Chai Oatmeal

My weekday breakfast typically involves something quick like oatmeal, fruits or smoothies, while the weekends call for more elaborate preparations such as pancakes, stuffed omelettes, fresh squeezed orange juice etc. However, once in a while oatmeal sneaks back into weekend breakfasts with some delicious flavors such as carrot cake oatmeal, or this chai flavored oatmeal. I have seen several recipes for chai spice oatmeal, but they seldom are made with chai, which really means tea. This recipe has very little spice (just cardamom), but is made with fresh brewed black tea and milk, just like Indian chai. If you’re a chai lover, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this!

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

½ cup freshly brewed black tea (unsweetened)

1 cup skim milk

¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats

1 tsp cardamom powder

1-2 tsp brown sugar - optional

Chopped fruit - optional (I used apples)

Chopped nuts - optional (I used walnuts)

Mix tea and milk and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add oats, cardamom powder, sugar and cook stirring occasionally for ~6-8 minutes until the oats are cooked. Remove from heat and serve warm topped with chopped fresh fruits and nuts.

~Gayatri

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Peanut Butter & Oat Balls

A couple years ago I found several recipes for no-bake “energy bites,” all including peanut butter and chocolate (two great flavors that are perfect together). I took what I liked from those recipes and experimented making my own, quickly settling on a simple set of ingredients (only 5!) for an easy-to-make, any-time treat. I like to consider these somewhat healthy since they pack a lot of protein and fiber, but they do have an added touch of chocolatey goodness. Also, they are gluten-free! But, they are quite easy to pop in your mouth, so you might find yourself over-indulging :)

Ingredients: (makes about 24 balls...estimate depends a great deal on your powers of restraint to keep from eating too many as you make them)

1.5 cup oats (I usually use 1 cup quick oats and ½ cup old-fashioned oats)

½ cup all natural creamy peanut butter

½ cup dark chocolate chips

⅓ cup honey or maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: replace ½ cup quick oats with ½ cup flaxseed

In a medium-sized bowl, mix all the ingredients together until a crumbly dough forms. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Roll into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter.

These can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week...if they last that long!

~Karla

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Easy to make (and eat) peanut butter balls!http://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2015/10/peanut-butter-oat-balls.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Monday, October 12, 2015

Frozen Oatmeal Cups

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day - well, at least that’s what we’re told. Personally, I do feel a lot more energetic throughout the day if I start with some exercise and a good breakfast. Weekday mornings, however, don’t make it too easy to accomplish all that. In the past I would often throw together all the ingredients for instant oatmeal in a microwaveable container and bring it to work. That hardly took any time in the morning to prep, but I got tired of eating instant oatmeal. It is mushier and lacks the hardy texture and taste of old fashioned oats. Determined to still be able to have oatmeal as an option for weekday breakfast, I decided to cook a large batch of old fashioned oats over the weekend, freeze it and enjoy it through the week. The toppings are frozen right into the oatmeal, making it very convenient to grab some from the freezer before heading to work in the morning. This has been working really well for me and its so versatile that I look forward to making new flavors each week!

Ingredients (makes ~10 muffin cups):

1.5 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups water

1-1.5 cups milk

The water-milk ratio is up to you - you can completely eliminate one or the other as well. The package instructions typically ask for 1 part oats, 2 parts liquid. I generally add a little more liquid since it gets absorbed as the oatmeal cools down and then reheating it in the microwave can make it even drier.

Optional toppings: (pretty much anything you put in your regular oatmeal)

Sweeteners:

White sugar, brown sugar, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, chocolate chips

Fruits:

Dried fruits - cranberries, raisins, chopped apricots

Berries (fresh or frozen)

Any other chopped fruit (preferably non citrus if using milk)

Nuts and seeds:

Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, soaked chia seeds, poppy seeds

Granola for extra crunch (I generally avoid this and just use nuts)

Spices and flavoring:

Cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla essence, cocoa powder

Extra nutrition:

Flaxseed/chia seed powder

vanilla/chocolate protein powder (eliminate sweetener if powder is sweet)

Bring the water-milk mixture to a boil on medium heat. Add the oats and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add any spices/flavorings that you plan to use. You may also add sweetener while cooking - I typically add a drizzle of honey/agave as a topping. Take off the heat and let the oatmeal cool down a little.

Divide the cooked oatmeal into muffin cups leaving a little room on top for the add-ins (silicone moulds work wonderfully for this - but you should be able to pop the frozen oatmeal out even without the moulds). Add your favorite toppings. Make sure everything touches the oatmeal so that it sticks. You can push the fruit in a little to make room on top if needed. Put it in the freezer for a couple hours. Once frozen, you can pop them out from the pan and store in an airtight plastic bag or container.

Here are a few flavor combinations that I’ve made so far (and remembered to take pictures of). I'll keep updating this space whenever I make something new/interesting.

The possibilities are endless and it is a lot of fun experimenting! When you’re ready to eat, heat as many oatmeal cups as you like in the microwave. I generally heat up two for my breakfast and it takes about 1-1.5 minutes on high setting to heat up. Add a little water/milk if desired and enjoy a hot bowl of hearty oatmeal.

~ Gayatri

Carrot (cake) oatmeal

What better way to start your Easter morning than with some carrots? That might not sound as exciting, but how about carrot cake? Here’s a recipe for something just as delicious but in the form of a healthy breakfast. This carrot cake flavored oatmeal is made with old fashioned oats (I like the texture better that way), but it can be easily adapted for quick oats.

Ingredients:

½ cup old fashioned oats

¼-½ cup finely grated carrots (I used a heaping ¼ cup) - If you buy shredded carrots from the store, you can pulse them in the food processor a few times to make them finer.

½ cup milk

¾ cup water (the milk/water proportions can be adjusted to your liking)

2 tsp brown sugar

~⅛ tsp cinnamon (adjust to taste)

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cardamom (optional)

1 tbsp raisins

chopped walnuts/pecans (optional)

honey (optional)

Heat milk and water in a saucepan. Add carrots and let it come to a boil. Add oats, sugar, spices, and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally. After a minute or two add the raisins. Cook till the oats are cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed (about 5 minutes). Add more milk or water if required.

If using quick oats, cook the carrots with milk and/or water for a few minutes. Then cook the oats with the carrot + liquid mixture along with sugar, spices and raisins.

Serve warm topped with chopped nuts and a drizzle of honey.

Wish you all a happy Easter!

~Gayatri