Eric's Oatmeal

My much better (-looking, fitter, smarter) half is a creature of habit, the kind of person who likes to optimize whatever he’s doing. One of his most important habits is exercise. Now that we’re in isolation at home, he exercises even more than before. He takes over our tiny courtyard garden for an hour or two every morning with his workout gear, captivating the neighbours with his grunts and never-ending sets of what seem to me like too-heavy weights. Another of his habits is breakfast. Every other morning after his workout he makes a big pot of oatmeal - which he tops with fresh and dried fruit and protein-filled peanut butter - and saves half for the next day. He also shares with the littlest ones (they love it plain). So efficient.

I’m not a huge fan of oatmeal because it just seems so boring and stodgy. But somehow Eric’s oatmeal is always delicious. (I think it’s the salt.) So I asked him to tell us his secrets. (It’s the salt.) He’s a man of few but powerful words, and here they are:

No commute, no work travel, no breakfast meetings means my morning routine is a lot more consistent. And so is breakfast. We used to eat oatmeal (or as the girls call it in their British accents, “porridge”) occasionally, but now it’s an every-weekday thing. It’s easy, healthy, filling, and cheap. And while the oat part is the same every time, you can make the meal dozens of different ways with fillings and mix-ins. 

Here’s how I do it. 

Eric’s Oatmeal

Serves 4. Prep time: 0 mins; Cook time: 10 mins. This makes a lot of oatmeal; you can keep it in the fridge and reheat it the next day. Or you can just cut down on the amounts: use 1 cup water and 1/2 cup rolled oats per serving.

4 cups water

2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup milk

a big pinch of salt

Boil 4 cups of water in a medium-sized pot, when boiling add the salt.

Turn heat down to med-low and add 2 cups of rolled oats. 

Stir semi-regularly as the oats soak up the water (you won’t want them to stick to the bottom of the pot) - should take about 6-7 minutes. 

When the mixture looks like a wet porridge or gruel, turn off the heat (it’ll continue to soak up water so you don’t want to overcook it). 

Add ¼ cup whole milk and stir in. 

That’s it! 

You can mix in some shredded coconut if you want it to be a bit sweeter or just more flavourful. (I’ll sometimes also mix in a scoop of whey protein if i’m not having a protein shake with it. It makes the texture a bit thicker so I wouldn’t recommend it from a flavor standpoint). 

For toppings you can add whatever you want. For me it’s usually some combo fruit, dried fruit and nuts. Something like:

1 apple or pear chopped

1 banana sliced 

½ cup raisins or other dried fruit (figs, apricot, etc)

½ cup walnuts or pecans

Mix the toppings in a separate bowl then spread across the four servings. I usually put a heaping spoon of peanut butter on top of mine as well. 

Serve while hot.