Pumpkin Oats - Breakfast

 A girlfriend of mine sent me this recipe the other day, its healthy, its yummy and I had all of the ingredients in my cupboard, which meant it was a total had to try kind of recipe.

Pumpkin Oats Recipe:

1/2 cup (uncooked) steel-cut oats

1/4 cup greek yogurt (or plain full fat yogurt)

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk

1/4 cup no-sugar added pure pumpkin puree

1/4 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin spice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix everything together in a bowl and refrigerate overnight. In the morning heat it up in a saucepan and than add your choice of:

1/4 cup fresh fruit of your choice

1 Tbsp of nut of your choice

Splash of Almond Milk

1 Tbsp brown sugar 

 (I diced a small apple and added a few raisins. I used full fat plain yogurt and coconut milk as that is what I had in the fridge). One thing to note is that I looked on the side of my steel cut oats container and 1 serving is actually 1/4 of a cup, so this recipe may be heftier than what some may want, I ate the entire amount for breakfast and found it kept me full until lunch (which doesn't usually happen). Hearty, healthy, whole grain goodness!

Some nutritional highlights:

Steel cut oats are a total different texture from regular oatmeal, they have not been subject to the same processing as regular oats, they have a coarse consistency.  

Oats are low in gluten, high in fibre, and have beneficial effects on blood sugar levels, studies have also shown that people with high cholesterol levels benefit from consuming oat fibre as it helps to lower cholesterol levels.

Pumpkin is a winter squash, as it is richly coloured it is an excellent source of carotenes. Carotenes are found in all plant foods, however the greater the intensity of color, the higher the level of carotenes. Carotenes act as antioxidants and enhance the immune functions, excellent for this time of year (any time of year really, however even more so with the change of the seasons). Pumpkin contains Vitamin C, B1, folic acid and potassium.

Greek Yogurt has been very popular lately, it is naturally made, for anyone without a dairy issue it provides a great healthy source of protein (please note that most people do have issues digesting dairy)

Coconut milk - unsweetened (not the kind in a can but the one in the box – really, does it sound better to be in a box instead of a can?) is a great non dairy substitute. It is a good source of fat (medium chain fats have thermogenic (fat burning effects)– the excess energy provided by medium chain fats is generally burned and not stored)

Cinnamon has antibacterial and antifungal properties, is helpful to warm your internal organs, can help to treat diarrhea, indigestion, gas, bloating, abdominal pain, cramps, coughs, lower back pain, respiratory complaints and helps to increase blood circulation - really, what’s not to love!

To be honest, I never ate oatmeal as a kid, or certainly not that I remember. I started eating it about 10 years ago and originally it was the prepackaged, sweetened kind. I still buy it on occasion as my kids do ask for it, however it is way better to make it yourself and season to your liking, preferrably without all of the added sugars. Steel cut oats are something that took a longer time to get used to, now I prefer them, however not everyone does on their first try. So, just keep in mind that sometimes new foods take a while to become accustomed to and then you may wonder what it was that kept you away from it originally.