Mushroom Steel Cut Oat Risotto

There’s more than one way to get your daily dose of oats! This mushroom risotto has the perfect al dente texture and has a b vitamin boost from the nutritional yeast that also adds a cheesy flavor.

Oats are good for you, cheap and easy to make. What more could you want in a food? If you are gluten-intolerant or have celiac disease make sure to buy oats that are clearly marked gluten-free. They may be cross contaminated with wheat if they are not labeled.

Why are oats good for you? The soluble fiber in oats helps lower bad cholesterol and actually protects your good cholesterol. A daily bowl of oats could lower your ldl as much as  8 to 23%. Oats stabilize blood sugar and lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. They are also said to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

In case that’s not enough to sell you on adding oats to your daily routine they are also full of manganese, selenium, phosphorus, fiber, magnesium, zinc and antioxidants.

Adding oats in your diet is easy. You can make a recipe like this one in 30 to 40 minutes making oat risottos perfect for weeknight dinners. I’m also partial to slow cooker oats in the morning, because they cook while I’m sleeping. You can see some of my sweet slow cooker oatmeal recipes here.

Buy oats in bulk at your local health food store if you can – you’ll get more oats for your money that way.

Kathy Hester is the author of The Vegan Slow Cooker and HealthySlowCooking.com. Her second book, The Great Vegan Bean Book, is available for pre-order on Amazon and now you can pre-order her third book which comes out this fall, Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just You!