To say I am not motivated in the morning would be a huge understatement. I go through my morning ritual like a zombie. When I go to bed at night I have every intention of eating a healthy breakfast in the morning, but consistently I end up eating a protein bar because I just can’t be bothered with cooking something up. So when I was at Costco several months ago and I saw frozen steel cut oatmeal ready to serve packs, I pounced on them like a cat on a mouse! I was so happy, all I had to do was pull a pack out of the freezer plop it in a bowl and stick it into the microwave for three minutes. Wa-La! Well, of course because I loved them, Costco stopped selling them. I went back to my crummy protein bars and pouted into my coffee. Then I decided I could probably make them myself. DUH! So I did, I cooked up some steel cut oatmeal (superfood), which is the best type of oatmeal for you. I bought some blueberries (superfood) at the farmers market. You can pick whatever fruit you like, just shoot for firmer fruit so it won’t turn to mush. I added a handful of my blueberries into my jumbo muffin tins and then took a 1 cup measurer and plopped in my cooked oatmeal. I let the pan sit on the counter for about 30 minutes to cool and then stuck the pans into the freezer for a few hours. Once the oatmeal was frozen, I used a knife to run around the rim of each tin and out popped a perfectly measured 1 cup of steel cut oats and blueberries. I stuck 6 of them into a jumbo ziploc bag and popped them back into the freezer.
I heated them up for 3 minutes, just like the Costco brand. They were perfect! Actually mine were better, probably because I used a higher grade of Oatmeal and Blueberries. I went with Bob’s Red Mill the Golden Spurtle World Champion Oatmeal. It really is the best Oatmeal I have every had! I top my oatmeal with a swirl of my honey (superfood) and a sprinkling of Cinnamon (superfood). If I am really ambitious I will throw some Chia Seeds (superfood) in too. That is four or five super foods in a one small bowl, which is an awesome way to start your day, even for a morning zombie like me! 🙂 P.S- I like this so much sometimes I sometimes have it after my workouts.
My youngest sister lives in the guest house of my parents. I worry about my parents eating healthy and eating enough. I send them lots of single serve “goodies” and pre-cooked sliced ham, turkey breast and such. This past Christmas I gave them a slow cooker and a slow-cooker cookbook. While there, I cooked several meals in the slow cooker so they could see that it isn’t hard and that the food (properly done) is excellent. In any event, I gave sister some steel cut oats and dried cranberries – along with a recipe – for her (not my folks’) new slow cooker (I replaced her old one). They have shared the oatmeal a couple of times; but, the quantity has been an issue. So – sorry for the long shaggy dog story – I was thrilled to run into this idea. It has already been emailed to them. Thank you so very much!
Thanks for stopping by Jim and sharing your story. This is a great alternative to the slow cooker, you end up with oatmeal that tastes like you just made it in the pot. I really need to re-shoot the photos for this post, a pretty picture might inspire more to try this recipe, because it is so awesome!
I have been making my steel cut oats in my new electric pressure cooker. I used to buy those frozen ones at Costco too. I like your idea better too!
Thanks Jennifer!
Great idea, but the microwave destroys all nutritional value in your food.
Thanks for the idea…I was still pouting into my coffee.
What a great idea!
Thanks Meagan, enjoy!
Thanks, Amy!! I, too, used the Costco steel cut oatmeal. I was VERY disappointed to learn they quit carrying the oatmeal. But, thank you for your idea. I don’t think I have the large muffin tin, but I will get one. With cooler weather coming, I am missing my steel cut oatmeal in the mornings.
Amy – I stumbled upon your post searching for reviews of Costco’s frozen oatmeal. I saw it yesterday while shopping and thought: “ooooh…aaaahhhhh: what a great idea!” Of course, I forgot to buy it on the way out because it wasn’t on my list. I found myself absolutely cracking up while reading your post, thinking: “that’s me!” The morning zombie, finding something I love at Costco only to have them stop selling it, the realization that I can cook better than Costco, learning to cook after marriage, and adding blueberries to EVERYTHING!
Melanie, Thanks for stumbling over. Yep if it is more than a few steps in the morning… not going to happen, especially before the coffee. I have been chowing down on all the delicious strawberries this spring. My family is starting to groan when they see me pull them out of the fridge. Have a great weekend.
Amy
This looks like such a great way to have a good warm breakfast in the morning! Steel cut oatmeal always takes forever to cook, so I’m so interested in this idea.
Thanks for sharing,
Alison
Alison, it makes life so much easier in the morning, especially for a non-morning person like myself!
I just bought some Bob’s Red Mill steel cut oats. Yay! What a great idea. I hate taking time out of my morning routine to cook and clean up!
I loved the steel cut oats from Costco too. This is a much better idea though. I will have to try it. Thanks for the post and inspiration:)