No Oats Oatmeal

Growing up my dad would fix us oatmeal and he would add raisins, which he called flies. While I wasn’t too fond of raisins growing up, I loved it when dad would add them and then tell us to make sure we ate all of the flies. Now that I am an adult, I still love the old school oatmeal my dad makes, but my tastes have expanded. I originally found this recipe here, but I’ve tweaked it a little. I like to make this in advance, but not more than a few days. The crispiness begins to change and the texture becomes funny. I also like to top it with several variations. My favorite is berries, bananas and some dark cacao chips that are at least 75% cacao. I also like to melt all natural peanut butter and drizzle it over the top then slice bananas over that. Heating it up and adding a little bit of milk is also super yummy as well.

Also, instead of figs, I’ve used dried apricots, dates, and prunes. All are equally tasty. Another substitute that is super yummy is to try variations of nuts. Instead of almonds, walnuts and pecans are great too.

No Oats Oatmeal

yeilds: 4-1 cup servings

ingredients:

2 medium apples (the more tart the fewer sugar grams), I prefer honey crisp

3 dates, or 5 dried apricots, 1 fig, 3 prunes

4 tbsp black chia seed

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

3 tbsp non-dairy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

optional toppings: berries, banana slices, dark chocolate chips, almond butter, peanut butter, raisins, dried fruit (that hasn’t been sweetened) pineapple and mango are super yummy

directions:

Core the apples and slice them into chunks. Place them, as well as the rest of the ingredients into a food processor, or blender. Blend until the consistency of oats. Divide among containers and refrigerate until ready to eat. You can consume immediately but will last in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can store with the toppings already, or wait til you are ready to eat to top the no oats oatmeal.

NOTES: This is perfect for the Whole 30 diet, also for anyone who is gluten-free or dairy-free. Chia seeds loaded with fiber, magnesium, omega-3s, and antioxidants. Also, almost all of the carbs in chia seeds are fiber. This recipe is also extremely heart healthy. The saturated fats are also mostly from the almonds so they are good fats.