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There’s a chill in the air.
Actually, that’s a lie because it’s quite warm outside as I write this post. I’m in a tank top and shorts right now! Hardly Fall temperatures, but then again it’s still summer for another week.
However, tomorrow morning is supposed to be a classic Fall morning- crisp, 8C, sunny, and full with promise. The promise of hot oatmeal. Cinnamon. Maybe stinky fuzzy slippers. That’s a perfect Fall morning to me.
I’ve been on a huge hot oatmeal kick these days. The other morning, I was busy working on a mushroom recipe challenge and Eric graciously offered to make me some oatmeal for breakfast. In other words, I begged him until he finally gave in. I love when men just offer to make things out of the blue like that, don’t you? ;)
I may have uttered the words, “I’m going to waste away to nothing” in a moment of desperation.
“Ok, but don’t blame me if it doesn’t taste good…” he said, slinking off to the kitchen with my Apple Pie Oatmeal recipe clutched in his hand. It wasn’t looking good.
And you know what?
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The oatmeal didn’t taste good either.
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It tasted like the best damn bowl of oatmeal I’ve ever had!!
Why does it always taste better when someone else makes it? Seriously, I need to know. He also sprinkled it with crunchy Sucanat which was genius. Or maybe he sprinkled it with pixy love dust! Needless to say, I gushed so much about this bowl of oatmeal Eric had a grin on his face the entire morning. He has now conquered his oatmeal-making fears. It was a win-win all around.
In honour of chilly mornings, here are my 5 favourite hot oatmeal recipes of all time. (in this case, “all-time” isn’t that long considering I used to hate hot oatmeal until 2010, but let’s just go with it.)
5) Comforting Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
This pumpkin oatmeal is like a warm hug on a cold morning. Or maybe I’m just lonely. Infused with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla extract, it’s like eating a slice of warm pumpkin pie in oatmeal form. I love topping it with a teaspoon of Earth Balance, pecans, and a drizzle of almond milk.
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4) Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole
Last Winter, I was craving my favourite sweet potato casserole in a major way. The only snag? It was 7:15am. I looked at the sweet potato, it looked at me…I looked at it again. And I turned that craving into a delicious weekend breakfast.
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A sneaky way to get a serving of vegetables in your morning oatmeal. You can’t taste the zucchini, but it does a lovely job of bulking up this voluminous bowl of oatmeal.
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Even better when someone else makes it for you! It’s ok to beg sometimes.
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and my favourite bowl of hot oatmeal goes to…
This one is for all the carrot cake fans out there! Creamy, crunchy, chewy, and sweet, this recipe packs in a full cup of carrots and a handful of healthy ingredients that will keep you feeling full for hours. It is quite a large portion, so I place the leftovers into the fridge and enjoy it as a snack the next day (it’s good cold too!).
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Strapped for time?
For an ‘instant’ bowl of hot oatmeal, just mix up a batch of Vegan Overnight Oats before bed and place it in the fridge. In the morning, heat it in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, add your toppings/sweetener, and go! No stove-top cooking required.
The overnight soaking softens and thickens the oats, similar to cooking, meaning that you don’t need to stir over a stove-top for 10 minutes. The consistency won’t be as creamy as it would be cooked on a stove-top, but it’s still a good substitute in a pinch. If you don’t want to use the microwave, you can just reheat it for a couple minutes on the stove-top too.
And if it’s still too warm where you are to enjoy a hot bowl of oats, you can try one of my 12 Vegan Overnight Oats recipes which are great on warmer mornings.
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What are your favourite things to mix into oatmeal? What flavour of oatmeal should I make next?
Add chopped Glo bar chunks! :)
;)
For some reason, I never get tempted to prep oatmeal for breakfast, but once I do (especially if it’s a nice variation like yours!), I never regret it!
Here’s something… On Friday, I am posting a recipe I concocted for French Toast Oatmeal, though it’s not vegan (due to egg).
that’s a fun idea!
My ultimate favorite thing to add is almond butter sauce! Oh my goodness, once I discovered that recipe on your blog I about nearly died after drizzleing it on my oatmeal :)
Mmm I love that too! I haven’t made that in a while.
Yay for Eric! That oatmeal looks fabulous!
Also, I’m loving this oatmeal round-up. I love that you made Carrot Cake oatmeal. I LOVE Carrot Cake! <3
These all seem so warm and fall like! I just want to cuddle up with some oatmeal on the couch now ;)
I. Am. Dying.
love oatmeal… this post is the perfect thing! i am always looking for a little variation… especially when i run out of bananas!
