Oh my word there is so much to be excited about: I’m officially on holiday break, Christmas is in 5 days, and this vegan gingerbread oatmeal.
While I’m a teensy weensy bit upset that I missed half of the advent season, now that I am a free elf, as with Chew, not a moment has been wasted. The morning of my last exam, we took my snowboard in for service and wandered around Whole Foods. The two of us always get ourselves into a bit of trouble while stalling around Whole Foods. And by trouble I mean leaving with items we clearly didn’t know we needed until about 10 minutes ago. Things like candy cane ‘Oreos’, pumpkin cheesecake sandwich cookies, chocolate hazelnut butter, gingerbread Clif Bars (did I mention I’m obsessed with gingerbread?), and potatoes. Make that two of each. ‘Cause we have to be well stocked at each of our homes.
Chew and I really seem to bounce off and exacerbate each others’ thoughts; we circled around the bulk cookie section at Whole Foods and every time Chew walked past a gingerbread snowman, she’d point at it and say, “need”. So yes, gingerbread is a necessity at this time of year.
During the two and a half weeks that I was locked away indoors preparing for finals (no prince came to save me), I survived on a lot of oatmeal and bread. Not that I’m complaining because those two things can be turned into very delicious things. One morning, I really needed a gingerbread fix so I flavoured my oatmeal that way. To summarize, I nailed it on the head and had the exact same oatmeal for the next two weeks. You could say I’ve been hit by the gingerbread craze. Gingersnaps, gingerbread hot chocolate, gingerbread oatmeal and I’m not even sick of it yet!
Make sure you fuel up properly before braving the crowds of last minute shoppers in the chilly weather. A big hot bowl of this vegan gingerbread oatmeal ought to do the trick. Topped with a baked hasselback apple, it may become the only breakfast you’ll want for the rest of December. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Learn how to make the hasselback apples here!
- ½ very ripe banana
- ½ tsp molasses
- A splash of pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
- ⅓ cup quick cook oats
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
- A dash each of cloves and freshly ground nutmeg
- 5 drops liquid stevia, or extra sweetener to taste (optional)
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and spray lightly with oil. Slice the banana lengthwise and place cut-side down onto the hot pan. Let it cook until caramelized, flip, and caramelize the other side. It should take about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Once both sides are caramelized, roughly mash it up and add all the other ingredients to the pot. Give it a stir, cover the pot with a lid, bring it to a boil, then cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot with fun toppings like hasselback baked apples, banana coins, yogurt, a drizzle of molasses, nuts or seeds!
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