Summer Oats

Oats are a great breakfast food- whole grain, all natural, gluten-free, and they even have some protein!  But on steamy summer mornings when its already 80 degrees at 8am :/ a piping hot bowl of oatmeal is somewhat less than appetizing.

So here’s my recipe for Summer Oats- no cooking required- a tasty, natural, (mostly) raw foods dish that you will make again and again!  Also great for getting all the use you can out of summer's amazing seasonal fruit.

TOOLS

-Glass jar with lid, reuse one that you would have recycled, like from a jar of apple sauce or peach butter (so good!)

-Small food processor, or blender, or the will to chop the daylights out of your fruit du jour

INGREDIENTS

-1/3 c oats, I prefer Bob’s Red Mill old-fashioned oats, but even quick oats work fine

-1/2c plain nonfat Greek yogurt (its got a lot more protein than the regular stuff)

-1/2 large peach or nectarine or 2 small plums or ½ c hulled strawberries or pitted cherries- whatever fresh, local, summer fruit is your favorite!

-1T chia seeds, I also like to add dried hemp seed and ground flaxseed, but the chia plumps up so nicely in the yogurt that it makes it a for sure winner!

-Pinches of SALT & CINNAMON & GINGER & why not add some nutmeg or clove for flair

-1T almond slices

 

-1/4C ALMOND MILK or coconut, rice, or cow’s milk, etc.  I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk

-1 or 2 or 3t AGAVE NECTAR or honey or 100% maple syrup

~~As you can see there’s lots of wiggle room here^.  Make it your own and use up what you have on hand!  If you want a jumpstart on your daily veggie intake, try adding pureed pumpkin to the mix too.  Unsweetened shredded coconut is great as well as other nuts like pecan and walnuts, preferably in pieces or chopped~~

DIRECTIONS

-Spoon yogurt into glass jar

-Top yogurt with oats, seeds, salt & spices {here’s where I add my secret ingredient of Maple Sugar- dehydrated 100% maple syrup from a little shop called Savory, so great!}

-Blend 1/2 peach in food processor and spoon into jar (I usually make 2 batches at once, so I put in the whole peach, obviously)

-Give ingredients a gentle stir with a butter knife, try to not have any visibly dry oats

-All almonds now, or wait until you serve the oats and use them as garnish

-Pour almond milk over any dry spots and give another gentle swirl

-REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT with lid on, or at least for a few hours

-Top with agave and any reserved nuts

-Enjoy a cool taste of summer, ready as soon as you’re out of bed!

Based on my calculations at Livestrong.com, here’s the nutrition profile:

333 Calories

9.6g fat (less than 1g is saturated)

9.5g fiber

21g protein

-WHOA protein and fiber powerhouse!  AND full of Abs Diet superfoods- enjoy!

*Peach photo credit to http://ilfbpartners.com/illinois-fruit-calendar/