Lack of time is the one thing most us blame for skipping breakfast in the morning. Between trying to catch those precious few hours of sleep, getting dressed and ready, getting the kids ready for school, there’s just not enough time to make breakfast. “I’ll get a cup of coffee on the go “, you tell yourself as you dash out the door promising yourself you will do better tomorrow but that tomorrow never comes.

Well it doesn’t have to be this way.

I thought it would be a good idea to start the year by launching a series of healthy breakfast ideas. I will be sharing a number of oatmeal recipes (carrot cake oatmeal, chocolate oatmeal, apple cinnamon oatmeal…and more), smoothies, some new twists on homemade granola (chocolate granola, honey almond granola, spicy seed granola..), sandwiches, wraps, a couple of easy cheese recipes to use as dips and spreads and some low carb breakfast ideas. The focus will be on easy to prepare, quick and healthy.  I would love to hear from you, what would you like to see on this series? any requests?

If you enjoy the flavors of carrot cake, the sweetness of the carrots and raisins, the depth of flavor from the spices, the crunch of the walnuts. This oatmeal is for you. It hits all those buttons only with a fraction of the calories.I would say it tastes like carrot cake batter but then again I don’t want to admit that I taste raw cake batter 😉  Lets just say that having dessert for breakfast with a clear conscience is a win win situation in my book.

What I usually do is make double or triple this recipe on the weekend and simply reheat it in the morning. Add a splash of milk, cook for 3-5 minutes and it is as good as new without grating, measuring or mess.

Carrot cake oatmeal

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

2 cups milk (coconut milk  would work too)

1 tablespoon honey (brown sugar or maple syrup)

1 1/4 cups shredded carrots (1 large carrot)

1/4 cup raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

To serve:

shredded carrots

chopped walnuts

raisins

Directions

In a pot add the  oats,milk, carrots, raisins, honey and spices

Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until the mix thickens and starts to bubble.

Cook for 2 more minutes while stirring then take off the heat

Serve topped with shredded carrots, walnuts or raisins.

Notes:

Milk: You can make this with regular milk or with coconut milk. coconut milk adds a nutty flavor that I find pleasant.

Sweetner: you can use honey, sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup or you can leave out the sugar altogether and rely on the sweetness of the carrots and raisins. Another option would be to drizzle the sweetnes (honey or maple syrup) on top of the cooked oatmeal

Spices: Cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger or a combination of them. Use your favorite combination of spices

Additions: raisins, crushed pineapples, grated apples, shredded coconut. You can use any or all of these to add flavor and texture to your oatmeal

Reheating: I usually make double or triple this recipe on the weekend and then reheat it in the morning. All you need to do is add 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk to the cold oatmeal and then cook the oatmeal for 3-5 minutes. This heats it through and restores the thickness to that of freshly cooked oatmeal . Breakfast is ready in 5 minutes or less.