Jammin' My Oatmeal

Last week at the farmer's market I picked up some Carrot Cake Jam from The Granola Tree. The ingredients are simple and natural - carrots, pineapple, apple, sugar, lemon, pectin, pecans, and spices.  All fresh, nothing weird or unpronounceable, which is what I look for when buying jam at the farmer's market.

Yesterday I decided to stir some into my morning oats to make a quick and easy carrot cake oatmeal.  Oh my.  It was amazing.  Just like carrot cake!  And oh so easy.  I hardly need to include a recipe, but it will look more professional if I do.  (ha ha)

Carrot Cake Jam Oatmeal
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I use Almond Breeze) 
splash of vanilla extract (optional)
2 tbsp. carrot cake jam
1/4 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Combine oats, almond milk, and vanilla in a microwave-safe bowl and stir.

2. Microwave on high power for 2 minutes.  Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds.

3. Add jam and raisins.  Stir well and cover for 3 minutes before eating.  

Makes 1 serving.

Sugar Cookie Tea - It's Not Just for Christmas

While I can't take full credit for this oatmeal recipe, I have made enough changes that I feel I can share it with you.  But I will certainly give credit where credit is due.  At Christmas time, Chocolate-Covered Katie posted this oatmeal recipe using Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea, which is a personal favorite of mine for using in smoothies (I haven't posted that one but it's the Banana Chamomile Smoothie but with this tea instead).  I wasn't a fan of her prep method so I never got around to making it.  Plus I've been on a big smoothie kick for months and haven't been eating much oatmeal at all.

Sugar Cookie Smoothie

A couple of weeks ago I was in my basement pantry and came across the 4 boxes of tea that I excitedly purchased at the health food store over the holidays.  And when I say "excitedly," that's an understatement.  I actually shrieked and jumped up and down, causing nearby customers to stop their conversations and stare.  Brian was mortified, to say the least.  

This is a reenactment.  Actual excitement was more intense.

What to do with all this tea?  Well, not make smoothies.  You see, my smoothie kick came to an abrupt halt when I got the stomach flu after having a green smoothie last week.  (I'm sure you can imagine!)  Then I remembered that Chocolate Covered-Katie has all kinds of oatmeal recipes, including the sugar cookie one.  I thought I'd use her idea of the tea with my traditional method, change up the ingredients a bit, and voila!  A new delicious (and easy!) oatmeal flavor was born!  If you don't have the Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea, you're out of luck to find it until the holidays but you could substitute another vanilla-flavored tea*. 

Cranberry Almond Cookie Oatmeal

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup vanilla almond milk (I use Almond Breeze - unsweetened)
2 Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea bags
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp slivered almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Heat almond milk and steep tea bags for 10-15 minutes.  (I do this at night before bed and then stick it in the fridge until morning.)  Gently squeeze tea bags to get out as much of the tea flavor as possible.

2. Combine milk and oats in a bowl.  Microwave at high-power for 2 minutes.  Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds.

3. Remove the bowl from the microwave, cover with a plate, and let sit for 3 minutes.  After 3 minutes, stir in the agave, almonds, and cranberries.  Enjoy!

Suggestion: I've been wanting to try this with shredded coconut instead of or in addition to the almonds but haven't done so yet. 

*Try Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Vanilla or Madagascar Vanilla Red Rooibos.

How do you get creative with your oatmeal?

Oatmeal Love

In my last post I mentioned that I would devote this one to my daily bowl of oatmeal.  I love my oatmeal.  It's what gets me out of bed in the morning.  Lately, however, I think I've been loving my oatmeal a little too much.  Although I measure everything out, my portions have gotten bigger and bigger.  The 1/2 cup has become a heaping 1/2 cup - with perhaps a few more oats thrown in for good measure.  As the amount of oats increases, so does the milk and the raisins and the agave and . . . you get the point.  Even though I tell myself that I'll scale it back, when I go to make it I am usually too hungry to do so and then I'm left feeling too full and weighted down.  Not a good way to start the day.

The solution?  Pre-measure all the dry ingredients and put them in Ziplock bags (to be reused, of course).  Then I just dump it into a bowl, add the liquid and raisins, and I'm good to go.  Not only will it keep my portion sizes in check but it will also save me a little time in the morning to not have to measure everything every day.    It will be like my own homemade instant oatmeal packets only healthier and more delicious.  Everyone knows how to make oatmeal so this isn't rocket science, but here's my tried and true recipe.

Amanda's Oatmeal

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Old-Fashioned Oats

1 tbsp. ground flax seed

2 tbsp. chopped walnuts

cinnamon (to taste)

3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I use Almond Breeze) 

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp. agave nectar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup raisins (It's a lot, I know, but I loooove raisins!)

Stir together oats, flax, walnuts, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Add almond milk, water, agave, and vanilla and stir.  Microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds.  Add raisins and stir well.  Cover with a plate and let sit for 3 minutes.  Enjoy!  

(If too much liquid has been absorbed, add a little water or almond milk.  You may have to experiment a bit until you reach your desired consistency.)

*Note - This oatmeal is best enjoyed while working on the daily crossword puzzle.

What do you like to mix into your oatmeal?