Image via Fuck You Very Much

 

I have been on an ebb with breakfast lately and that lack of an energy boost has started to weigh on me. My body craves morning fuel.

Everyone knows that eating early is supposed to be non-negotiable, but I know I’m not the only one that still finds it hard to form a breakfast habit that sticks. My stubborn, long-ingrained inclination is to start eating in the early afternoon, which is something I am working on altering. I will be a Breakfast Person one day!

When I am on the breakfast bandwagon, I eat a lot of oatmeal. Oatmeal is actually on my snack menu as well as my breakfast menu, because it is super fast to prepare, super tasty and it is so easy to switch up the flavour completely with the addition of a few extra ingredients. I love how creamy, warming and versatile oats are.

Instead of rotating the same couple of oatmeal recipes over and over, lately I have been experimenting with a bunch of variations. Here is my basic recipe for oatmeal along with ten delicious variations that will make your meal in a bowl truly epic…

 

Oatmeal Ten Ways

The basic bowl (per serving):
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cups rice milk
4 dates, chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp LSA/ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Ten belly-hugging additions (per serving):
♥ 1/2 cup blueberries and 2 tbsp pure maple syrup

♥ 1/4 cup mango, cut into small chunks and 1/2 a banana*, cut into small chunks

♥ 1/2 cup grated peeled apple, 2 tbsp applesauce and 1/4 tsp more ground cinnamon (sprinkle with a little brown sugar just before serving if you’re feeling decadent)

♥ 1 tbsp almonds and 1 tbsp walnut halves, roughly chopped

♥ 1/2 raspberries and 2 tbsp vegan raspberry yoghurt (added towards the end of cooking)

♥ 1/2 large kiwifruit and 1/4 cup pineapple, cut into small chunks (serve topped with passionfruit pulp for an extra somethin’ somethin’)

♥ 1 banana*, cut into small chunks and the zest and juice of 1/2 an orange

♥ 1/2 cup canned black doris plums, drained and cut in quarters (serve with a drizzle of pure maple syrup or a dollop of vegan yoghurt)

♥ 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, quartered, 1 tsp ground ginger and 1 tbsp crystallised ginger, chopped

♥ 1/2 ripe pear, sliced, caramelised in 1 tbsp brown sugar, and stirred in just before serving

Cooking your oatmeal:
Add rolled oats, cinnamon, LSA, dates, milk and your chosen additions to a small saucepan. Mix briefly with a spoon. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until oatmeal thickens. Serve immediately.

 

* Banana pieces turn into creamy, sweet drops of melt-in-your-mouth goodness when prepared this way. Mmm mmm.