Much like most of my creations in the kitchen, the inspiration for this recipe came from a half-full can of pumpkin puree sitting in my fridge, leftover from making some granola. For me, what I have available is my biggest inspiration when creating new recipes. I will almost always have something in my fridge to work with to use as a starting point if I am lacking creativity–whether it be an opened can of beans, a pre-cooked batch of quinoa or barley, vegetables or fruit that are about to go bad, or even leftover meals from the day before. These are the things I use to both create and challenge my creativity in the kitchen to see what I can invent out of them, while also, of course, limiting unnecessary waste. :-)
This recipe will work with any kind of oats, but if you have steel cut oats I do recommend using them as they have a nuttier flavour, which I thought complemented the other flavours in the dish quite well. This recipe is quite dense and filled with lots of protein and fibre, so it’s the perfect breakfast after a morning workout, or even just for those mornings you wake up a hungry beast, ready to eat the whole kitchen. (which is me, quite often…)
Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oats
Serves One
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup steel cut oats
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lowfat vanilla yogurt (or vanilla almond milk)
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
- 5 pecans, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/2 tablespoon dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1. In a large microwave bowl, combine steel cut oats and water and microwave on medium-high for 15 minutes.
2. Once oats are cooked, remove from microwave and stir in pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, vanilla yogurt, and vanilla extract.
3. Transfer oat mixture to a serving bowl and top with chia seeds, pecans, dried cranberries, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon to serve.