Oh boy, I am so excited to try each of these oatmeals. They are all some of my favorite traditional desserts (pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, zuchinni bread, carrot cake…) I’ve been craving hot oatmeal more lately too, so this is perfect!! Thanks so much for sharing.
All these ideas are great, and the zucchini bread one is particularly interesting, but the first thing the actually caught my eye was the wooden spoon with the pumpkin oatmeal! I love it.
Thanks! It’s from Anthropologie…sadly I lost it a while ago!
Banana bread oatmeal…? I can’t remember where I was reading about a “melty banana trick”, but that seems like suuuuuuch a good idea!! And I’m sure you could perfect it! Btw the carrot cake is my fav too. I just made it a few mornings ago :)
Yum, good thing I have sweet potatoes, apples, and carrots on hand! Plenty of cinnamon too…
Oh! Those look amazing! Maybe gingerbread oatmeal? I know you have a VOO pumpkin ginger recipe but Maybe a hot oatmeal one with out the pympkin and something else instead? :)
Love that idea, thanks!
Food really does taste better when someone else makes it! Way to go Eric! What about some type of chocolate mousse oatmeal… Like dessert for breakfast!
I was thinking about zucchini oatmeal with the surplus of zucchini I have around here! Tomorrow, I’m attempting a zucchini bread smoothie…haha We shall see. ;) Sucanat is one of my favorite ingredients everrr. What a genius that Eric is. If I had to choose a bowl, it would be pumpkin. :)
Its like you read my mind with this post! I was on the search for new variations :)
So thats what I need to do to get my husband to make me oatmeal? Noted. ;) I love adding raisins to my oatmeal, they add a nice sweetness and texture.
I add different things to my oatmeal all the time, depending on my mood! I am loving the goji berries, last of the summer peaches and blueberries and almond butter combo right now! Haha. Your carrot cake oatmeal is definetly one of my “cool weather” (or anytime) favourites! I make it all the time :)
You just reminded me of a bowl I made last month with peaches…it was so good with peaches in it! I will have to make it again. Glad you are enjoying the C.cake oats!
I’m interested in trying out something savory as my husband doesn’t like sweet stuff at breakfast and I want to eat more oatmeal. Thoughts?
Hey Michelle,
I loooove savoury oatmeal. I actually forgot about it until you mentioned it!
Here’s a post with an idea, although I eat it more of a lunch: http://ohsheglows.com/2010/03/03/youre-so-cheezy/
Thanks Angela! These look amazing. I can’t wait to try them.
Do you keep two different kinds of almond milk on hand? The one i get is vanilla flavored, but i haven’t tried the plain yet. Do you stick to plain or go for both or make your own? I have also been wondering about soy creamers – are these sweetened for coffee or are they a good replacement for half and half? Sorry for so many questions, I’m slow trying to wean myself off dairy and looking at options.
Hey Michele, No worries about the questions, I like to help when I can!
When I first bought almond milk, I only bought vanilla, unsweetened. Then I realized that vanilla flavoured almond milk, didn’t always work in savoury ‘dinner’ type recipes.
So then I started buying original, unsweetened…and it’s not as good, but I have sort of been buying it ever since! I tend to always add vanilla in sweet recipes so it’s not a big deal. The only time I miss the flavour is in cold cereal or drinking it straight up.
Oops I forgot to mention that I haven’t tried the soy creamers before, although I do know people who love them in coffee or tea!
Carrot cake oatmeal is my favorite, too!! I never have all the ingredients on hand, so I make a sort of abbreviated version, but the other morning I was daydreaming about it and vow to follow your recipe exactly this year. I am so excited!
I make a shortened version too, maybe I should post that along with the longer one. Thanks for the reminder!
Amaaaazzzinggg post. Oatmeal is the love of my life – and your carrot cake oats have changed my world in a big, bad way. I microwave my overnight oats all the time on busy work days and I love them with a bit of maple syrup, natural peanut butter, and homemade granola on top. Delish. But nothing compares to the recipes you noted. Those are saved and enjoyed on days off :)
I second the call for banana bread or gingerbread oatmeal. I am drooling just thinking about all of this…
Oops just saw this comment above.
Thank you! So happy you enjoy them so much. :)