How To Properly Prepare Grains
For the past year, I have restricted most of my grains in my diet. I have been slowly reintroducing grains back into my diet.
I have learned a lot about grains and how to properly prepare grains.
There are 3 ways one can properly prepare grains to make them more digestible. I will be expanding on this information in a future post.
- sprouting grains
- fermenting grains
- soaking grains
If you care to read more on soaking grains you can read this post here.
Soaking Oatmeal
Today we are using the soaking method. By soaking the grains in an acidic medium (lemon juice, buttermilk, liquid whey, yogurt, or apple cider vinegar) you break down the anti-nutrients in the oats and the minerals are released making the oats digestible.
Soaking grains has been done for centuries by our ancestors and it has only been since after WWII that this process has been eliminated.
So if you are looking for a traditional way to prepare your oatmeal, try this recipe. You might be surprised how great you feel and how filling this breakfast is. I am not hungry at all after I have oats in the morning until 12:30 pm and I feel great!
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Traditionally Prepared Soaked Oatmeal
Prep Time: 7 hours- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: breakfast
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: american
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Learn how to soak your oatmeal to make them more digestible!
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled organic oats (not quick oats)
- 1 cup filtered water
- 2 tbsp acidic medium (yogurt, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, buttermilk)
- 1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
Instructions
- Add 1 cup of oats, water, and the acidic medium into a glass bowl and stir well. Cover and let it sit overnight on the counter (at least 7-8 hours).
- In the morning add another 1 cup of filtered water and the unrefined sea salt, stir well. ***Note – if you feel the oatmeal is too sour, you can rinse the oats before adding the additional 1 cup of water, but this is not necessary.
- Heat to a low simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- Serve with a generous portion of butter and cream.
Notes
Recipe Method From Nourishing Tradition
Nutrition Info: Calories: 153.8 Fat: 3.0g Carbohydrates: 28.3g Protein: 5.1g
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
Here is an explanation I read on another site:
” The reason you need rolled rye or ground buckwheat groats is because they contain the phytase necessary to help break down the high levels of phytic acid in oats. Oats do not contain much phytase so soaking them without a phytase booster (like rolled rye, or ground buckwheat groats for those who are GF) doesn’t do much to reduce the physic acid.”
http://thenourishinghome.com/2012/04/the-best-soaked-granola-gluten-free-option/
What do you think?
That, by the way, is the best granola I’ve ever made! In fact, it’s in my oven right now! I found that information to be very helpful…thanks for your oatmeal recipe as well! It’s in my instant pot now…
Here is an explanation I read on another site about why to add another grain:
” The reason you need rolled rye or ground buckwheat groats is because they contain the phytase necessary to help break down the high levels of phytic acid in oats. Oats do not contain much phytase so soaking them without a phytase booster (like rolled rye, or ground buckwheat groats for those who are GF) doesn’t do much to reduce the physic acid.”
http://thenourishinghome.com/2012/04/the-best-soaked-granola-gluten-free-option/
What do you think?
Soaking my rolled oats with yogurt overnight is my new favorite way to eat them! The taste and texture is so much better! They were very filling too. I always eat a big breakfast, but I could barely finish my meal when I ate this oatmeal. I just put a coffee filter over the top of my bowl and set it in one of my cupboards and come back to it the next day. I have also soaked my brown rice too and that is now my favorite way to make it. I soak that in apple cider vinegar. The difference it makes is amazing! The most soft and fluffy brown rice I have ever had. I can’t wait to try more things soaked haha.
I totally agree with you. When you soak them, they are incredibly filling!
Is it vital to use filtered water? I do not have access to filtered water and refuse to buy water in plastic bottles. What is the repercussion of using tap water? Is boiled tap water any better?
Thank you!
It isn’t absolutely necessary, I just prefer filtered water.
I made this recipe using ACV as the acidic medium because my daughter has a dairy allergy. I have a high tolerance for the taste of vinegar, but even after adding lots of maple syrup and cinnamon to this batch I still couldn’t finish it. The taste was truly nasty! I ended up wasting a lot of high quality ingredients. Soaked oatmeal can be delicious, but I would warn against using ACV! Stick with the dairy products like whey, yogurt, or buttermilk if you can. Has anyone tried ACV with success?
I used ACV and found it tasted yeasty. Added maple syrup, butter, cinnamon and banana and was able to tolerate it. Also, I soaked 2 cups and cooked it up. I cooled a refrigerated half of it. It reheated very well the next day, very low heat setting for an hour while I was getting ready.
