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Here's an easy and quick healthy breakfast: in the evening, combine one cup of regular (not quick) organic steel-cut oats with four cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil for one or two minutes. Prevent boiling over by placing a wooden spoon across the top of the saucepan or blowing on the foam as it rises to get it to stop. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside overnight. In the morning, stir, rewarm (I spoon a bit into a bowl and pop it into the microwave for a minute), add toppings to taste (berries, puréed banana, granola, cinnamon (here's one that's tested for heavy metals), even honey or Vermont maple syrup if you're not avoiding sugar). Best enjoyed on a mountainside in Vermont out on the deck on a summer morning, but tastes great and has an agreeable texture anywhere. Put the saucepan in the fridge for the next day, when it will still be just as good and even easier to fix. Regarding oats, recall Boswell's riposte: in his Life of Johnson, 1791, Chapter 14, he says, "Doctor Johnson proposed to define the word 'oats' thus: 'A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.' And I replied: 'Aye, and that’s why England has such fine horses, and Scotland such fine people.'" Oats are what T. Colin Campbell has for breakfast every morning, and if they're good enough for him and horses, they're good enough for me.

Mike

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Featured Comments from:

Clayton: "Oats have been used as a cure for diabetics for more than a century. I prefer mine uncooked—just let them soak in soy milk. Apple juice works as well. If in a hurry I blend them with berries, spices, etc."

Richard Tugwell: "As a Scot, I'm always amazed when oats are (re)discovered as a new superfood. Cheap, easy to cook and with many nutritional benefits. I just soak them overnight with some milk, or milk substitute or even water. In the morning I eat them with whatever I have around—berrries, bananas, nuts or seeds, and often with a spoonful of natural yogurt, or honey, or even cream! Or I just make traditional porridge in the morning, this time just with water and salt. Add honey, cream or whatever depending on how I feel, but perfect just on its own."

Sergio Bartelsman: "Years ago I read The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-Term Health by T. Colin Campbell. A very good book on nutrition that helped me recover my health. A very fine read."

ASW: "According to Google, 1 cup of steel-cut oats has approximately 600 calories. Even if you add 200–400 calories to the mix via nuts, berries, or some type of milk, how the heck are you folks making that last for multiple (or a week of) breakfasts?"

Mike replies: It last 3–4 mornings for me. And of course you're still allowed to eat other things too. Tomorrow I'll be having a cantaloupe along with my oatmeal—Raymond's cantaloupes have just appeared in his roadside stand for the first time this year. He grows the best cantaloupes in the area. I think the one I have is about ripe.

Frank: "Oats have a high glycemic index if that is important."

Pete D replies to Frank: "Since I like a bowl of cold overnight oats with blueberries several times a week I decided to check what glycemic index actually means and all the lists I saw rated oats as being at the high end of the lower glycemic index category."

Mike adds: I asked Google "what is the glycemic load of steel-cut (Irish) oats?" and got this: "The glycemic load (GL) of steel-cut oats is typically low to medium, with the exact value depending on the serving size and carbohydrate content. The Glycemic Index (GI) of steel-cut oats is generally in the range of 42–58, which is considered low to medium."