Soaked Oatmeal

I think my boys' favorite breakfast is oatmeal, they ask for it nearly every day.  We usually eat it once or twice a week.  I have always enjoyed oatmeal for breakfast, it is inexpensive and delicious.  Oats can be hard to digest and they contain many anti-nutrients which means that our bodies cannot absorb all the vitamins and minerals in the oats unless they are soaked in an acidic liquid for at least 7 hours to break down the anti-nutrients. (it's kind of like letting the acidic liquid break down and pre-digest your food first)  For a while we were eating steel-cut oats but they seemed much harder to digest even when we soaked them first.  So for right now we make oatmeal with rolled oats.   When the oatmeal is soaked overnight the oats cook up really fast in the morning!


Here is what you are going to need:

- 5 cups oats
- juice of one large lemon
- 6 cups water
- other additions like cinnamon, raisins, blueberries, etc.

In a large pot place the oats, the juiced lemon and the water into a pot and stir and cover with lid.  Let the oats soak for at least 7 hours.  I usually do this before I go to bed. (I usually fill the water until it just covers the oats)

In the morning turn on the burner to a medium heat and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Then you can add any other ingredients you would like. I like to mix it up, sometimes I do a teaspoon of cinnamon and about a 1/2 cup of raisins. Sometimes I add blueberries or strawberries, just depends on what I have on hand.

Serve into bowls and let cool a little, you can top the oatmeal with milk or cream or enjoy it plain.

** This recipe feeds our family, if your family is smaller you can cut the recipe in half.