I’m a cereal kinda girl. Granola? Love it. Granola bars? Love those, too.
Quaker Toasted Oatmeal is darn near perfect.
You can stuff cereal into muffins. You can make it into treats that are drenched in pink sprinkles.
Chex Mix, anyone?
Corn Flakes are smashed and sprinkled over casserole. Chicken is dredged in cereal crumbs and baked to crisp perfection.
Cereal and fruit are quite a pair. Strawberries, blueberries, bananas… cranberries, raisins, dates, peaches… there is really no shortage of possibilities.
Which got me thinking about my oatmeal.
I’m an oatmeal purist: no sugar required.
I love slow cooked old fashioned oats topped with a healthy fistful of dried cranberries and a few chopped walnuts. It’s breakfast perfection.
Sometimes I whisk in a slightly beaten egg for creaminess (similar to the pasta carbonara effect; I like all breakfast foods all hours of the day) and protein.
So anyway I wondered what might happen if I started putting my food into my cereal instead of my cereal into my food?
It’s time to start a revolution.
If you follow me here regularly, you already know that I am killing myself on the daily with the Insanity workout. It’s good. And bad. But mostly good. So as much as I love my sugary treats, I have to say that I haven’t been too interested in negating my hard work with things like cake (surely this is a phase and will soon pass).
But I need cake. I LOVE CAKE.
So I turned my oatmeal into carrot cake.
I told you: revolution.
- 1 cup old fashioned oats (quick oats would work; just make sure to read the package for liquid:oat ratio)
- 1½ cups of milk (I used 2% but you could use almond or soy milk easily)
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)
- raisins, chopped walnuts, and shredded coconut to top the oatmeal
- Bring the milk and water to a slow boil (careful not to burn the milk!!!).
- Stir in the oats and then the carrots.
- Continue to simmer, over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup.
- Continue cooking until the oatmeal is creamy and cooked through.
- Remove it from the heat and then whisk in the egg.
- Return the pan to the burner, stirring constantly, over very low heat until the egg is completely incorporated (oatmeal will be sort of frothy).
- Divide into two bowls, sprinkle a teaspoon of brown sugar on each, and garnish with the raisins, walnuts, and shredded coconut.
Inspiration for this HERE at Oh She Glows; her version is vegan!
Carrot Cake Oatmeal is sassy.
I have tried this oatmeal before, it is definitely a delicious breakfast favourite
Cheers
CCU
I tweaked it (of course) to accomodate for what was in my cupboard. It was deliciously simple.
Very interesting. I would have never thought to try and make my favorite desserts with my oatmeal. Smart girl!
haha I wish I could take credit, but finding the Carrot Cake Oatmeal on Pinterest gave me a starting point… there is no turning back now! I don’t think I would feel TOO bad about some dark chocolate chips in my oatmeal (ahem… antioxidants). Banana bread oatmeal? Is there such a thing as a healthy sprinkle?
That looks so healthy! Great start to the day (or anytime to boost energy levels!)
Hey Nickki! We were super pleased with how this turned out. Carrots are so sweet- it’s easy to forget that (especially because I don’t usually eat carrots for breakfast).
That’s very true – carrots isn’t something you’d normally associate with breakfast (except for maybe carrot cake
)but I think this is a great idea. x
I’m a hot cereal addict – will have to give this a try!
It was great! The vegan version sounds terriffic, too, but called for lots of ingredients I either didn’t have on hand or probably couldn’t find nearby. It was definitely superior to my standard oatmeal fare.
Sounds interesting. I’ll check out the vegan version – though I tend to avoid them because I like to eat a lot of things that vegans don’t!
This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad I found this on here – your blog is great.:)
Hi Becca! So glad you stopped by! I would recommend this oatmeal to anyone — it was sinful like dessert and healthy like breakfast. Tasty fuel.
I LOVE carrot cake, so I’m going to have to try this, it sounds like my kind of breakfast!
I eat my breakfast at work and often make oatmeal in our microwave. Probably won’t be as creamy, but will definitely be as delicious as it looks! I have all the ingredients, bonus!
Hey Sandra! Microwave it up! While you do that, I’m going to work out some apple pie oatmeal
Or maybe blackberry cobbler? Blueberry muffin…
Very clever!
I have to admit, I am not so big on oatmeal. Granola I love. But oatmeal is not crunchy enough for me! Still, this looks pretty delicious. Genius if you ask me.
Hope you have a great Thursday!
Carrot cake granola… I think that’s do-able. I also think I’d love it on my vanilla yogurt. Yep.
I again heard about these insanity DVDs from a student! Now I am totally curious! I will have to give them a whirl. And this carrot cake oatmeal is genius! I wonder if it would taste rich with yogurt? Mmmmmmmm!
The Insanity DVD’s are NO FREAKING JOKE. I’m enjoying the challenge though. My knees are a little mad at me. I’m sure yogurt would be delicious! Vanilla.