Last night as I watched American Idol draw out two long hours of results, I had some time to do some thinking.
I wanted to create a fun Friday breakfast to celebrate the approaching weekend, incorporating fresh sweet potato into my morning oatmeal. I wasn’t in the mood to bake anything or for it to take longer than 10 minutes, so I decided that finely grating the fresh sweet potato into my oatmeal would be a sneaky way to cut down the cooking time that is normally required for such a tater.
Oh, and it worked. It worked wonderfully!
And because I was already sneaking in some veggies into my breakfast, I decided that some chocolate was in order to round it out. It’s all about the balance, right?
Normally, I am not a fan of overly sweet things in the morning, but I found that just a tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1/2 square of dark chocolate was enough to turn a normal bowl of oatmeal into something quite decadent, while still being nutritious and energizing.
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Double Chocolate Sweet Potato Oatmeal
Inspired by my Carrot Cake Oatmeal and Live Well 360.
Super chocolaty without a ton of sugar, this bowl of oatmeal is high in volume and taste. The grated sweet potato is a wonderful way to sneak a veggie into your morning routine!
Yield: 1 serving
Base Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup oats
- 3/4 cup finely grated sweet potato
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used organic soy)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. In a medium sized pot, stir together the oats, milk, chia seeds, and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Now stir in the grated sweet potato and the 1/4 cup of water. Cook on medium, stirring often, for a few more minutes.
2. Stir in the cocoa powder and cinnamon, being sure to get out any clumps. When the mixture has thickened up nicely, stir in the vanilla and maple syrup and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl and top with a bit of dark chocolate or your desired toppings.
Toppings I used: 1/2 square dark chocolate, 1 tbsp Chocolate Crunch Dessert Granola, few shreds of sweet potato for garnish.
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First, bring the oats, milk, chia seeds, and salt to a low boil and reduce heat to medium. Now stir in the finely grated sweet potato and 1/4 cup of water. Cook on medium, stirring frequently, for a few minutes.
Now stir in the cinnamon and cocoa powder, making sure to get out all the clumps!
Chocolaty goodness!
Cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently. Now add in the maple syrup and vanilla and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl and add your desired toppings!
On top: 1/2 square chopped dark chocolate (it got all melty and wonderful!), a few shreds of sweet potato for garnish, and 1 tbsp of granola.
The result is a super chocolaty and decadent-tasting bowl of oatmeal with a ton of volume thanks to the sweet potato. It was just the right amount of sweetness for me, but of course you can always adjust to your own taste buds!
I’ve seen this blog survey making the rounds so I decided to fill it out myself (I also did this while watching American Idol last night!).
A-Z Survey
A. Age: 27
B. Bed size: King (as of 2011)…can’t believe we waited so long! I think my legs are getting longer from all the stretching I do now.
C. Chore you dislike: Scrubbing tile floors
D. Dogs: growing up- Pepper + Jasmine….RIP!! Both muts, both amazing dogs. I can’t wait to adopt my next one. I’m a huge, huge, huge dog lover. I was never a cat fan until Eric bought Sketchie! Now I love both cats and dogs, but I am still partial to dogs….shhhh.
E. Essential start to your day: Slippers
F. Favorite color: I can’t pick just one so- Blue, Pink, Orange, Green. I love colour!
G. Gold or silver: Gold…I’m old school and it looks best with my skin tone. I prefer silver for house décor though.
H. Height: 5’4.5" (but with my stilettos 5’9"!)
I. Instruments you play(ed): Well, let me just say that my best friend and I were formerly (currently!?) known as the ‘Squeak Sistas’…we rocked that Clarinet throughout school! Squeak!
J. Job title: Business owner/recipe developer/photographer/blogger/dish washer/molly maid.
K. Kids: Just Sketchie and our stuffed animals right now!
L. Live: Gorgeous green & hilly countryside…aka: The Sticks. We have 1 traffic light. Seriously. We did the big city thing for a couple years and did not enjoy the traffic headaches, pollution, and congestion.
M. Mom’s name: OSGMOM….Or Lori.
N. Nicknames: Dawn (middle name), Angie/Ange, Granola (one of my friends started calling me this when I went vegan! ha), Martha, shots, Lulu, Lil Gal, Skirts, Lids.
O. Overnight hospital stays: None yet…*knocks on wood*
P. Pet peeves: Stinky feet, finding another person’s hair in a hotel bathroom, pesticides on produce, finding used bandaids on the ground/swimming pool, when post office loses my parcels, Tigerblood, thinking I have a food in the fridge and finding out it is GONE!
