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Healthy & Delicious: French Toast Oatmeal and Banana Nut Oatmeal
Editor's note: On Mondays, Kristen Swensson of Cheap, Healthy, Good swings by these parts to share healthy and delicious recipes with us. Take it away, Kristen!
[Photograph: Kristen Swensson]
Thanks to a one-two punch of cold weather and a sudden proliferation of Quaker products, my household has been on a massive oatmeal kick lately. It began with a breakfast of Gingersnap Oatmeal from the lovely Kitschen Bitsch, moved to a week-long affair with Mark Bittman's Savory Oatmeal, and has now evolved into an almost all-oatmeal diet.
Except for the tiny pots I'm forced to wash three times a day, this is not a bad thing.
Frugal, filling, kid-friendly, and practically a blank culinary canvas, oatmeal is prime for at-home experimentation. Today's recipes, for French Toast Oatmeal and Banana Nut Oatmeal, came about after two weeks of toying with ingredients. A little nutmeg here, a little vanilla extract here, and voila: two sweet, flavorful concoctions perfect for a fast morning meal.
This isn't to say you can't mess with the ratios—the quantities are completely adjustable to your tastes.
One quick note: in both cases, the most important ingredient is salt. I accidentally left it out on a few occasions, and the flavors weren't as sharp as usual. Just a few shakes will do you.
French Toast Oatmeal
About This Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal
- 1/4 cup skim or 1% milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 teaspoons maple syrup, separated
- 1 1/2 tablespoons raisins, separated
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A few shakes cinnamon
- A few dashes Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
- 1 slightly overripe banana
- 1/2 cup Quaker old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1/4 cup skim or 1% milk
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 teaspoons honey, separated
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A few shakes cinnamon
- 1 shake nutmeg
- A few dashes Kosher salt
Procedures
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1
In a small pot, combine oatmeal, milk, water, 2 teaspoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon raisins, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Heat over medium until it reaches your preferred consistency, stirring occasionally.
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2
Pour oatmeal into a bowl. Top with remaining raisins. Drizzle with remaining teaspoon syrup.
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3
Banana Nut Oatmeal
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4
In a small pan, toast walnuts. Remove from heat and set aside.
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5
Cut banana in half. Chop one half into chunks and set aside. In your breakfast bowl, mash the other half with a fork until it forms a wet puree.
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6
In a small pot, combine banana puree, oatmeal, milk, water, 2 teaspoons honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Heat over medium until it reaches your preferred consistency, stirring occasionally.
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7
Pour oatmeal into your breakfast bowl. Top with walnuts and banana chunks. Drizzle with remaining teaspoon honey.
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