Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal (with an unexpected surprise!)

We are working on overhauling our breakfast....be looking for more on that in an upcoming post. Last night I decided to get a jump on this mornings breakfast by preparing oatmeal in the crock pot. I have done this before (see Peaches N Cream Crock Pot Oatmeal) but this was my first time using steel cut oats. Can I just do a quick plug for steel cut oats? First off, they are a better choice nutritionally as they have not been processed like old fashioned oats and therefore retain more of their nutrients (not to mention more of their flavor and texture) as well as taking longer to digest which means you stay full longer. Plus, when I bought them from the bulk bins they were the same cost per pound as old fashioned or quick cooking oats but I only had to use half the amount of uncooked oatmeal in my recipe to get the same amount of servings. GO STEEL CUT OATMEAL!!

Okay, enough of my random enthusiasm for oats. Lets get on to the recipe (and the surprise). The recipe I used called for 2 cups of steel cut oats and 8 cups of water in a 5-6qt crock pot. I decided to add 1 cup of pureed beets and a grated apple for fun color and added nutrition. I wish I would have taken a picture of this because it was dark purple as I mixed it all up and put the lid on. I was excited as I woke up this morning (takes 7 yo 8 hours on low) to see what would be waiting for me when I lifted the lid and saw....oatmeal. Plain brown oatmeal. Didn't look purple at all!! I was so surprised. But I guess this is a benefit if you don't want picky eaters {or leery husbands} asking 20 questions about the color of their oatmeal. Here's what it looked like before I stirred it all up (oh, and for your own sake - make sure to spray your crock pot with cooking spray first. I ALWAYS forget this step so you can guess what I will be doing later this morning scrub, scrub, scrub).

And in the bowl (seriously, no purple at all - still shocked by that!):

And with some of our yummy toppings like walnuts, almonds, raspberries and bananas:

Surprise aside, this was a truly delicious breakfast and my belly is nice and satisfied. The kiddos liked theirs with some milk and a little brown sugar for a slightly sweeter taste. Hope you give this a whirl and enjoy it as well:) Let me know what wonderful, and possibly surprising, things you mix in.