Slow Cooker Oatmeal: Plain is Best (or Add some Bacon)

Oatmeal is really the breakfast of champions. I love oatmeal made just with water. No toppings, no butter, no sugar. We used to get those prepackaged cinnamon sugar oatmeals, but I never loved them. Plain oatmeal is my favorite.

There are many health benefits to eating oatmeal: lowers cholesterol, adds a good amount of fiber to your diet and stabilizes blood sugar. An extra benefit that I love most: if I eat oatmeal in the morning, I'm full until well into the afternoon.

I have to admit that I not only eat plain oatmeal, I also top mine off with bacon. It sounds a little crazy, but the salty bacon adds just the right something-something to my morning oatmeal. I do love to have a cup of tea and a hard boiled egg alongside my oatmeal.

Yesterday I experimented by freezing a few portions of my slow cooker oatmeal in small containers. Defrosted in the microwave for just a minute and I had a nice bowl of oatmeal at my desk. It's handy for me to be able to pre-cook a bunch of oatmeal and pack it into single servings to bring to work with me. I suppose you could just use the instant kind of oats and make them in the microwave, but I prefer a slower-cooked oatmeal.

However you eat it, do eat oatmeal. It's just so good for you, it's tasty and satisfying, too.

Oatmeal: Slow Cooker Style

Ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 2 cups steel-cut oats
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method:

1. Combine water, oats and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low.
2. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours.
3. Spoon the oatmeal into single serving freezer-proof containers. Freeze until ready to eat.
4. Defrost single serving in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Eat plain, with dried fruit or add some bacon, like I do.