Chocolate Oatmeal

Rosemary here. Time for another breakfast recipe. I love making breakfast! I have more energy in the mornings than in the evenings, the foods are pretty simple, and breakfast foods are yummy. What's not to love?

The other day I was poking around on Hulu and I found a clip from "The Chew" where they made chocolate oatmeal. It's almost more of a pudding than a porridge. You can make it sweeter and have it for dessert, but we've stuck to slightly less sweet and made it for breakfast. You can see the original video here. http://www.hulu.com/watch/582248

Nutritionally, I think this recipe is awesome. You have whole grain oatmeal, antioxidant rich cocoa, and the power of nuts. Today we added mixed berries to give it another antioxidant and flavor boost. We also used honey instead of brown sugar, largely because my honey is getting granulated and needs used up, but also because it is ever-so-slightly more healthy as well. My only problem with it is that it is a bit low in protein. So if you find it doesn't last you the morning, maybe have it with a glass of cow's or soy milk (they have more protein than almond milk) or have some nuts or an egg on the side. Typically though, I think the oatmeal has plenty of staying power, so I'm happy to just sprinkle some extra toasted almonds on top.

One final ingredient note. Almond milk is awesome! It helps give this oatmeal its great creamy texture. You can use other types of milk, but you'll get the best results by using almond milk. Just make sure that you adjust how much sugar you put in according to which kind you use. Unsweetened almond milk has no sugar, but vanilla almond milk has quite a bit, so taste before you add all the sugar.

Chocolate Oatmeal
Yield: 1 serving
Note: This recipe scales well (at least up to 4 servings, which is the most I've done), so multiply to fit the crowd you're feeding.

1 1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup regular rolled oats
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1-2 tbsp brown sugar
pinch of salt (I skip this one)
toasted sliced or slivered almonds

Place almond milk and rolled oats in a stovetop pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes until done. Stir in cocoa powder, cinnamon, sugar, and salt (if using). Serve topped with toasted almonds.

Hint for serving to kids or impatient adults: You can cool this down quickly by adding frozen or semi-frozen berries or a splash of milk.


Rosemary

Almond Cream Sauce (with Broccoli)

Since we were having a pretty lean mean for dinner tonight (boneless skinless chicken breasts with couscous), I decided to go with a higher fat vegetable side dish. Not only could we adults "afford" it because of the lean meal, it actually helps make the meal more satisfying and keeps us full for longer. Plus, with a toddler around, we have to make sure there's always at least one good source of fat in our meals, be it the butter for the bread, regular shredded cheese on our burritos, or the peanut butter in his sandwich. The little tykes need more of their calories from fat than adults do. Too bad he didn't actually eat it. Maybe next time. At least he enjoyed the couscous. :)

I couldn't find the broccoli gratin recipe that I was sure existed in one of my cookbooks, but I found this little beauty in my "What's Cooking?" cookbook that a roommate gave me a few years back. I don't think it's in print anymore, but it's got some good recipes in it. I modified this one a tad, but stayed pretty true to it.

Almond Cream Sauce
2 tbsp butter (I did about half extra virgin olive oil)
3 tbsp sliced almonds
3 tbsp heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli or other vegetable, still hot or reheated (I think we had about twice this, but the sauce ran out on us eventually.)

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add sliced almonds and cook lightly. Stir in heavy cream. Cook until volume is reduced by half. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve on top of broccoli.

Rosemary