Good Start to a Beautiful Day

Breakfast is my favorite meal ever.  In any form.  Yes, I obviously like sweets, so any kind of sweet breakfast is a hit, but I also love savory.  Omelets, sausage,bacon, quiches, and potatoes.  I'm also a firm believer in the importance of breakfast, so I don't usually skip it.  I would much rather have a late and large breakfast and skip lunch.  This morning I was trying to decide what to have on this beautiful day off of work.  I remembered that I had found some unsweetened flaked coconut for really cheap at this random store when looking for something else with my mom.  I decided to throw that into some oatmeal.  Well, and those raisins left over from the Irish pudding that I couldn't eat on Saturday.  Naturally cinnamon always goes into oatmeal.  And it was delicious!

I couldn't eat it all, this is definitely a two person bowl of oatmeal. Maybe I should have kept Munchkie home from the babysitter's to help me eat this.  It was absolutely amazing to sit with every single window in my apartment, yes all four of them, all the way open and quiet surrounding me except for the sounds coming in from the outside.  The birds chirping, kids playing down the street, cars passing by, and people calling friendly greetings to each other.    Oh beautiful day!

Coconut Raisin Oatmeal
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk plus a little bit more for cooling down the hot oatmeal
1/2 cup oats
handful unsweetened flaked coconut
handful raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 packets stevia

• Mix almond milk and oats together in a microwave safe bowl
• Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't explode
• Add in coconut, raisins, cinnamon and stevia, stirring until fully mixed
• Microwave for another 30-60 seconds to plump the raisins, and meld the flavors
• Add cold almond milk until the right temperature and consistency.

Mmmmmmm!

Stick IN Your Stomach Not ON Your Stomach

I have always loved oatmeal.  There are several foods that I could eat everyday of my life and never grow tired of, such as yogurt, french toast, oatmeal, ice cream, chocolate, berries, brie and an iced caramel macchiato.  At least oatmeal and berries are good for me!  I have been eating this now that it has warmed up out outside.  The thought of putting something hot into my already sticky from the humidity body, does not appeal to me, but I do love oatmeal.  So my options are to sit eating it with the A/C window unit blasting on me (great use of my resources) or try it another way.  This is what I have come up with.

1 cup water
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 packets Stevia (honey, sugar, brown sugar, agave, whatever you prefer)
1/8 cup milk
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (or whatever frozen fruit you prefer)

1. Bring the water to boiling- I use an electric kettle so if I forget about it, no big deal, it shuts off automatically.
2. While the water is boiling, mix oats, cinnamon and Stevia (or your choice of sweetener) in the bowl you will be using to eat.
3. Add the boiling water to the oat mixture and stir.
4. Let this stand for a couple minutes until the mixture is thick and the oatmeal is cooked.
5. Add the milk and stir until completely combined, this is just enough to make the oatmeal a little creamy.  
6. Add the frozen berries and stir again, the berries will significantly bring the temperature of the oatmeal down.
7. Once the berries are mixed in, enjoy.  The oatmeal is chilled, but not old gross oatmeal cold, and you get cold little bursts of berries while you're eating it.  It's perfect for a summer morning where the temperature is already too hot to handle.

I usually don't get to eat the entire bowl because there is a little face that instantly appears next to me and says "mmmm yummy oatmeal, I try it Mama?"