Quick, easy and delicious... Soaked Oatmeal

Breakfast.... the most important meal of the day. But, are the cereals on the shelf at the grocery store really that good for you? I tend to lean towards no. With the prevalence of GMO grains and the needless use of an abundance of sugar and high fructose corn syrup in breakfast foods, I try and stay away from store bought cereals as much as possible. Of course with my DH not caring about these things, cereal tends to make its way to the breakfast table more often than I'd like. But for those days when it's just me and my kiddo, oatmeal is our breakfast of choice.

And I'm not talking about the little premade packages devoid of natural nutrition and laden with sugars, preservatives, and ingredients you can't even pronounce. I'm talking about the old fashioned oats. The good stuff, full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The things a growing body needs. Of course, the argument I hear from most moms is it takes solo long to make in the morning and its such a hassle when you're trying to gets kids ready for school and running around like crazy, you know the normal morning most moms have to deal with. Well, I have an amazing solution for you. Soaked oatmeal!

Now what exactly is soaked oatmeal you might be asking and how is it easier than cereal with milk? Its super easy, and just about anyone can make it. Plus if your a mom who doesn't have a ton of time to spend in the kitchen it refrigerates well and reheats just as well. So first, we'll tackle this idea of soaking. Many great articles have been written on the subject of soaking grains and the added nutritional value and digestibility it creates. Here is one of my favorites http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2012/01/whats-the-fuss-about-soaking-grains-explanation-and-research-shared.html.

Like the author of this article, I also gained most of my information on soaking grains from Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions. So how does one soak oatmeal? Quite simply by measuring out an amount of oatmeal, adding to it the same amount of water, and then a small amount of an acid medium. For my family the soaked oatmeal recipe below is enough for two plentiful servings.

Soaked Oatmeal Recipe
1 cup organic rolled oats
1 cup room temperature filtered water
1 Tbsp buttermilk, whey, yogurt, vinegar, etc.

1 cup water, slightly more if you like thinner oatmeal
1 Organic banana, peeled Honey, maple syrup, blubeeries, peaches, avocado, etc. Anything you want to add to give your oatmeal a little more flavor.

Add the first three ingredients into a pot, cover with a lid and leave on the stove or counter to soak overnight. Most recommendations say to soak for 12-24 hours, I tend to make up a batch of oatmeal while cleaning up from dinner, making the soaking time somewhere around 13 hours or so.

The main advantage of soaking for busy moms is the reduced cooking time. Oats prepared this way will cook up in about 5-10 minutes the next morning! So, the next morning after soaking I add the rest of the ingredients along with the banana, all you need do is peel and break in half. Turn on high, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook about 5-10 minutes, depending on how you like the consistency of your oatmeal. Remember to stir occasionally while cooking. The banana almost melts into the oatmeal as it's cooking and gives a flavor my little one and I love!

 

 

This is a favorite breakfast around our house as there are so many different variations you can come up with. Any type of fresh fruit, or canned if it's what you have on hand, will add great flavor and nutrition to this easy and simple breakfast. Need it a little sweeter? Simply add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. And voila a great and healthy breakfast your kids will love!

 



 That's it for today, enjoy your amazing soaked oatmeal breakfast, and thanks for stopping by. Blessings!

Whole Grain Artisan Bread

My addiction to pinterest is evergrowing. Last week I found a recipe for a Panera bread broccoli and cheese soup. And along with that recipe was a recipe for an artisan bread in 5 minutes. Now, the brocooli soup was delicious! But, the artisan bread recipe has led me on a quest to learn more.

 

What is this artisan bread you might ask? Well, it is a no-knead bread recipe which requires little to no attention, minimal prep work, and a small amount of resting time prior to baking. I've started reading several books on the subject, and my favorite so far is Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzber and Zoe Francois. A link to their website is here www.artisanbreadinfive.com.

 

So, I picked up the book from the library yesterday and am absolutely enthralled by it. Of course I had to try a recipe right away, although right away actually means we didn't get to eat it until lunchtime today. It was definitely worth the wait though.

 

The ingredients were simple, whole grain, and healthy which makes me one happy Mama. It doesn't get much simpler than white whole wheat flour, yeast, kosher salt, vital wheat gluten and water. All of which I had on hand. I'm not going to list the recipe here because it wouldn't be fair to the authors who worked so hard on this book. Here is a link to a similar, but not whole grain, bread listed on their website http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2009/10/26/our-new-book-healthy-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-is-released-tomorrow-get-yourself-some-vital-wheat-gluten-and-make-our-whole-grain-master-recipe. 

 

So, let's take a look at this fabulous bread!

 

First the ingredients...

 

 

 

I use King Arthur Flour in almost everything I bake. It's a great quality and easy to come by at a great price. For this recipe, I used the White Whole Wheat Flour. It's not as heavy or dense as regular Whole Wheat Flour, so DH likes it way better. Next some SAF Instant yeast and Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour. According to the book this will help the bread dough keep up better during storage in the fridge. And lastly Morton's Coarse Sea Salt. The water is not pictured.

