Oats... Oats... Oats

I figured a breakfast post about one of my favourite foods ever would be the perfect subject for a post whilst I am away on my holidays. Particularly with this spring weather we are having...sunny one minute, chilly the next. It often looks lovely and warm through the window but is actually quite chilly when you get outside. (yes i have bee  caought out a few times). So we are most definitely not relegating bowls of oatmeal to the 'winter recipe' box just yet...oh no never!

On days when the sun is hidden or I am feeling a little fragile and in need of some self-indulgence upon getting out of bed, what better way than to glam up a bowl of oats to provide a ‘lets-make-everything-better’ chocolately hit… whilst still providing the fuel to power me through the morning.

Actually I haven’t felt in that frame of mind for quite some time but not one to miss out on an opportunity for a little bit of healthy indulgence, this also makes an amazing mid afternoon snack if you feel in a bit of an energy slump…or are in one of those fidgety ‘not sure what to do with myself type of moods’ (yep that’s me on a frequent basis).  For an afternoon pep me up I halve the quantities below.

So this simple little concoction provides the perfect calming influence….it’s pretty much a hug in a mug!

You don’t have to add the extra chocolate chunks if you don’t want to (are you crazy!) but I really only added a sprinkling here and if you grate the chocolate it appears as if you have a lot more than you really have…deceptive! If you use a very ripe banana (I freeze chunks of ripe banana for future use at times like this) then you probably shouldn’t need any additional sweetener- but it’s up to you! This is another recipe where carob powder could also be used in place of, or mixed in with the cocoa for extra depth and sweetness and a twist on the usual taste…I tentitively tried the carob version recently and I was very pleasantly surprised, it tatsed really good and not so dissimilar the the original cocoa version. The banana and carob flavours compliment each other really well and neither are overpowering.

Oh how I love thee oats….hmmm this inspires a little Ode to the faithful Oatmeal now that I have so many oat-based recipes…but more on all that tomorrow!

Recipe: chocolate breakfast oats

Makes 1 bowl

Ingredients

• ½ cup rolled oats (or modify the amount depending on how hungry you are!)
• Approx. 1 cup  soy milk or any dairy alternative
• 1 tbs cocoa powder (or carob)
• 1 ripe banana- mashed but a few lumps are ok
• 2 tbs coarsely chopped hazelnuts or walnuts
• 1 tbs dark chocolate chunks or grated chocolate
• Sprinkling of cinnamon- optional

Method

Mix and mash together the oats, ‘milk’ cocoa powder and banana. Heat in the microwave for 90 seconds and mix through. This is the consistency I like it (thick but still liquidy) but feel free to microwave longer if preferred. Top the mixture with the nuts and chocolate chunks finishing with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

I always microwave my oats as I like the consistency this way (and the speed and reduced washing up) but I appreciate many of you like to use the stove top, so feel free to modify the method about to suit.

Above- a big bowl of cocoa oats, below- a mini portion of carob oats (all tucked up in bed)