A hot breakfast on a cold morning

Thursday, November 11, 2010

It was really cold in my house this morning. Our heater stopped working yesterday and, even though I live in Northern California and not North Dakota, it still gets cold enough at night to cool the house down a few degrees. I lingered in bed for a few extra minutes before the thought of hot coffee lured me to the kitchen. Despite my love for green smoothies, today was a hot food kind of day.

After fixing "the usual" (oatmeal with applesauce and raisins) for my four year old and handing my toddler a muffin and a banana, I went about fixing some oats for myself. Don't let cooking oatmeal scare you away! It really doesn't take that long. In fact, you can cook rolled oats in about 1 1/2 minutes. Fast, right?

I call my oats "kitchen sink oatmeal" because I love to add all kinds of things to them. They are a fantastic vehicle for added protein, iron, fiber, and so much more. I use at least one kind of fruit and one kind of nut and/or seed.

Here are some of my favorite combos:
  • Bananas, peanut butter, chia seeds and/or ground flaxseeds
  • Apples, walnuts, raisins, hemp seeds, and cinnamon
  • Peaches and/or fresh berries and raw almonds
  • Pears, almonds, nutmeg, and cardamom
This morning I mixed up rolled oats, pears, whole raw almonds, fresh grated nutmeg, cardamom, brown sugar, and a splash of vanilla soymilk. This bowl of steamy goodness and a perfect cup of French-pressed coffee started my cold day off right!

To make rolled oats quickly, combine 1/2 cup oats and 1 cup of water or milk and microwave for 90 seconds or until it reaches your desired thickness. Watch it closely to make sure that it doesn't boil over (especially if you use milk)!

Confused about what kind of oats to buy (steel cut, rolled, quick, etc.)? Check out this post for more info.

You Might Also Like

2 comments