The Best Oatmeal In The World

Ahhhhhh……oatmeal. That wholesome bowl of gooey warm goodness many of us enjoy in the mornings to start the day. When you mention oatmeal the thought that comes to mind for many people is the little packets of dehydrated, artificially flavored, additive packed oats with names like peaches and cream or apple cinnamon.

If you’ve looked around our website, by now you can probably guess that we do not mean that kind of oatmeal. No, the staff at Alkaline Foods Online prefer all natural or organic oatmeal without all the junk and we eat it prepared in a uniquely specific way.

Oatmeal

Rolled Oats – made from oat groats that are rolled or crushed under heavy rollers. The first step in the production of rolled oats is to steam the oat groats and then roll them in order to flatten them. They are then re-steamed and roasted before packaging. Because of this extra processing, this type of oatmeal loses a little of the natural taste and texture, along with some of the beneficial nutrients.

This is the traditional type of oatmeal you see commercially available today and have probably eaten in the past. If you are going to eat rolled oats, make sure they are all natural whole grain or organic stone milled.

Steel Cut Oats – made from the whole grain groats, these have been cut in to two or three pieces using steel discs. No extra processing or additives and nothing taken out – just as nature intended them to be and it is our favorite!

I like Bob’s Red Mill or McCann’s because both of these have a wonderful flavor and texture but you can use your favorite brand. Just keep in mind that unless you are using organic oats, you will consume additives that are unhealthy and acid forming.

These include pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers that are used in commercial farming and all of these additives remain in the traditional, non organic foods you find in stores.

Preparation

Our preferred method of preparing steel cut oats involves a slow cooking process of about 5 hours. I know you do not have that much time to wait for your oatmeal so here is the secret to the best oatmeal in the world.

First, get yourself a sauce warmer like the Little Dipper. These mini crock pots are ideal at dinner parties for warming up sauces and hot dips.

Next, buy a programmable plug in timer. Plug it into the outlet of your choice, plug the sauce warmer in and program the timer to start 5 hours before you wake up. I get up at 6am so mine starts at 1am.

Add one cup of steel cut oats and two cups of alkaline water (this is the best water to consume and when you use it in any recipe, it really brings out the flavor of the food). Alkaline water helps neutralize the acidity of the oats.

Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and brown sugar (the amount of sugar depends on your own taste – you can add honey as well). If you like raisins in your oatmeal, toss a handful in.

Mix it up in the sauce warmer, put the lid on and leave it.

When you wake up in the morning, you will have delicious and hot oatmeal ready to eat – the best oatmeal in the world.

Enjoy!

The Art of Preserving Alkaline Foods

I came across this wonderful article on preserving red peppers without using vinegar.

I used to live in Italy in my youth and reading this article took me back to a time when I vividly recall eating luscious preserved roasted red peppers – topped with olive oil, oregano and chopped garlic. Yum.

What I found very interesting is that most people when preserving alkaline foods use an acid like vinegar but this ‘recipe’ uses none.

In fact, it’s not a recipe as we know them today – this came from a collection of stories and articles in a book called “An Omelet and a Glass of Wine”, by Elizabeth David, featuring articles, essays and stories dating back to the mid 1950’s on the subject of food.

To read the article click here.