Yeasty taste might signify that it started to ferment. Try a little less time, or a cooler place on the counter.
Hi Jennifer! I made them with ACV for my hubby this morning actually and he’s usually very picky about straying away from how he normally eats things but I told him it was a must. I soaked them in the ACV, salt, and water last night and this morning I rinsed them thoroughly to remove any sour taste (i could smell it as soon as I lifted the lid of the bowl). Then mixed them with a banana that I had mashed with water, cinnamon, vanilla powder, and flax (he likes added protein). He also added PB (his fave) and said he couldn’t taste any sourness. Success in my book! I think if you just let them soak overnight not longer, rinse them good, and add other strong ingredients like the cinnamon you should be able to balance the acidity taste. Hope this helps!!! =)
On a side note, I’ve read in multiple places that anytime you soak grains or legumes or nuts that you should always rinse them to get off the antinutrients that you just spend time soaking to remove!
Thanks Halle for this super easy way to prepare oats!! Makes my life so easy in getting breakfast ready for my hungry hungry hubby! 😉
Thanks for your comment, Nina! Maybe I’ll give it another shot and rinse after soaking this time
Acidifying or adding whey or yogurt initiates lacto-fermentation, as you know, a beneficial process. What works even better for me, because I had digestive issues with oats sometimes, is a slight twist on the process. What I do is cook my oatmeal first, usually at night before I go to bed, and when it cools enough to touch comfortably, I add about a TBS of shiro (white) miso, which has to have live cultures and not be pasteurized. (It’s easier if you mix it with a tiny bit of warm water and then add it to the oats). After you stir it in, cover and let it sit on the counter overnight. The enzymes break down the the grains and make them easier to digest almost immediately, and overnight, the microbes magically change the oats into a creamy, slightly sweet, somewhat yeasty, breakfast treat! I usually just enjoy mine as is at room temp, but if you heat it, keep it under 110 degrees or so, so you don’t kill the live microbes and get all your probiotics!
Also, not sure if you are aware of recent research showing phytates have been shown to have quite a few health promoting effects, which makes sense since we have evolved eating them according to the microscopic DNA they can now identify! Turns out that plants are so nutritious, phytates help limit mineral overload. Of course, if you eat animal products, you lose that benefit, so continue to soak! By the way, that isn’t my opinion, that’s pure science. Plants are the medicine that protects us from eating flesh. I do occasionally too, but I always read the science, never the latest fads and net hype that gets copied and repeated because people want to hear it’s okay to eat what isn’t really good for them…I may still eat it, but I WANT to know the facts, not the fads! LOL!
So you’re saying that by using the miso w/ the oatmeal overnight you don’t have to soak the oats? Also the stuff about the phytates sound interesting. I’m w/ you on the knowing part towards the end …its why I’m vegan aha
I’ve been told oatmeal turns to sugar once I your body. Can anyone tell me if preparing it this way makes it so it doesn’t turn into sugar? TIA 🙂
Grains can quickly convert to sugar if you eat them alone. Soaking the grain helps you digest the grain better and fills you up with less grain. I always eat some protein (greek yogurt, bacon, nuts…) and some fat (butter) with my oatmeal and have absolutely no problems with blood sugar fluctuations.
I have tried this but the oatmeal comes out too acidic tasting-maybe even bitter.
1/2 cup oatmeal/ 2 tbsp wheat germ and two Tbsp kefir in 8oz water soaked overnight in a canning jar with sealed lid at 75-80 degrees dark.
I tend to take the oatmeal to work for lunch and microwave it rather than stovetop cooking.
Not pleasant at all.
Any ideas
Stove top it in the morning and then put it in a thermos hot. Should still be hot at lunch.
If I choose to drain and rinse the oats before eating them how much water should I add before cooking them?
I was wondering what your thoughts are on soaking grains under low heat as opposed to just on the counter, as well as draining and rinsing them before cooking.
I’m not sure why you would want to soak them under low heat? The counter works just fine. Draining and rinsing the oats before cooking would work just fine. I often do this myself.
I soaked gluten free certified oats in spring water, a bit of : yoghurt, raw apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice( all together) and placed it IN THE FRIDGE for approx. 12-20 hours. Do you think that all the phytic acid,anti nutrients got removed in a cold environment (ie, fridge) as opposed to room temp.?
Hey Jeffrey,
Room temperature is best when breaking down the phytic acid, but soaking them in the refrigerator is better than not soaking them at all.