Double the Pleasure, Double the Almond

I’ve relaxed on my cheese and egg intake to help lower my cholesterol, but have also upped my oatmeal eating in pursuit of the same goal. My dad and sister eat oatmeal almost daily, zapping a bowl in the microwave and dousing in ground cinnamon.

I take the path less traveled and wait almost an hour for my bowl of steel cut oats. I also will not rest with the simple topping of a powdered spice. After a few bland bowls, I’ve discovered how to satisfyingly eat my way to a healthier body and not be totally bored with lunch.

Double Almond Oatmeal

I’ve followed this recipe from the New York Times but my oats seem to take longer, or I like them more cooked than this recipe instructs. One cup of steel cut oats creates 4 portions. I usually make a full cup and rewarm the leftovers throughout the week.

Combine 2 cups water, 2 cups almond “milk” (vanilla flavored) and a bit of salt. Bring to a boil, then slowly stir in the one cup of steel cut oats, bring down to a simmer and cover. I check on the oats about every 15-20 minutes to give it a stir and feel for texture. This recipe thinks the oats will be done after 45 minutes, but I like my oats more cooked, so I add in another maybe 1/4 cup of water and keep letting the oats go for about 15 minutes.

Aside:
I used to only use dried fruit (re-plumped in the cooking liquid) in my oatmeal, but I was never fully happy with the outcome. I then added natural peanut butter and things got much better. And then, I went to the Takoma Park Co-op and found both raw, salted almond butter and roasted, unsalted almond butter. Almonds are a superstar nut (and help lower LDL!) so I was excited to change up my nut butter, and went with the roasted version for deeper flavor.

Because I wanted to make this a healthier, vegan dish, I turned to the “almond milk” instead of dairy or soy milk. Although I’m still on the look out for coconut milk (not canned,) that I learned about from Kim O’Donnel.

To serve:
Top with a dollop of roasted almond butter, sliced banana, a drizzle of honey and chunky bits of salt. I’m into Maldon recently.