Every morning around 6am my alarm clock goes off. It starts quietly and gets progressively louder and more annoying if I try to fall back to sleep. I’m usually in the middle of some random dream and I think about it for a few minutes as I try to will myself back to sleep.
If my alarm clock fails to rise me, it has no choice but to resort to other methods: walking up the length of my body, kneading my stomach and chest with sharp nails (ow!), purring – inflected as if it’s a question, and shooting laser beams through my eyelids to will them open. No matter what, do not open your eyes. I repeat: Do not make eye contact with the alarm clock!!!
If you do, it’s over.
Meet my alarm clock – highly reliable with a 0.000001% fail rate.
[This is Sketchie’s “I’m HUNGRY and haven’t had breakfast yet AND I happen to hate you right now” face. I snapped this while we were away over the long weekend. Sketchie was particularly unhappy that we slept til about 7:30 that morning!! gasp]
After 5 or 10 minutes of playing dead, I give in and stumble downstairs ever so slowly as Sketchie rubs his head along the staircase railing. He has now morphed back into Happy Cat and he’s prancing along to his feeding spot.
After I feed him, he ditches me and goes back to sleep (how nice), leaving me alone until Eric gets up.
I notice the morning feels a bit chillier than usual and make my first batch of hot oatmeal in a long time. The weather is dreary and creamy peanut butter oats sound like the perfect solution!
To add a fun twist to this bowl, I partially caramelized a ripe banana in the pot before cooking the oats with a tiny bit of non-dairy butter. This was just to intensify the flavours a bit more. Then I swirled in half the peanut butter and cooked the oatmeal as normal for about 8-10 minutes.
The result is a creamy bowl of oats lightly sweetened with banana and highlighted with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. It smells heavenly! On top, I added more peanut butter, a good dose of cinnamon, nuts, and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. It was just about perfect.
1 year ago: Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Early Morning Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal
Yield
1 serving
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 large very ripe banana, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp non-dairy butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2-1 tsp chia seed (or ground flax)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For toppings
- heaping 1/2 tbsp peanut butter
- nuts
- cinnamon
- pure maple syrup
Directions
- In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, cook the banana and non-dairy butter or oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in 1/2 tbsp peanut butter, and add the oats, chia, milk, spices, and a pinch of salt. Whisk well until combined.
- Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, stirring often for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Scoop into a bowl and top with peanut butter, nuts, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
I can’t talk about Sketchie waking me up in the morning without sharing this classic Simon’s Cat video!
This recipe looks divine! However, I am trying to lose some pounds and am wondering how to lighten this up. Any suggestions? To eat the entire serving would be 548 calories, 15.1 g fat, 80.4 carbs and 29.2 sugars! WOW! (This is with Sunflower butter.)
Ditch the butters and maple syrup and only use coconut oil, which provides actual health benefits like boosting your metabolism while also offering a sweet element.
Thanks for this delicious recipe! I just made it for myself and boyfriend. Wish I’d made more. We both devoured it. I used coconut oil. Didn’t have nutmeg and it still worked! Will be making this again.
The recipe is COMPLETELY up my alley and I have all the ingredients! JOY! Also random question, where is that gorgeous white sauce pan from with the wooden handle? IT IS DIVINE! Thank you for sharing this deliciousness with us!
I have to tell you that this is my favorite meal to make for just me! I have had it almost 100 times since my son was born back in January. It had helped with postpartum depression as well as give me the energy I need to keep up with my now four month old! Thank you for sharing this! You have changed my life with this heavenly recipe!
Thank you for what has become my favorite oatmeal recipe! I cut down the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp and top with honey-so yummy!
Just made this amazing oatmeal foe breakfast. WOW. Totally love it. Thanks Angela for sharing all your yummy recipes.
This sounds absolutely delicious! Definitely something I’m going to make when the weather cools.
I never get tired of this recipe! I think it might be my all-time favorite way to eat oatmeal. And I LOVE oatmeal.
I just discovered this recipe – what took me so long?? The caramelized bananas are pure genius. SOOO delicious. Thanks for another amazing recipe.
Coming back home with my son from dropping my husband off at school I really wanted to eat something healthy since we had been eating pizza and beer and soda and energy drinks all week. Hard to believe we were ever vegan at one point lol I do miss our vegan days and how light and energized I felt when I eat food like that. I made your oatmeal recipe this morning and it was delicious!!!!. The epitome of cold weather winter and fall this will definitely be my go to breakfast in the mornings when I really don’t have time to get anything healthy. Now if only I could get my husband to eat like this lol. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe I think I am finally back on the road to maybe becoming vegan again or just eating more healthily.
I made this today and it was amazing!!! I don’t usually like oatmeal but the combination of all ingredients was perfect..
I’ve been having this for breakfast every morning for the last couple of days, it is super delicious and filling, especially in these frigid winter mornings!
This is THE BEST oatmeal I have ever made. I have made many bowls of unsatisfactory oatmeal. Thank you, thank you, Angela!
Super yum! This is a breakfast for cold, rainy mornings or when you want to climb a mountain :)
I don’t like oatmeal AT ALL. I don’t know if it’s the taste or texture, but I can’t stand it. However, I’ll make it on occasion just in case my palate has changed. And while I don’t think I’m an oatmeal fanatic just yet, this was the best oatmeal I’ve ever had! I can’t believe I liked it as much as I did or liked it at all for that matter. Wonderful recipe!
How many calories dose this have in it?
Angela, just wanted to let you know that this is my all-time favorite oatmeal recipe! I’ve been making it regularly since it was published- always my cold morning go-to. Exploring & trying out your recipes every week is one of my favorite things to do; you never disappoint! :)
This looks amazing! Is there a way to convert this to a crock pot recipe with steel cut oats instead? I usually use the double broiler technique for easy storage of leftovers and easy clean up.
just tried the recipe and it was fantastic!!
Words can’t express how much I enjoyed this oatmeal. I just started eating hot oatmeal about two years ago and have to say that I have become addicted to giving it for breakfast and sometimes lunch. This will be in my rotation for weekends!