Breakfast Porridge (Better Known as Oatmeal)

We’re an oatmeal family. I think there is some unwritten rule that once your passel of offspring meets or exceeds four, then you serve oatmeal for breakfast. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s inexpensive. We try to dress it up occasionally with honey or fruit and some milk, just so the kiddos stay content. But really, it’s still just oatmeal.

So we tried this recipe, not really because it was different or challenging, but because it fits into our normal routine. We were pleased to know that some of the things we do anyway out of convenience (like putting the grains in the water the night before) actually have a nutritional and digestive benefit. All grains contain phytic acid. When phytic acid is untreated it combines in your intestinal tract with other minerals blocking absorption. Soaking your grains in water and acid before consuming them neutralizes the phytic acid, making it easier to digest. Soaking also makes the nutrients of the grains more available.