Brrr…it’s a chilly morning in our neck of the woods!
I woke up around 6am absolutely freezing, so I closed the window and pulled on the blanket that was at the end of the bed. I had another 45 minutes of cozy, warm sleep with Sketchie cuddled at my feet and Eric by my side.
The only thing that pulled me out of bed (besides Sketchie meowing and tapping my shoulder over and over) was the thought of hot oatmeal to warm me up.
Last year, I made Zucchini Bread Oatmeal and it occurred to me this morning that I hadn’t finalized the recipe and posted it on the blog. I had no idea what recipe I came up with last year, but judging from the photos, it was a bit more lengthy than what I came up with today. I’m all about the Quick and Dirty recipes lately so I tried to make it as delicious, yet simple, as I could.
The most difficult part is trying not to grate your finger off while half asleep in the morning. I recommend caffeine before taking on this challenging morning task!
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Zucchini Bread Oatmeal
Zucchini Bread in oatmeal form perfect for those chilly mornings. Don’t even think about skipping the brown sugar, pecans, and Earth Balance as they bring this bowl over the top and give it an authentic zucchini bread taste. If you are feeling really crazy, why not crumble some of my favourite Oil-Free Zucchini Walnut loaf on top?
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup non-dairy milk or water (I prefer almond milk as it’s creamy), plus more as needed to thin out
- 1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt & nutmeg, to taste
- 1/2 cup packed finely grated zucchini
- 1 tbsp chia seeds or ground flax
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 2 tbsp chopped pecans
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp packed brown sugar, divided
- 1 tsp Earth Balance (or other buttery spread)
1. In a medium sized pot, add water or milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and oats. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes.
2. Now stir in the grated zucchini, chia seeds, raisins, 1 tbsp packed brown sugar, and 1 tbsp of the pecans. Cook over medium heat, adding more liquid when necessary, for another 5-6 minutes. Reduce heat to low if required. When cooked, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
3. Pour into bowl and top with remaining 1 tbsp pecans, 1 tsp packed brown sugar, and 1 tsp Earth Balance. Serve and enjoy- but be careful as it’s very hot! I burned my tongue in typical excitement.
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I loved my original photoshoot so much, I decided to use the old pictures in today’s post!
Read: I was way too lazy for a photoshoot this morning.
Keep in mind, the recipe looks a bit different the way I made it today, but I was even more pleased with the outcome this time around.
In my first photoshoot, I had a lot of fun using a bread loaf pan and spatula. I wish I had that energy today! Serves me right for staying up until 12:30am last night.
In my first attempt, I didn’t add the pat of Earth Balance on top- big mistake! It really took this bowl over the edge and I was in Heaven enjoying each buttery bite with a hint of brown sugar and crunchy pecan.
and then I burned my tongue. Of course. Will I ever learn?
If you’re feeling really crazy, why not crumble some of my Oil-Free Zucchini Walnut loaf on top?
And no, you can’t taste the zucchini at all, but it does add beautiful green flecks to the oats, not to mention extra vitamins and fibre.
I’m now warmed up and ready to tackle the work week. Let’s just not make these chilly mornings a frequent occurrence, mmm kay?
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Today is the last day you can enter the Feel Good giveaway! Crazy Tea Ladies, unite.
I didn’t eat oatmeal for breakfast and now I want it for lunch. YUM. This looks AMAZING.
I made a zucchini bread oatmeal several months back and posted it – it’s pretty similar. I love how much they taste like the bread. I also topped mine with homemade blueberry “jam,” which was absolutely fabulous. :)
We too have that crisp fall air this morning and I absolutely LOVE it! Its still beaming sunlight though so I got a glorious morning walk/ run in. It’s making me a tad excited for class to start back up again in a week, ahh! This looks so comforting, I’m excited for all the fall recipes to start appearing all over the blog world again… pumpkin, chilli, cornbread- those are my favorite fall flavors.
I was just searching for this on your recipe page the other day! I ended up making a version of your zucchini bread with raisins and walnuts – totally addictive! Thanks for posting this as well, will definitely be trying it out :)
This looks fantastic! I am all about zucchini bread things – I made your oil free loaf a few weeks ago and have been pulling it out of the freezer one slice at a time so it won’t go bad!
I have a feeling these chilly mornings are going to be more frequent sooner than we’d like to think! Your oatmeal looks fabulous :)
Yum! That looks and sounds delicious! I just LOVE zucchini .. and zucchini bread always holds a special place in my heart because my grandfather used to make it …
Mmmm I just love zucchini oatmeal! The only catch is that it’s not always in my fridge and I end up eating it before I can even think of breakfast haha.
I have so much zucchini!! What an amazing idea! :D definitely gonna have to try this one
Yum, what a great idea! Although I’m a little scared of grating my fingers off too! I love your spoons too, by the way.
Another yummy idea,,, but I gotta say, that last pic, with the awesome little ‘bowls’ ,,,love them, where did you get??
I think I got the Mason type jars from Wal Mart :)
The feeling of fall, the chill in the air (and in the house)…I am NOT READY for it! Trust me, I am 100% a summer girl and being in Coastal! San Diego…i swear it was never above 75F for me this summer. I turned on my a/c one time, for an hour. All summer. Not that “hot” Southern Cal everyone thinks of. More like moderate and lovely, but not hot. But I don’t want fall either!
Maybe if I had a bowl of those great zuke oats of yours I’d be happier about it :)
Oooh YUM! Perfect way to curb my mom’s zucchini buying mania (our fridge is STUFFED!) and my own craving for warm oats that comes like clockwork toward the end of August. I make your carrot cake oats all the time and looove how they taste plus the added veggies at breakfast. :)
LOVE the jar as a bowl! Very clever! Lovely photos as always! Have a great week.
That is so cute, I love it!
I have a similar recipe but obviously yours looks way better :)
http://somethingtochewover.blog.com/courgette-porridge-zucchini-oatmeal/
This sounds so good! I’ll have to try it when it starts getting cold out!
That looks delicious! I was even more envious of the fact that it was chilly where you are. It is 107 here today. I am living in hell every single day in Texas right now. 65+ straight days of over 100 degree heat. I want to talk to whoever says Global Warming doesn’t exist because in Texas is sooooo does!
Gosh that is a lot of heat!!
Would this work as an overnight oats recipe too?
hmm good question! Im not sure. It is good the next day cold though.
Great idea! My husband LOVES zucchini bread and is just starting to love oatmel. I’m going to have to make this for us.