saucepan. Add milk and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Immediately turn down heat and add cinnamon. Stir frequently and continue to simmer another couple of minutes or so, until oatmeal is cooked to desired consistency. My daughter likes it when it is a bit mushy so I cook it for a little longer but not to much or it will become a paste.
5. Sweeten with raw organic honey to taste. Serve into individual serving bowls and top with a little bit of milk or organic yogurt.

Notes

For Gluten Free: If you’re gluten-free and are able to tolerate oats, I recommend using certified Gluten Free rolled oats and combining them with ground buckwheat groats (not rye) for your soak. Buckwheat is actually a fruit, not a grain, and is completely gluten-free. It's often sold as buckwheat "cereal" (because it's slightly ground).

Substitutions: If you do not have access to rolled rye flakes, you can always use rye, whole spelt 

Alternate Serving Option: Follow above recipe, except do not include fruit or cinnamon and just serve the cooked oatmeal into a bowl and top with a bit of plain whole milk yogurt and fresh seasonal berries.

Ground Buckwheat Groats

Organic Buckwheat Groats are the hulled seeds of the buckwheat plant. These soft white seeds have a mild flavor, but when toasted or roasted, they have a delightfully intense flavor. 

Quick Oats– These have been pre-steamed, rolled very thinly and cut into smaller pieces. They are not nearly as flavorful as other options. They are the thinnest.

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been de-husked, steamed and then rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers before being stabilized by being lightly toasted. Also rolled oats that are sold as oatmeal usually, but not always, have had the tough bran removed. They have often, but not always, been lightly baked or pressure-cooked or "processed" in some fashion.

Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into pieces. Steel-cut oats come in different grades depending on the size of the pieces: pinhead (the largest), coarse, medium and fine. Steel-cut oats take longer to cook than instant or rolled oats due to their minimal processing, typically 15–30 minutes (less, if pre-soaked). 

Here’s an extract from Nourishing Traditions which explains the reason for soaking your oats

All grains contain phytic acid (an organic acid in which phosphorous is bound) in the outer layer or bran. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron especially zinc in the intestinal track and block their absorption.

This is why a diet high in un-fermented whole grains may led to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. The modern misguided practice of consuming large amounts of unprocessed bran often improves colon transit time at first but may lead to irritable bowel syndrome and, in the long term, many other adverse effects. 

Soaking allows enzyme, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. As little as seven hours of soaking in warm acidulated water will neutralize a large portion of phytic acid in grains. The simple practice of soaking cracked or rolled cereal grains overnight will vastly improve their nutritional benefits.

Resources:  WebMD.The Nourishing Home,Keeper Of The Home, Uncle Toby, The Kitchn