How to prepare oats at home

 How to prepare oats at home (Photo: iStock)

Oats have definitely made it to the list of highly nutritious foods. They're rich in all kinds of minerals including manganese which is very essential for metabolism processes in our bodies and vitamins like B1 (thiamine) which helps to convert carbohydrates to energy.

On top of that, oats are rich in antioxidants and, they're also a great source of fibre for your digestive health. There are even more beauty benefits of eating them often and adding them to beauty recipes like facial masks and hair rinses, the list is endless.

Oats make a great breakfast meal in place of common breakfast cereals. Besides eating it as a porridge, you can find different oat snacks from cookies to cakes, which you can also learn to prepare at home if you're looking for healthy snacks to enjoy.

If you're already salivating and curious, follow these easy steps on how you can prepare a classic creamy oats porridge that you can quickly whip up anytime.

What you will need:

1 cup of oats

1 cup of water

1 cup of milk

Honey/sugar (optional)

Cinnamon (optional)

Step 1

In a clean pot, scoop a cup of oats. Next, measure one cup of milk and pour it into the pot as well. Lastly, measure a cup of clean water and pour it into the pot as well. The goal should be to put equal parts of oats, water and milk for a more even consistency.

Step 2

On medium heat, place your pot and begin to stir. If the heat is too high, the milk and water will evaporate too early, and if the heat is too low, it could take way too long to get ready. This is why medium heat works perfectly for this meal.

Step 3

As the oats cook you should be gently stirring throughout. This allows it to cook more evenly for a smooth consistency.

Step 4

The next step is to check whether the oats have come to a boil. You will know that it's ready when you stop stirring and you can see air bubbles coming out. The cooking process should take about three minutes.

Step 5

Finally, turn off the heat and cover your oats with a lid for about five minutes for it to cool. When you serve, you can add some honey or sugar, and cinnamon if you like.

Tips:

Some people prefer to have their oats with salt instead of sugar. If you'd like to compare the two to see which one you would prefer, add a pinch of salt before you start cooking so that the salty flavour can blend in. Then, skip the final step of adding sugar or honey.

With this recipe, you can also experiment with different spices, not just cinnamon. A suggestion you could try is cardamom. Another great alternative when you want to switch things up is to try chocolatey oats. The only thing you need to do is add a bit of cocoa before you start cooking.

Also, if you don't like your oats to have any milk in it, you can just put two cups of water instead.