Pumpkin-pie oatmeal
I never get sick of oatmeal. I might go through brief interludes of interest in switching it up with scrambled eggs or a breakfast sandwich, but for the most part oatmeal and I stick together like glue every morning. I switch it up with a cold variation like bircher-muesli in the summer, and in the fall and winter I love having a hot bowl in the morning, always with toppings. To me, it’s the perfect breakfast food. The health benefits are undeniable–oatmeal has been found to lower cholesterol, and provides energy in complex carbohydrates with lots of soluble fiber to stabilize your blood sugar. It’s also inexpensive–I like to buy a jumbo box of plain, old-fashioned oats, which has about 30 servings and costs around $3-4. None of the pre-packaged, sugary packets for me, thanks. My long-time standby mix-ins for hot oatmeal have included chopped apples, cinnamon, honey, and nuts.
Lately I’ve tried some other varieties that I thought I’d share. First off, I usually mix my oats with half milk and half water. I recently discovered the joy of using hemp milk from Trader Joe’s in this mix. Their hemp milk provides almost half your daily serving of Omega-3 ALA fats–those healthy fats you need for a healthy functioning brain and heart. The fat and protein the hemp milk provides makes for an extra creamy bowl of oats, and I find that it really helps to keep me full for longer.
Along with hemp milk I’ve tried a few new add-ins:
The Thanksgiving-season appropriate Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, with:
- 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (plain, not sweetened)
- Pumpkin pie spices: ground ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon, adjusted to your taste preference. I like a lot of ginger in mine.
- Drizzle of honey
- Chopped walnuts
- Raisins
I scoop the pumpkin in with the uncooked oatmeal and hemp milk and heat it up all together (about 4 minutes in the microwave), and then add on the toppings and an extra splash of milk once its cooled a little.
My other new favorite variety involves:
- 2 tbsp dried, unsweetened coconut flakes
- dried cranberries
- chopped walnuts
- drizzle of maple syrup
This variation came out of using what I had on hand in the pantry, and just happened to come together fabulously. It might be my favorite variety to date.
Enjoy!
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 16, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Elizabeth
I will never ever get sick of oatmeal either! pumpkin pie is one of my favorite combinations, I need to try that TJ’s hemp milk though! I also love brownie oatmeal (unsweetened cocoa powder + stevia. add a little cayenne powder to spice it up!). And savory oats (a little soy sauce, nutritional yeast, and chili powder). Rhubarb or cranberries make a delightful tart addition!
November 20, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Dr. Michael J Velsmid
It is not difficult to find a great breakfast joint in the Boston area. Some of my favorites are the S&S in Cambridge and Rosebud’s in Somerville. There are many others too. What you can’t typically find on the menu is a good healthy bowl of oat meal. I did find the absolute perfect bowl of oatmeal at Max and Dylan’s in Charlestown. Although the rest of the breakfast menu there is mediocre, I doubt I’ll find a better bowl of oat meal anywhere else. It is the steel cut kind, perfectly hydrates, with the right amount of cream, brown sugar, and berries. The only thing is your guests and server will wonder why you are not ordering the cheese omelet.