Today was a snow day! I couldn’t have been happier to wake up to see the text that I had the day off–my immediate response was to dive into the kitchen to prepare breakfast that could take longer than 5 minutes. The only thing I can really make, however, is oatmeal, because that is pretty much all I have on hand. I remembered that I had a stray zucchini too, so I decided to do my limited take on Oh She Glows’ Zucchini Bread Oatmeal.
I didn’t have a grater, so I was able to practice my knife skills by slicing up the zucchini into the smallest pieces I could. I ended up with a rough micro dice, which worked out well with the texture of the steel-cut oats because they were about the same size. It was warm, creamy, delicious, and just what I needed on the snowy morning. There were other liberties I had to take to make the recipe work as well–I used dates instead of raisins, just put in extra cinnamon instead of nutmeg, and didn’t add any vanilla. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it all turned out!
The great thing about this recipe is that you can add a vegetable serving to your breakfast without tasting it, though it is pretty easy to spot the beautiful, bright green amongst the oats.
Gluten-free Vegan Zucchini Steel-Cut Oats
Makes 1 serving (on the larger side)
Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk (or half almond milk, half water or any combination thereof)
1/2 cup zucchini, grated or diced
1/4 cup gluten-free steel-cut oats (or rolled oats if that is all you have!)
2-4 Tbsp roughly chopped
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp coconut butter
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tspn cinnamon (add to taste)
pinch of salt
Method:
1. Place the almond milk, oats, salt, and cinnamon in a small pot and turn to medium-high heat on the stove. Bring to a boil, then turn it down to low or med-low heat to simmer while covered. Let the oats simmer for 10 minutes (less time if you are using rolled oats).
2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, and let simmer for 10 more minutes. Stir occasionally. Take off the heat once your reach your desired level of creaminess and enjoy!
Note:
At the end, I added some of my protein powder, maybe 1/4 of a scoop, which thickened it up a little bit, and added to the flavor. If you feel like you want more protein, test out adding some protein powder to a small portion before adding it to the whole thing. Other sources of protein you could add would be hemp hearts, more nuts, or some nut butter.
I hope you have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!
Love,
Lucy
