In Monday's post where I talked about my vegan diet, I mentioned how my breakfast always involves a fruit and a grain. That grain is usually uncooked rolled oats . I like the "crunch" and overall texture the oats provide my tofu yogurt and I also like how they make smoothies more filling. (Plus they're easy and convient, who am I kidding?).
Still, despite this love for uncooked rolled oats, I've been slow to jump on the oatmeal bandwagon. Now, don't get me wrong: I do like oatmeal on occasion (especially steel cut oatmeal with soaked raisins, cinnamon and maple syrup!) but I'm just not in love with regular ol' oatmeal and I never been able to eat any kind of oatmeal every day---that is, until this recipe!
You see, Scott & I were catching up on Dexter ( Anyone else watch that show? Anyone else find it weird that you're slightly attracted to a serial killer? ) Anyway-- Dexter (the lead) says to his sister that his son misses her mango oatmeal in the morning and I immediately thought: " Mango Oatmeal? Why didn't I think of that?!"
(Yes, I'm sure it says a lot about me that I'm thinking about food while watching a TV show about a serial killer!)
Thankfully, I had two mangos ripening on my counter during this... discovery , so the next morning I took a stab (heh, I said stab! ) at Mango Oatmeal--and my god, it's fabulous. It's simple and fabulous. It's healthy and fabulous! It's fabulous and fabulous!
And for all my friends that don't live on a tropical island, no worries! It works with frozen mango chunks too!
It's really so simple I feel embarrassed posting it--but when something tastes this good, how can I not share my new discovery with my friends! (and also, if you're feeling a little decadent , you can totally use a bit of nondairy milk (or if you're feeling really decadent, some coconut milk) in place of the water).
And just to make sure you really get the feel for this Tropical-Caribbean-Miami-inspired hot breakfast:
Yep, that'd be my view from my front patio. (Sorry friends in snow, this sunshine is for you!)
Anyway, so how you make it: cook your oatmeal as you like it (for me this is about 1 cup oats to 1 1/2 cups water) and after a minute or so, mix in cubed mango (the fruit of an entire fresh mango, or anywhere from 1-2 cups if you're using frozen, depending on chunk size) and let the oatmeal finish cooking. Give it a good mix around a few times and then place it into your bowl. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and eat! Really! That's all! The mango is so sweet that you don't need any extra sweetener!
p.s. If you're feeling feisty , you can also add a little bit of cayenne or other hot spice. When I lived in Los Angeles, a co-worker from Mexico got me hooked on mango with hot spices on it... sounds gross, but it's delish!
Any oatmeal fans out there? How do YOU eat YOUR oatmeal?