Basic Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats

Every morning at 5:00 AM my alarm goes off. Yes, every morning. If I’m feeling extra saucy, I may bump that back to 6:00 on a weekend and live dangerously, but for the most part, it’s a 5am wake up call. In truth, I don’t crawl out of bed until 4 full cycles of my snooze button (which isn’t at all annoying to Mr. BurntToast), pushing me back to 5:37. But, still, the point remains that I am an early riser. 

One of my most vivid childhood memories of my father is his consistent morning routine of coffee, cigarettes* and silence each day before the rest of us stumbled out of bed to create chaos to his inner calm. So I can say, I guess, that it’s partially genetic. But for the most part, this is a very intentional action and one that I had to grow into, much like one would go about creating the habit of exercising daily. This is the routine that I have found works best for me, and without it I am most often not fit for human interaction.

I’m routine driven, so mine looks much the same each day–I set the coffee, make lunches (only 6 more to go, but who’s counting), pour myself a cup, deliver one to my still sleeping husband because a) I’m awesome and b) I have to make up for the overuse of the snooze somehow, and then settle in for my morning prayer and devotional. It’s very, almost militarily (is that even a word?) scheduled, coffee almost always delivered at 5:47, allowing me 25 minutes of breathing room before morning chaos begins. 

This is my “sacred space,” people. This is my “me time.”

Because time, it’s a commodity. I understand now what I didn’t when I was younger (or, like last week), that it’s precious and valuable and should be guarded and handled with care. When I give it away freely, without determining both it’s worth and the worth of the person or cause or job I am doling it out to, I find that I’m depleted, exhausted, angry, frustrated and really just a hot mess of a human being by 2:00pm. 

We live in a culture of busy. We wear it like a badge of success or honor. Listen in for just a few seconds to any random conversation and I can almost guarantee there will be at least one reference to someone being just “so busy.” Taking time to slow down or hit pause to the frenetic pace of our lives is seen as weakness. In business, busy is equated with success. In mommyhood, busy is equated as competence and value. In life, busy is equated as important. 

We don’t want to slow down. The only time we shut off is on a forced vacation, and even then it’s questionable because we don’t want to come back irrelevant. We push our kids at breakneck speed towards sports, activities and life because that’s the pace we push ourselves towards business, goals and wealth.

And then we wonder why we’re all a bunch of disconnected phone-ophiles walking around avoiding eye contact and angry all the time? 

We’re not reserving any of our most precious commodity, time, for the one thing that really matters. For the one that actually created time itself. For the one thing He wants, which is to have a relationship with us. 

We’re just too busy to sit down with our creator. 

This is sort of like dating people, it smacks of “He’s just not that into you.” If you’re into God, if you’re into your relationship with Him, you make Him a priority. If you’re just not that into Him, no matter what your lips profess on Sunday morning, He’s going to fall into the “I’m just so busy” discard pile. 

I don’t mean to sound preachy, friends, though I know I’m dangerously close. But I do mean to sound convicting. Mainly because I’ve been there and know the damage of being careless with my time. I was so busy and so important that everything, and I mean everythang, came before my time with God. I gave him passing prayers in the car or in the two minutes between when my head hit the pillow and I was sound asleep, thinking that I had a relationship with Him.  I was an empty, frustrated, envious, hot mess express of a woman parading as someone who had it all together.

I did not. 

It’s scary to sit in silence. It’s hard to buckle down and ignore the pull of my phone and email and Facebook and Instagram. I have the attention span of a flea, so it’s a challenge to give that time solely to the purpose of connecting with someone who, let’s face it, isn’t talking back to me. I’ve had moments of intense emotion in that quiet. I’ve had moments of deep painful conviction. I’ve had moments of joy and many, many A-HA moments that have, honestly, changed my life (one of them being the moment this blog came into my heart). I’ve had moments that I struggle to focus and concentrate. Moments where I’m tired and grumpy and not just a little resentful of the fact that I’m there while everyone else is still sleeping. 

But I never would have had any of them if I had never simply, shown up. 

So, friends, it doesn’t have to be at 5:47am. It doesn’t have to be on your living room couch while the family is asleep. It can be wherever or whenever works best for you. But I urge you to carve out time, yes real time, that you give to yourself and your God. If you don’t know how to start, that’s ok. Shoot me a line and I’ll send you some of my favorite devotionals and journal prompts to get you going. Maybe you need music. That’s ok too. Just give yourself the time you need to connect to something greater than your everyday grind. I promise it’s so worth it. 

And if you happen to make it in the morning, just know that you’ll be fast asleep on the couch by 8:25 pm every night, no exception.

Life’s a trade off, people. Always.

If you do happen to choose the morning, which I clearly am a proponent of, I’m about to make your life just a bit easier with this recipe. I am the first to admit that I am not a huge instant pot fan. (I know, I know, sacrilege) Sure it’s quick and I guess convenient, but everything I’ve made in it basically tastes the same and honestly, if I need quick and easy I have far better results and more flavor every time I break out my cast iron skillet and just a few ingredients (some great options here). HOWEVER, there are two exceptions to this rule. Hard boiled eggs (recipe I follow here) and steel cut oats. 

Every few days I make a huge pot of these steel cut oats in the Instant Pot as my base recipe (double it if you want a big batch). From there, we doctor it up with some fruit and nut butter and have a quick and easy breakfast prepped for busy mornings. Some of our favorite combos are:

• Blueberrys, almond butter, and sliced almonds (Mr. BurntToast’s favorite)
• Bananas, peanut butter and shredded coconut
• Blackberries, walnuts and maple syrup
• Raspberries and pecans
• Peanut Butter and Chocolate chips
• Triple berry and almond butter

But feel free to go crazy. Despite having a touch of sugar, it’s not overly sweet so if you’re feeling really crazy you can go savory (think soft boiled egg and soy, or ham and cheese). It packs up wonderfully in a mason jar so Mr. BurntToast takes his to work every day, just adding a splash of almond milk before heating. It’s a staple, friends. And with hot summer days ushering in lazy mornings, it’s the perfect breakfast to have on hand (it’s not bad as a cold porridge for really hot days) for when you want to finally sleep in and the kids want to eat. It’s a win-win.

Peace, love and time,

Meg 

*I grew up in the early 80’s, people smoked. Don’t judge. 

Basic Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats

February 14, 2019

Print This

By: Meaghan Dawson

Ingredients

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoon coconut sugar (more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

• Step 1 Combine all ingredients in the bowl of the instant pot and stir.
• Step 2 Close lid and seal.
• Step 3 Set for 4 minutes on manual.
• Step 4 Once finished, allow the steam to release naturally for 20 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure.
• Step 5 Assemble with desired toppings and enjoy!

Sharing is Caring

Facebook

Google

Twitter

Linkedin

Stumbleupon

Yummly