Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Good Morning Sunshine: Oatmeal is saying, 'Hello!'

On a cold, winter's morning, with an afternoon of studying before me, there's no better meal I can think of than slow-cooked Scottish Oats--and a big cup of Earl Grey, of course. They fancy their oats a bit more... 'soupy' here in London, and I found I could embrace that while improving upon it with a multitude of different options.

Now, if you're like me and, until recently, the idea of oatmeal seemed unappealing due to its boring, instant counterpart appearing for breakfast during grade school, I sympathize. But I'll make this my appeal to you: give it another shot! The world of oats has so much potential for every palate, and it doesn't have to be the gluey, sugar-high mess of the past.

My new love for oatmeal began as I started to replace the water for milk... and then milk for coconut milk... and then some banana, some flax seed, vanilla, chocolate, cacao, walnuts, dates! The possibilities are endless and here's the easy recipe for two of my favorites to prove it; no strict rules here, feel free to make it your own.

My favorite part about this breakfast treat is it sustains you well into lunch time with hearty fiber (better than even whole wheat toast) and can go sweet with a variety of all natural sources such as cinnamon, coconut, and a various fresh & dried fruits. Organic soy milk is key for this, sweetened only with organic apple juice (not from concentrate). The amount each recipe makes is for one serving size, but tweak to your liking--I always use 1 part oats to 2 parts liquid + banana for thickening (feel free to omit this and add a bit more liquid as necessary).

Oh, and I would LOVE if you guys would comment any and all of your own ideas or personal oat creations!

Tropical Crunch
I like to eat this one on a rainy day and pretend I'm back on a California beach

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup coconut milk (I've used from the can but will soon be experiment with making my own)
1/4 cup organic sweetened soy milk
1 medium banana, well mashed
1 medjool date, roughly chopped
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground flax seed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch of raw pink Himalayan sea salt
Toppings: unsweetened shredded coconut flakes, crumbled pecans, sliced banana
Mix all the ingredients together in a pot and bring to a bowl. Turn heat to low and simmer according to package directions (varies depending on the type of oats, if you're going the slow cooking way this can be up to 30 minutes, most oats are about 5 though). Remove from heat and add toppings, enjoy!


Chocolate Peanut-Butter Dream
This is a great way to start your day with some mood-lifting cacao and energy-inducing peanut-butter

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1 large banana, well mashed
2 medjool dates, cut into small pieces
1 Tbsp of cacao nibs
1/2 Tbsp. goji berries (if you have 'em; they can be quite expensive)
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground flax
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch raw pink Himalayan sea salt
Toppings: a dollop of peanut-butter, crushed walnuts, pomegranate seeds, cacao nibs

Mix all the ingredients together in a pot and bring to a bowl. Turn heat to low and simmer according to package directions (varies depending on the type of oats, if you're going the slow cooking way this can be up to 30 minutes, most oats are about 5 though). Remove from heat and add toppings, enjoy!

Peace&Love

5 comments:

  1. :) hey! love the new revamped blog!
    Well my oatmeal(porridge!) doesn't get all that exciting, I like to soak it over night in bonsoy soymilk(it's the best soy milk ever!) with torn fresh dates..the dates kind of infuse the milk, and then you cook it all up together next morning and then swirl in some toasted almond butter and chopped pecans , yum!

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  2. Sounds so yum (do you guys have Silk here? Haven't seen it... they make a ton of great soys from reg to egg nog or mint chocolate hah).

    Anyway... dates are perfection! Anything that amps of the date flavor is a winner fusho :)

    Thanksss

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  3. Oh wow, I have to start experimenting with savory oatmeal for sure... sriracha on anything is great, I can imagine that oatmeal lovely with asian pears and pickled veggies (maybe kimchi if its still in the early fermentation).

    Do you add the soy sauce and sriracha after or cook it w/? Hmmm... I also just got a new bbq masala mix that might work :D [London has such cool Indian spices]

    Oh, and I found you from the Boston Food Bloggers!! Have you done any of the meet-ups yet? Maybe I'll see you around there after winter break :)

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  4. You can get Bonsoy in little healthfood stores..not sure if I've seen it in wholefoods or planet organic..
    As for Silk, never come across it in the uk :(, saw it when I went to the US but didn't have a chance to check it out, there's so much choice over there!, nor any other uk brands doing eggnog, how awesome! :D

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  5. haha awesome...i love seeing my name mentioned randomly :)
    was that the time we went to that rave in NYC and afterward your bro didn't hear the door and we were locked out so we waited in that 24-hr diner around the neighborhood? that was a fun :p

    i absolutely love mixing granola into my oatmeal and frozen wild organic blueberries (specifically, because of their size-they are about 2/3 the size of a reg blueberry and it allows for the berries to be distributed better into each bite) i also really like that my oatmeal turns completely blue-ish purple, its interesting to eat something entirely that color haha. and some sweetened soy milk. i really have to try adding some nuts next time and cinnamon and maybe vanilla extract!

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