Making the Most of Your Oats!

In my smoothie post, I mentioned that one of my reprieves from liquid brekkies is a hearty bowl of oatmeal. I usually use natural instant oats from the brand pictured in the photo, but I've also used leftover quinoa or oat "cookies," both of which make for different textures and tastes.

I try to make the most of my oatmeal breakfasts (since it seems like a step-down nutritionally from a cup with a bajillion nutrients in it) by adding some perk ingredients.

Some oatmeal addition ideas:

- 1-2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 tbsp wheat germ
- 3-4 chopped dates or figs (either of these would be the main source of sweetness)
- Banana, blueberries, apples, raisins, cranberries, etc.
- Pecans, almonds, walnuts, or seeds
- A splash of plant milk for creaminess
- Organic/natural coconut flakes
- Raw cacao powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- A dash of nutmeg

You can pretty much throw any combination and amount of this or that into a bowl of oatmeal, which makes it a nice starting point for variety. The idea is not to go too crazy with the sugar, however. (I find that starting the day with a super sweet breakfast makes me feel gross and soggy).

The picture below makes it seem like one giant fructose-bomb, but these are more suggested options than what should be the contents of one bowl. :) Definitely do try to go beyond the standard solo-banana breakfast, though, by adding in an additional nutritionally-dense fruit somewhere! 

What do you use to power up your oatmeal? I love new ideas!