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 absolutely love your blog and never am I dissappointed with your fabulous creations :) This looks so good!
Ah – it is so nice to read that there is someone else who actually stays up late…and gets up early. Although I’m up at 6. Boo :(
3 inch stilettos?!!! Yikes!
Oatmeal looks spectacular. I put squash -like pumpkin in mine alot so I guess that’s kind of similar?
ooooh legend of the fall! :)
A-Z Survey
A. Age: 15
B. Bed size: idk… but fairly small :P
C. Chore you dislike: i wouldn’t know yet :D
D. Dogs: none…. but hopefully someday!
E. Essential start to your day: Slippers and bathroom
F. Favorite color: red and black
G. Gold or silver: silver even though my parents always tell me that gold is more valuable.
H. Height: 5’4.5″ (but with my stilettos 5’9″!)
I. Instruments you play(ed): piano and the guitar.
J. Job title: student :P
K. Kids: i’ll stop being one myself first…
L. Live: in a busy city, Hong Kong. Would rather go back to France but..
M. Mom’s name: May. She was born on May.
N. Nicknames: my name is too short for one :P
O. Overnight hospital stays: nope
P. Pet peeves: people crackling their knuckles, the image of someone squeezing a bottle of honey into their mouth, really bad singing, or when my dad starts to sing with his guitar….shh
Q. Quote from a movie: ”ITS SO FLUFFY I’M GONNA DIE”
R. Righty or lefty: Righty though my sister is a lefty :)
S. Siblings: One younger sister who is a head taller than me, Megan. One older half sister in France and one old half brother in uni in england.
T. Time you wake up: For school….7. Weekend.. i WISH to wake up at 9 but always end up waking up at 8 :(
U. Underwear: hahaha ooooh babeh getting a little personal i see.
V. Vegetables you don’t like: eggplant..well i like it in ratatouille… i guess i like all kinds then.oh wait no i don’t like beet root!
W. What makes you run late: Finding something nicer to wear…and doing business in the bathroom ahhaha sorry.
X. X-rays you’ve had: brain. and my legs when they thought one of my leg was longer than the other… but i was still growing then so don’t freak out the lil girl.
Y. Yummy food you make: madeleines! chinese egg tarts! i swear they were better than the one in the bakery.
Z. Zoo animal favorites: The ones that are quiet.
PS- My current American Idol Favs are: is James Durbin in..? But Adam Lambert will always be my favouriteee <3
oops missed one..
height: short short short.
Could I sub carob powder for cocoa powder? I am so excited to try this!!!
Oh my gosh, that is one of the greatest looking recipes I have ever seen!
Mmmmm, that looks amazing. I never think of grating things like carrots or sweet potatoes.
omg I can’t wait to try this! I was obsessed with your carrot cake oatmeal for a while so I’m sure I’ll go crazy for this too! although i do need to buy a shredder, oh poor college student, me…
I love surveys – they’re always so fun and you learn so much about people:
A. Age: 44
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the toilet (blech!)
D. Dogs: 3 bull terriers: Roz, Ellie and Boomer. We used to have a springer spaniel mix – SynJyn – I miss him :0(
E. Essential start to your day: fresh juiced veggie juice – usually with carrots, celery, parsley, lettuce, ginger and apple. I’d use kale or collard greens, but I shouldn’t eat those raw because of my thyroid.
F. Favorite color: Blue
G. Gold or silver: That’s hard to say, I’ve got a lot of both!
H. Height: 5’4″ (interestingly, I used to measure 5′ 3 3/4″, but recently I measure 5′ 4 1/4″. I attribute it to better posture from yoga.
I. Instruments you play(ed): Nada.
J. Job title: Systems Engineer
K. Kids: none, just my fourlegged tailed babies.
L. Live: Suburb of Denver called Highlands Ranch in Colorado
M. Mom’s name: Mary
N. Nicknames: Honey (from my husband), Goo, Goober
O. Overnight hospital stays: Yes, twice. Once when I was five and slipped on ice and got a concussion, and when I was twenty I fell skiing, tore up my knee and had to have reconstructive surgery.
P. Pet peeves: Eating with your mouth open, and making that smacking sound.
Q. Quote from a movie: “I feel like I’m babysitting but not getting paid” (Goonies), “I’m not sure your friend cares about anything, or anyone.” “I care” (Star Wars)
R. Righty or lefty: Righty
S. Siblings: 3 sisters: Suzanne (estranged), Sharon and Janet.
T. Time you wake up: Varies. I’m a shift worker, so sometimes I get up at 3:50am, other times around 2pm, and on days off between 8-10am.
U. Underwear: No one’s business but mine and my husbands ;0)
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Any squash other than pumpkin, spinach.
W. What makes you run late: My stupid hair won’t cooperate. The dogs won’t cooperate.
X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, both knees (I’ve torn both of them up skiing)
Y. Yummy food you make: I’ve turned into quite a foodie. Soups, chilis, those are my specialties.
Z. Zoo animal favorites: I usually get a little depressed for the animals in the zoo. But, my favorites usually are the wild cats.
That sounds like a lot of sweet for the morning!
P.S. I received my shipment of Glo Bars the other day and have been enjoying them immensely! Thanks!!!
I love sweet potato oats :)
I am absolutely making this tomorrow morning before I go to work.
And I LOVE Paul! I think his little awkward dance he does while he sings is so hilarious! And Casey kills it on the stand up bass!
For girls I am for Lauren Alaina all the way!
This recipe is very unique and it sounds delicious!
I think I’ll post the ABC survey on my blog
what an amazing recipe– thanks!!! Love your A-Z’s!
A. Age: 33
B. Bed size: King
C. Chore you dislike: Pretty much all of them. The worst? Floors/mopping.
D. Dogs: I have three who I love to pieces.
E. Essential start to your day: Shower
F. Favorite color: cobalt blue
G. Gold or silver: Gold, but I truly like both
H. Height: 5’8
I. Instruments you play(ed): clarinet. some oboe.
J. Job title: Attorney/Business Owner
K. Kids: My pets
L. Live: Every day like it’s your last
M. Mom’s name: Terry
N. Nicknames: Lor, counselor, freak, loser, dork
O. Overnight hospital stays: Zero
P. Pet peeves: Oh…..so many. Let’s choose one. People who drive in the fast lane, slowly.
Q. Quote from a movie: “Let’s ALL go!” (Legally Blonde)
R. Righty or lefty: Righty
S. Siblings: One sister. One stepbrother.
T. Time you wake up: during the week, around 715 AM. Weekends, around 830 AM
U. Underwear: Thongs.
W. What makes you run late: my husband. traffic.
X. X-rays you’ve had: teeth
Y. Yummy food you make: fish tacos
Z. Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys of any sort.
Oh my, this breakfast is one after my own heart.
I love the healthy chocolate recipes.
That looks so delicious, I must try it out for myself…soon! Thanks for the idea!
My regular breakfast is oatbran cooked with soy milk, topped with peanut butter, maple syrup, and a heckuva lot more dark chocolate than 1/2 square ;) S’pose I should squeeze in some veggies sometime…
P.S. I played the clarinet for years. Squeak!
squeak sista!
Mmm, just made it for brekkers.
DELISH.DE.LISH.