Museli

As I type, I'm eating an experiment. Twice this week I've heard about soaking oatmeal overnight in the refrigerator (not cooking) so it's ready to go in the morning. It's more of museli style than hot, cooked oats. We all know the benefits of steel cut oats, but who has 40 minutes in the morning to make it? Breakfast has got to be quick and easy for me. I searched around online late last night and decided to try this:

1 part steel cut oats
2 parts milk (I used skim)
mix in a dollop of honey, cinnamon, and any other spices
let soak overnight in the fridge

So, after my early morning workout, I got the oats out, microwaved them for about a minute so they wouldn't be freezing cold and topped with a handful of fresh blueberries.
The verdict? Honestly, not too bad. The consistency is very liquid and the oats are quite chewy, but I like them that way.That's whats so good about steel cut oats, right? If you like grape nuts, you'd probably like this, although it's not nearly as crunchy as grape nuts. This is a very do-able way to get in some oats and fresh fruit in the morning.

I also saw a recipe from the Today Show that I'll try out. It uses rolled oats instead of steel cut. Here is is:

Overnight muesli

Mark Bittman
Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup mixed nuts and seeds (like sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds, etc.)
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, optional
1/3 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
Dash salt
3 cups yogurt, plus more for garnish
Preparation
Combine the oats, nuts and seeds, coconut if you’re using it, raisins, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the 3 cups yogurt, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Serve garnished with additional yogurt.
Time: 10 minutes, plus time to chill