You’ve heard of flourless cake, right?
Well, oatmeal-less oatmeal is sort of the same idea. I love oatmeal as much as the next person and especially in winter, when I need something warmer and more dense than a green smoothie. Some days, though, the oatmeal is too much. Too heavy. It makes my digestion slow down. It feels like the oatmeal sits in my belly for hours after I eat.
One morning, I had the brilliant/unconventional idea of taking the oatmeal out and leaving in the warming, grounding, delicious ingredients of the oatmeal that are actually my favorite parts. The non-oatmeal “accessories” are the whole reason I like to eat oatmeal in the first place.
If you enjoy those accessories the best, too, you’ll love this!
Oatmeal-less Oatmeal:
(serves 1)
Ingredients~
1 large apple, cored and peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 small sweet potato, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/4 cup walnuts*
1/4 cup almonds*
5 prunes, chopped into small pieces
dash or 2 of cinnamon
Directions~
*soak your nuts overnight, if you can. This not only makes them easier to digest, but it softens them so that they aren’t so dry to your system when you eat them. Even better, “peel” (remove the skin of) your almonds in the morning while the apples cook! Here’s why.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place apples on baking sheet and dust with a little cinnamon. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, until soft. Set aside to cool.
Steam the sweet potatoes until tender, but still firm enough that they’re not falling apart.
Add the sweet potatoes, apples, nuts, and chopped prunes to a bowl. Eat immediately!
~Note: feel free to get creative with this.
Instead of prunes, you could substitute apricots, figs, dates, cranberries, raisins, or cherries.
Instead of walnuts or almonds, you could use pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, or pumpkin seeds.
Instead of apples, you could bake pears.
If you don’t like sweet potatoes you’re out of luck. They are amazing. Maybe try harder to love them.