Q. Quote from a movie: ‘You guys look like a bunch of ice cream cones!’ (Any guesses?)
R. Righty or lefty: Righty, but I used to try to teach myself how to be ambidextrous when I was young. no such luck.
S. Siblings: Sister Kristi, half-sis and half-bro: Kerrie and Chris, Step sis and step bro: Jennifer and Michael.
T. Time you wake up: Between 7-7:30am. Bedtime is 11:30-12:00 (we are both night owls and LOVE to stay up late, especially on weekends!).
U. Underwear: Oh I didn’t think this was that kind of questionnaire!
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Chard. That is the only one I can think of, so I guess I’m doing good!
W. What makes you run late: Traffic, Blogging, unexpected clothing freak-outs. I’m usually early though and hate to be late.
X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, pelvic area (when I had pelvic strain from running in 2009), Head (I fell on the ice and hit my head in 2008…outcome still unclear!).
Y. Yummy food you make: I’m really loving my spin-off oatmeals lately.
Z. Zoo animal favorites: The animals that are released back into the wild!
PS– My current American Idol Favs are: Paul, Pia, Haley, and Casey! What about you?
If you’d like, copy and paste this survey below and have a go at it! I love finding out about you guys.
I had carrot cake oatmeal this morning. To me, the carrots totally justified me adding some chocolate granola and white chocolate chips!
I did my own version on my page!
Your chocolate oatmeal looks so decadent! :-)
I am going to make this right now! Yum! So excited!
I love the sweet potato on the oatmeal idea. It looks awesome and so fudgy and dense. Yum!!!
We’re the same height! That half an inch is so important don’t you think? :D
You have opened my eyes and imagination to try all sorts of different food combinations! I’m very much of a straight and narrow cook. But now I want to boldly go to where you have gone in making delicious dishes!
Thank you, that is the best compliment a cook can receive ;)
ooh im soo making this oatmeal this weekend, love sweet potatoes ive never tried them with chocolate before but it sounds absolutely amazing, enjoy your friday!
Good Lord – I am making this –….like now.
A. Age: 37
B. Bed size: King
C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning toilets!
D. Dogs: My beautiful 1 year old lab, named Maple. Her line was originally from Canada and she is the prettiest light yellow with golden “maple” hues.
E. Essential start to your day: Coffee!!!
F. Favorite color: Purple & Pink
G. Gold or silver: Both. My wedding band has both gold & silver on it.
H. Height: 5’6″
I. Instruments you play(ed): None. Private school – never learned. So sad!
J. Job title: In no order…Acctg Mgr, Mom. Wife, Baker and crafter of all things.
K. Kids: My girl, Hailey.
L. Live: New Mexico. Desert but surrounded by beautiful mountains and great weather.
M. Mom’s name: Mom.
N. Nicknames: George. My brother always wanted brothers (4 girls) so he gave all of us boy nicknames. It stuck.
O. Overnight hospital stays: 1 week after c-section delivery of my daughter.
P. Pet peeves: Missing socks, cluttered tables and the grocery store not having an ingredient that I need.
Q. Quote from a movie: “That’s my sweetheart in there. Wherever she is, that’s where my home is.” The Notebook.
R. Righty or lefty: Righty.
S. Siblings: 3 sisters and a brother. I am right in the middle.
T. Time you wake up: 5:30 am. Way too early!!!
U. Underwear: I will pass on this, thank you very much.
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Chard & Kale. I have tried, several times. But, no thank you.
W. What makes you run late: An 8 year dragging her feet in the morning.
X. X-rays you’ve had: Too many to count.
Y. Yummy food you make:Bread, English muffins, enchiladas, Vegetarian Tamales.
Z. Zoo animal favorites: Elephants.
this is so funny that you and Ange both dislike Chard… leafy greens, especially steamed with a little salt and olive oil, are some of my favourite veggies. My Mom almost fell over when at 8 and 6 my brother and I requested cooked spinach (we’d been watching Popeye, and had read books with kids hating spinach, and wanted to see for ourselves). She hates it, but she couldn’t cook it fast enough for us.
I want to like it. I have tried every way possible to prepare it. I thought for sure that I would love kale chips – Yuck! That taste was stuck in my mouth for hours! I am done trying. I do like fresh baby spinach – that make up for it.
Loved reading your answers! We have the same favorites on American Idol! I was so nervous last night watching the results. I told my husband that if Pia didn’t make it through, we were not going to watch it anymore. Haha. I also like Lauren. She is so cute with her little accent.
It’s funny because I didn’t even notice Pia until Wed night performance…same with Eric. I don’t know how she wasn’t on our radar! She has one of the strongest voices in the comp.
That looks…DELICIOUS!
