Early Edition: Almond Joy Oatmeal

Now that the weather is cooling off, I'm starting to eat more oatmeal for breakfast.  I love oatmeal, but during the summer I usually prefer cereal with cold milk to beat the heat.  I'm excited to be breaking out the Quaker again, though, and I've been finding a lot of oatmeal recipe ideas from some of the blogs I follow.

During the week, I normally have my oatmeal with 1/2 a banana, some peanut butter, chia seeds, and lately, pumpkin puree.  But weekends are for being decadent, right?  So this weekend I decided to surprise MG with oatmeal based on one of his favorite candies: Almond Joy.

Using some great inspiration from Chocolate Covered Katie (check her out!) on how to turn oatmeal into a delicious morning sweet treat, here's what I came up with:

Makes 1 serving

1/2 cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 cup almond or skim milk
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 banana, cut up
1 tbsp slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
1 tbsp shaved coconut flakes
1/2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp chia seeds
sweetener to taste (1 packet of stevia in mine, 2 tsp brown sugar in MGs)

The night before:
Mix the oats, milk, water, cocoa powder, extracts and banana in a bowl.  Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When you wake up:
Remove the plastic wrap and microwave the bowls for about 3 - 3.5 minutes (keep an eye on them so the oatmeal doesn't overflow!)  Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a small skillet over medium heat.  When the oatmeal is hot and thickened, add sweetener, if desired.  Finally, top with the almonds, coconut, chocolate chips and chia seeds.

Enjoy a delicious coconutty, chocolately morning!

One satisfied customer.