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.
Angela I swear you get me hooked on green stuff! First green monsters and now this! I am now a lean mean green machine! lol :)
Wow. Yum. I made a carrot cake oatmeal like this recently but this looks even better. This will be in my belly at 6am tomorrow morning.
I love zucchini bread and can’t wait to try this recipe! xo
I think these oats are the perfect excuse to make some of your zucchini bread! Do you have a particular Earth Balance you buy or prefer over the others? I basically just shut my eyes and grabbed one off the shelf because I couldn’t figure out the difference :)
I buy the soy free kind in the red tub :)
How very delicious! And what an interesting way to use zucchini!
Could there be an overnight version to this? Just wondering because I simply LOVE overnight oats ;)
wow lady! way to get creative! I think this will hit the spot for sure and I am just loving all your recipes!
Stay warm… I will make sure to enjoy my california sunshine for you. ;)
Oh my gosh I love zucchini bread, what a great idea to combine with oatmeal! Thank you Angela :)
WOW I never would have thought to use zucchini and oatmeal together… but then again, you introduced me to spinach in my smoothies! YUM!
Brrrr? It’s August! Haha :-)
This is so cool!!! It look so good and so fun!
That’s so crazy! I was just thinking about the very same thing this morning! I have some zucchini to use up and I wanted to try and use it in my oatmeal this morning, but I was too hungry to try and come up with anything that might not taste so good. Thanks for this! It gives me something to go on. :)
Oh my god, I’ve never heard of anything like this before, but it sounds delicious! I love the idea of reinventing zucchini bread in oatmeal form… makes me want to try with other sweet breads :)
I’ve been making zucchini bread oatmeal all summer using zucchinis from the farm where I work. We grow so many there that my bosses are always sending me home with free zucchini! :P
I love your idea to top it with Earth Balance. That would definitely take it over the top!
This look absolutely delish!! I love getting some veggies in the morning! Omg I can’t wait for fall when I start craving hot oats again! These are on my TO MAKE LIST!
What a great way to include some vegetables at breakfast time, can’t wait until it gets cooler around here to try this!
Mmm. Looks good. Have to say though, I’m partial to the oat bars…yummy and portable, lol. :)
This looks sooo good! Now I have the perfect excuse to use my zucchini tomorrow morning :)
Wow this looks so amazing! I just recently made zuchinni oatmeal pancakes, and were great. I love knowing that there’s veggies in my meal even when I can’t taste them! I’m definitely trying this out…thanks for sharing!
P.S. I’m new to your blog, and I’m so glad I found it! I love it so far.
Thanks Ashley! Nice to meet ya :)
It’s been freakishly chilly here too! I can’t believe fall is already on its way!