 

Next, I mixed all the dry ingredients together in my wonderful Kitchen-Aid mixer with paddle attachment and then added the water and mixed about 10-15 seconds. There was still a little flour that had not been moistened, so I had to mix for a few seconds by hand with a wooden spoon. All told I spent about 10 minutes in prep. Now, just to wait.

 

That's what's so great about this bread! There is no kneading, no cleaning and oiling the bowl, it's soooo simple!!!

 

Here's is the dough after letting it rest 3 hours covered with plastic wrap. It rose about double in size and is a bit bubbly and quite wet compared to traditional bread dough.

 

 

 

Next step in this all too easy process is to let the dough magic work while it sits in the fridge. The dough is usable up to 14 days after going into the fridge. It will develop more of  a sourdough flavor the longer it rests.

 

This morning, I woke up and took the dough out from the fridge. It had flattened down a little, but this is normal. I cut half the dough out, dusted it with flour and shaped it into a boule.





 

 

 

Now we wait again. So far only about 15 minutes of actual work has gone into making this dough. Much, much easier than traditional bread dough. The dough gets covered with plastic wrap and rests for about 90 minutes.

 

Next into the oven. Theoretically, the dough should have just slid off my cookie sheet and onto the waiting griddle. Unfortunately, this theory didn't work. I'm thinking quite a bit more flour may be needed next time, or I need to invest in a real pizza peel.

 

Here's the set up in the oven.Not noted in the picture is a cast iron skillet that went below the griddle for creating steam.

 



 

After the oven preheated and the dough rose, into the oven it went, albeit a bit topsy turvy. The top of my bread boule ended up on the griddle while the bottom of the boule was facing up. Needless to say, this did not affect the final product in anyway, well except for maybe in looks.

 

 

The top of my bread is a bit wavy and curvy from it's flip onto the hot griddle, but it still tastes delicious and smells heavenly I might add. The crumb is delicate while the crust is nice and crisp. We had this for lunch, and it was a hit with the whole family.

 

If you love fresh bread, I definitely recommend checking into Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. All told, I only spent 15-20 minutes at the most and ended up with a delicious loaf of bread to accompany any meal or by itself with a touch of butter or jam. By far a healthy alternative to the store bought stuff, and better yet it's fresh out of my own oven when I want it!

 

Be watching for some rolls to come from this, as I still have some dough in the fridge to make use of. May God bless you today and thanks for stopping by!~



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Post!!

Sooo.... this is my first post ever. And as I contemplate what to write about, quite a few things come to mind. As of late, I've been studying through 1 Corinthians - eye opening stuff there, trying to become better at meal planning, couponing, opening an etsy shop, learning to throw pottery, making Christmas gifts, and of course the ever growing addiction to Pinterest.

All those combined make for quite a busy day, and they don't even encompass all the daily doings of a busy wife and mom. Out of all these though, the thing closest to my heart at this moment is my study through 1 Corinthians 5. I've always had a hard time understanding Paul's writings, so this time I enlisted the help of a trusty commentary, and my eyes have been opened to many new truths about our God.

God, the creator of ALL, is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yet for some reason the church today seems to miss this when they skim through the Old Testament to focus on the New Testament. God taught His people not to tolerate sin in their midst, but for some reason in our society today we take pride in the fact we not only tolerate sin, but embrace those committing it. Mind you, this is pertaining to men and women who profess to believe in Christ and follow God, not unbelievers.

Paul teaches the Corinthian church was in this same folly as we are today. They took pride in being able to tolerate outright transgressions and iniquity by members of their church. Our problem is we want to show only love and compassion without accountability. We don't want to hurt anyones feelings. But, the truth is God requires obedience from all who confess to know Him. And if the church, well not only the church, but each individual Christian refuses to hold fellow believers accountable, it will open the door for the same sin your brother is committing to come into your own life and others around you.

So, I encourage you to stop following the nicey-nice idealogies of society and follow the truths of the Lord instead. If you see a Christian brother or sister engaging in revilry, sexual immorality, drunkenness, or any of the other things Paul mentions, confront them about it and encourage them to repentance. Otherwise, Paul says we are to disassociate from them. We aren't to fellowship with them, we aren't to even eat a meal with them. We are to pray for them and their repentance while God deals with their sin.

This is heavy stuff, and if you have a friend or family member in this situation, it hurts. How do we approach someone we love and care about and tell them to turn from their ways or we will have to put them away from ourselves? simpy, we ask for God's strength to do so and His words to fill our mouths to change their hearts. And we do so out of love, so their souls may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus because seeing them forever in eternity is more important than seeing them all of their days on this earth.

May the Lord bless you today! I hope you've enjoyed my post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time, farewell!