Timaree’s Pumpkin Oatmeal

Pumpkin Oatmeal

My Pumpkin Oatmeal is a deliciously satisfying and nutritious breakfast that tastes like dessert! This recipe will make a lot and stay fresh in the refrigerator for several days. Each morning, simply scoop out a portion to reheat!

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked hot cereal (steel cut oats and nine-grain cereals are my favorites)
4 cups water
1/2 cup dried fruit, chopped
1 3/4 cup cooked pumpkin (~15oz. can of pumpkin – not pumpkin pie filling)

1-2 cups frozen cranberries*
2 tsp blackstrap molasses (optional)

Spices (amount based on taste preference – start with a teaspoon and keep adding until it is just right for you!):
Make my Chai Spice Blend, Pumpkin Pie Spice, or use:
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Toppings and mix-ins:
flaxseed (ground*), walnuts/pecans; soy or almond yogurt, more berries!

Procedure
Add the seasonings to the water and bring to a boil.  Add the dried fruit and oats/cereal. Cook, uncovered, at a low simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until tender. Take the cooked cereal off the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. If you’d like the cranberries softened a bit more, add them during the last 10 minutes of the oatmeal cooking time.

When ready to serve, sprinkle each portion with 1 Tbsp of ground flaxseeds and stir in 1/4-1/2 cup of soy or almond yogurt (to boost the protein and/or make it creamier), ~ a Tbsp of crushed walnuts/pecans and an extra sprinkle of your favorite spice blend!

The Nutrition Professor’s Shop Smart Tips:

*My favorite dried fruits for this recipe include: apricots, dates, plums and figs!

*While you can use dried cranberries, they are filled with sugar! Frozen cranberries can be purchased all year round and when fresh cranberries are available and on sale (around the holidays, buy extra bags and throw them right in the freezer! When you are ready to use them, take out the amount you need, give them a good rinse and they are ready to go! Cranberries are one of the most potent fruits against a whole host of cancers! Enjoy every bite!

*The precious omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed aren’t accessible to our bodies until the seeds are ground, but then they are susceptible to being destroyed by heat. So, I store my flaxseeds in the freezer, use a small coffee grinder to grind enough for the week and keep that in a glass jar in the refrigerator for easy access.

For more ideas for flavoring oatmeal, check out my newspaper article and recipes for Pistachio-Kissed Blackberry Pear Oatmeal and Oatmeal for the Week. You will also find a fun Oatmeal Foodie Bar, which is part of my innovative cookbook – The Foodie Bar™ Way: One meal. Lots of options. Everyone’s happy. available at www.FoodieBars.com

Pumpkin oatmeal is a wonderful way to start your day!

Timaree Hagenburger, a plant-based registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), certified exercise physiologist with a master’s degree in public health, has over 20 years of experience as a nutrition professor. She is a sought after speaker, media personality and author, who works with private clients, and in corporate wellness, has contributed to several cookbooks and published her own cookbook, The Foodie Bar Way: One Meal, Lots of Options, Everyone’s Happy (www.foodiebars.com)! Timaree is also the founder of an incredible online membership community, The Foodie Bar Way of Life, that makes loving the food (and living a life) that loves us back… simple, satisfying, sustainable AND FUN! You can contact her about working with her through 1:1 dietitian nutrition coaching, for hands-on cooking instruction and to inquire about arranging a speaking engagement.