It felt so wonderful to get out of town for a couple days and visit family this weekend, even though I didn’t stay the full 3-day weekend (cell cultures won’t start themselves!). Of course many delicious things were eaten, but before I share those details I want to talk about this oatmeal, which was made this morning. It’s a holiday, so guess who had time to cook herself a warm delicious breakfast? I’ll give you a hint, I cannot get away from this person… yup it’s me.

Without using a lot of sweetener, this oatmeal is a sweet oatmeal delight thanks to the carrots and little bit of maple syrup. And it really does taste like carrot cake, but in creamy form.  You will even feel like you are indulging but it is packed with carrots and other goodies that are sneakily nutritious.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my virtual interview with Fastrecipes.com HERE!

CARROT CAKE OATMEAL

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup finely grated carrot (about 1 large)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 Tbsp full-fat coconut milk cream or use more almond milk (I used regular heavy cream)

1 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8th tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup regular oats

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional)

2 Tbsp chopped walnuts, divided

2 Tbsp chopped dried cranberries, divided

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp sweetened shredded coconut, for garnish

1 Tbsp coconut milk cream + 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup, to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Finely grate 1 heaping cup of grated carrots. You want to use the fine grate and not the large one so the carrot shreds are very small. This helps the carrot blend in more.
2. In a medium sized pot over medium heat, whisk together the almond milk, optional coconut milk cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of salt.
3. Stir in the grated carrots and oats. Adjust heat if necessary or bring heat to low if it starts to boil. Cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring frequently. When the mixture has thickened up, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp walnuts, 1 tbsp raisins, and 2 tbsp of maple syrup. Remove from heat and portion into bowls.
4. Top the oatmeal with the remaining walnuts, raisins, and shredded coconut. If you are using coconut cream, you can mix a bit of the cream with maple syrup and drizzle on top of the oatmeal. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish is desired.

Source: Adapted slightly from Oh She Glows, discovered on Steph’s Bite By Bite.