Wow – that oatmeal looks INCREDIBLE!
And I LOVE Legends of the Fall!
wow you got the quote!!!!
This sounds AMAZING!!! Will definitely have to give it a try this weekend!
A. Age: 28
B. Bed size: Queensize
C. Chore you dislike: Dishes and Bathrooms
D. Dogs: I had Tasha till I was 4… I think she was part sheltie, then Teddy from 6-21, purebred British Golden Retriever, she was awesome!!! Now I have 2 cats.
E. Essential start to your day: Reading a passage in my Bible
F. Favorite color: Deep blue
G. Gold or silver: I actually like silver better
H. Height: almost 5’6″
I. Instruments you play(ed): Flute, Piano, Recorder
J. Job title: Office Services Assistant
K. Kids: a Tabby named Peari and a Siamese named Maow Maow
L. Live: In the same general area that hubby and I grew up. Tiny suburb at the VERY south end of a fairly small town.
M. Mom’s name: Mary (for both Hubby and I… it’s kinda scary)
N. Nicknames: Jess, Saff, Saffi, Pet, Bun (last two by Mom only)
O. Overnight hospital stays: way too many to count, most due to my stupidity.
P. Pet peeves: Hubby and Roommate being stupidly competative…
Q. Quote from a movie: “Let me explain, no there is too much, let me sum up”
R. Righty or lefty: Lefty, but with a fair ability in my right hand, enough that if my Left stopped working, I wouldn’t be helpless.
S. Siblings: 1 Brother – Wes, 2 step siblings – Sarah, Ian, 2 Step Siblings in law – Chris, Jen
T. Time you wake up: 5:20 AM – 8 am on weekends
U. Underwear: Anything comfortable.
V. Vegetables you don’t like: PARSNIPS!
W. What makes you run late: Distractions, I love pretty shiney things.
X. X-rays you’ve had: Knee, chiropractic, face, ankle, wrists, teeth, lower back
Y. Yummy food you make: Multi-use spaghetti sauce
Z. Zoo animal favorites: Zoos make me sad, but there was a reptile area in Toronto where they had Frogs that would be extinct if it wasn’t for the zoo, and they were getting a group of them ready to go back to the wild, so that’s pretty cool.
I made this for breakfast subbing carrots and using less water- it was delicious and not overly sweet! It was also quick to make. I love it. :)
nice! :)
Since I probably won’t be doing this on my blog, here goes:
A. Age: 25
B. Bed size: Twin… ha ha, I still sleep in a (bunk) beddie by myself mostly!
C. Chore you dislike: Washing dishes
D. Dogs: My dad’s puppy Bruno (we think he’s part chihuahua but will prob be a medium-sized dog)
E. Essential start to your day: Breakfast, my favorite meal of the day
F. Favorite color: Green!
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’1″ (wish there was more to that story)
I. Instruments you play(ed): Flute — in middle school
J. Job title: Full-time student, human resources intern
K. Kids: Not yet!
L. Live: Not sure… with my boyfriend??
M. Mom’s name: “Mommy”! Ha ha
N. Nicknames: Juj… blah
O. Overnight hospital stays: None, though I’ve had 2 day surgeries
P. Pet peeves: Drivers on cell phones; people to chat excessively at the gym
Q. Quote from a movie: “That’s me in a nutshell. Help! How did I get stuck in this nutshell?”
R. Righty or lefty: Righty.
S. Siblings: 4 sisters; I’m the middle child
T. Time you wake up: 5:30 am weekdays (so I can work out)
U. Underwear: Should be clean
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Raw bell peppers, bittermelon
W. What makes you run late: The urge to stay in bed
X. X-rays you’ve had: Just dental
Y. Yummy food you make: Vegan stuff, according to the boyfriend; and my non-vegan blueberry cheesecake bars
Z. Zoo animal favorites: Haven’t been in a while… will think about this the next time I go!
This looks so good!
I’m a dog person too. As a child, I had a cat and was afraid of dogs, but since rescuing my precious pit bull, Jorda, I have become totally in love with all dogs!
NOMMM!! I love all your oatmeal spin-offs. Keep ’em comin ;)
Ohhh myyyyy! I’ve been following your blog for a while now and am finally making the jump to commenting – because this oatmeal just looked too delicious to not comment on. I’m always amazed at how you make a simple thing like oatmeal and turn it into a masterpiece. I can’t wait to make this!
Yep hands down they are my four favorite too! They are amazing! Please tell me where you guys found Sketchie – I wanna cat & your cat is so damn beautiful!
I LOVE THIS IDEA! I’m also excited to make the casserole! :-p