Oatmeal Options

I love breakfast. I’ve always loved breakfast. In Italy, my roommates made fun of me for being excited about breakfast the night before. In college, my friends laughed at the mounds of fruit I poured over my cereal. But, throughout my lifelong love affair with the first meal of the day, I’ve never been all that excited by oatmeal. And I never put fruit on oatmeal. In fact, I told my Dad (a lover of fruit-topped oatmeal) that the combination of fruit (wonderfully fresh fruit) and mushy oatmeal was just wrong. Sorry, Dad. It turns out you were right on this one.

I’ve been on an oatmeal kick for the last few months. Here’s my favorite variation:

1/3 cup Gluten-Free Quick-Cooking Oats (Gluten-Free Rolled Oats are perfectly fine too)

2/3 cup water

maple syrup

shredded coconut (unsweetened)

dried cranberries

strawberries

sliced almonds, toasted

1. Cook the oatmeal. (I zap it in the microwave for two minutes.)

2. Top with yumminess.

My friends Lisa and Lisa (not Lisa Lisa) have also become fairly oatmeal-obsessed. Here are their concoctions:

Oatmeal:  Banana Oatmeal Cookie Style

1/2 cup oats (multi grain, porridge style, or Irish oatmeal are all delightful)

1 cup water

Small banana cut up into small bite size pieces or mashed*

Honey or agave nectar

Chopped walnuts

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Chia seeds (optional)

Put the oats and water in a saucepan and cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 min (or as the container of oats suggests). When done, turn off the heat and add the banana, a generous squirt or two of honey or agave (depending on preferred sweetness/calorie level), and a few chopped walnuts.  Sprinkle in some cinnamon and nutmeg according to taste preference, but go heavier on the cinnamon and lighter on the nutmeg.  Add some chia seeds (whole or ground) for some added nutritional benefit.  Stir it up and enjoy!!

*This is also delicious with a large handful of frozen raspberries (or mixed berries) in lieu of bananas.  Frozen is better than fresh in my opinion.  As the berries heat in the cooked oatmeal, they add additional juiciness (not to mention a fun color) which only adds to the decadence.  If you go this route, I would suggest not turning off the heat entirely as you stir in the frozen berries and other ingredients so that the oatmeal stays sufficiently warm prior to indulgence.

Cranberry-Maple Slow Cooker Oatmeal (makes 8 servings)

Non-stick Cooking Spray

4 ¾ cups water

1 ½ cups steel-cut oats

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped dried pears

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. salt

Combine everything in a 3 ½ -4 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Breakfast Quinoa

Today is a rest day, which means I slept in (until 6:08), took a shower even though I wasn’t sweaty or chlorinated and decided to ditch my normal pre-workout breakfast (two pieces of gluten-free toast, one with peanut butter and one with jam) in favor of something a little more, ummm, seasonal.

(Adapted from “So Easy”)

1 1/3 cup quinoa

2 2/3 cup water

2 apples, peeled and cut into chunks*

½ cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

½ cup skim milk (plus more for serving)

2 tbsp. honey (plus more for serving)

½ tsp. cinnamon

unsalted butter

1. Combine quinoa and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Add the apples and cranberries, put the lid back on and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes (or until all of the water is absorbed).

3. Add the cinnamon, 2 tbsp. honey and ½ cup milk. Stir and cook over low heat for one minute.

4. Divide the quinoa mixture into serving bowls and top each serving with toasted almonds and a thin sliver of butter. Stir to combine. Add as much additional milk and/or honey to each serving as you like.

*Next time, we’ll use 3 apples (2 for cooking and one for topping the cooked quinoa).