Groats, Eggs & Maple Syrup
People are usually stunned when I say that I don’t have any cereal in my house, but there are so many great (read: healthier) options out there! From peanut-butter-banana-yogurt smoothies to toasted zucchini bread to scrambled omelettes, there are countless quick ways to prepare a tasty breakfast. Some–like pumpkin bread or lemon-coconut muffins–can be kept for a week, so with a bit of forethought, your breakfast can be waiting for you when you wake up. Others–like the groat-and-egg dish pictured above–can be mostly made in advance and only require about 2 minutes of prep time when you’re stumbling bleary-eyed around your kitchen. (Check out this post to find out how to make your own granola.) Even if making breakfast takes 10 minutes, it’s worth it to set the alarm back 10 minutes to give yourself time–the aisle in the grocery store with the most processed, sugary, unhealthy food is the cereal aisle. It’s best to just stay out of it. (And if you’re really desperate, polish off last night’s leftovers for breakfast! It’s almost certain they’ll get your day off to a better start than will the contents of the heavily-refined, nutritionally-defunct boxes lurking in the center of the grocery store.)
[Note: groats are simply whole, unrolled oats--they look a little bit like barley. You'll probably find them next to the cereal grains, although they might also be placed with the wheat flours, millet, spelt, and other baking staples.]
Groats, Eggs, & Maple Syrup
For best results, soak groats all day or overnight in a bath of water mixed with a spoonful or two of yogurt. (Soaking whole grains increases their nutrient value; soaking them in an acidic medium like yogurt makes it even easier for your body to maximize what they offer.) If you’d prefer a gluten-free breakfast, millet or quinoa are nice substitutions. (Although oats don’t contain gluten, they’re usually processed in factories that process wheat and other gluten-containing grains, so oats are best avoided by those sensitive to gluten.) After they’ve soaked for about 8 hours, dump the groats and their bath into a pot. Add enough water to cover the groats and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cover.
Note: being whole grains, even soaked groats require about 30 minutes of simmering to bring them to their required tenderness. You might want to soak and simmer a big batch of them so that you’ll have quick and easy leftovers. I soak and cook mine the day before I want to use them for breakfast so that they’re ready to go. (Test them at the 30-minute mark to see how tender/chewy they’ve gotten; if necessary, cook for another 5-10 minutes.)
Mix cooked groats with one or two raw eggs and sauteé over medium heat for a minute or two or until eggs are done to your liking. Drizzle with maple syrup and serve hot.
Enjoy!
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Tags: breakfast, eggs, groats, maple syrup, oats
