I love oatmeal- apparently I always have (mom says she couldn’t heap the spoon high enough for me when I was a baby). I suppose some things never change- but lately I’ve been ramping up my morning oats by sneakily adding some extra healthy ingredients. 

I am one of those people who absolutely adores fruit- I can eat fruit constantly, I love every fruit, and I can literally eat baskets of it. But veggies- are… well.. for the most part a little bland and boring, as well as more time consuming to prepare, which means I generally only eat them with my dinner meal- which I do realize is not enough.

So to solve this vegetable problem I’ve been having- I devised a way to sneak an extra veggie serving into my day- and an orange vegetable at that (which you are supposed to have one serving of everyday apparently)

PUMPKIN OATMEAL

and it is so good I should call it pumpkin pie oatmeal. 

I generally make it with these ingredients:

I know this looks like a lot but most of it is spices/toppings. Also in this pic I have the two types of oatmeal I prefer – steel cut oats or quick oats (depending on my level of laziness in the morning)

Usually I opt for the steel cut though and I will make a full batch which means that I am left with ready-made breakfasts for the next couple mornings. 

I cook my oats the usual way – 1 cup of steel cut oats and 4 cups of water- simmering away until you have that wonderful porridge consistency and the oats are all cooked and creamy.

Then to the batch I add:

1 1/2 Tbsp of coconut oil (I find eating this helps my dry skin in the winter) Also if you want to watch an amazing video on the benefits of coconut oil click here!

1 1/3 cup of puree pumpkin (I use the canned stuff because it is easy and a good consistency)

– this will generally make about 3-4 servings – meaning that you get at least a full (1/3 cup) serving of pumpkin in each bowl!! giving you all your vitamin A for the day along with other healthy things 🙂

Then I generally top my oatmeal off with this:

A little cinnamon, ginger, pinch of sea salt, generous drizzle of honey and evaporated milk (because it is like cream but a little better for you- but let’s be real, if I have cream in the house, I will use it). Here it is again along with some for tomorrow and the next day (YAY for planning ahead!)

it is so creamy and delicious- not to mention the topping choices are endless some of my other favs include toasted coconut, nuts & apples!

This is what I am doing while I write this blog post! 

Hope you have a Wonderfully Well Wednesday! And if you have any tips on how to sneak more veggies into your diet — let me know in a comment!!

xo erin