Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal by The Picky Eater
Do you ever stop and think about how it is kind of absurd how much your life revolves around food? For me, every single thing I do pretty much has to do with food. I work in a kitchen, I cook at home, I eat ALL the time, I am going to culinary school, I write a food blog, I constantly read food blogs, I look at food porn, I am constantly thinking about food. But even the people who are not as immersed in the food world as me have a special spot for food. What is it about food that is so enticing?
Yeah it tastes good, that is a given… well I guess most of the time (I would hope). What I think it is is the memories and atmosphere that can be created by food. Food can take to back to your home growing up or into a completely different place you have never visited. That is one thing I think that I love most about food (not to mention eating it). Our guest blogger today really hits home for me with this subject because I grew up eating oatmeal, but always ate the exact same kind as a kid- maple and brown sugar instant packets. Now as an adult (ha) I love trying “fancier” versions of my childhood favorites, which is why I love this recipe. Though I have to say kids would love this too! With that I give you Anjali from The Picky Eater:
Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal
Hi Everyone! My name is Anjali Shah and I blog over at The Picky Eater, where I write about healthy recipes and lifestyle tips. My blog was inspired by my adventures in making healthy recipes that my “fast food loving husband” will enjoy – so all of my recipes are “husband approved”! 🙂
A little bit about me and my food journey: I was raised in the healthy-eating, organic-obsessed, farmer’s market-driven culture of the San Francisco Bay Area; while my husband grew up in the deep-dish pizza-loving suburbs of Chicago. My childhood was filled with fruits, vegetables and home cooked meals–I was raised to be “picky” about what I put into my body and to eat junk food in moderation. For him, ice cream and french fries were a way of life. But when we got married, the question was: What would the picky eater and her fast food husband eat for dinner? I realized that the only way I would be able to bridge the gap between my husband’s “white bread” world and my “wheat bread” world would be to cook healthy versions of foods that my husband enjoyed. And so, at the age of 24, I taught myself to cook.
Gradually, I started making healthier swaps in my husband’s diet, “sneaking” in the good stuff without him noticing. Slowly but surely he began to identify different flavors like cumin, ginger, and garlic, and he even started asking for vegetables in his dishes! He said it was because he learned that healthy food could taste good, which meant the world to me. My blog was inspired by my husband’s transformation and my desire to share our experience with others. I love creating healthy versions of comfort foods – dishes that taste absolutely delicious but are actually good for you!
Today’s recipe is exactly that – a decadent breakfast treat: Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal. I love oatmeal, and I’m always looking for ways to spice it up to make my breakfasts more interesting and fun. I also like using oatmeal as a base to recreate some of my favorite sweet treats like Banana Bread Oatmeal and Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. The possibilities really are endless.
So why not make oatmeal that tastes like you’re eating a delicious, decadent chocolate brownie?
Here is my recipe for Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal. I promise, you will love it. It is so amazingly good, you won’t believe it’s good for you! I hope all of you enjoy this recipe!
Chocolate Brownie Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats cooked with 1.5 cups of water
- 1 tsp raw unsweetened cocoa powder (you can find this just about anywhere, I used cocoa powder from Trader Joe’s in this recipe, but I have since found even better raw cocoa powder at Whole Foods that is just delicious)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup 1% organic milk
- 1 tbsp walnuts
- Stevia or Truvia to taste I use about 2 packets of Stevia
Instructions
- Cook the oats with 1.5 cups of water until the oats are fluffy and all the water has disappeared (I do this by cooking it for 2 minutes in the microwave, stirring, and cooking it for 2 more minutes.)
- Add the cocoa powder and cinnamon to the cooked oats while they are still hot.
- Stir until everything is fully combined, and your oats have a deep chocolatey color.
- Add the walnuts, and the milk (you can add as much milk as you like – I use about 1/2 a cup to give the oats a nice creamy consistency)
- Add the Stevia, and stir to combine until the oats have the consistency you like.
- Enjoy the chocolatey brownie goodness of the oatmeal.
Notes
Nutrition
Anjali’s Links:
The Picky Eater
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Thanks so much Anjali! I recently made a winter squash oatmeal (recipe coming soon) that was so delicious. I can imagine this was amazing on my list to make!
Wow, that looks delicious!!! I’ve had a craving oatmeal for some reason lately and I’m definitely gonna use this recipe to satiate it!
Now this is my kind of recipe. I love oatmeal and try different things in it. Mostly fruit. I never thought of chocolate!
You’re right about food associated memories. Certain foods hold strong memories for me. Like the smell of cumin or chorizo. Takes me back to Texas immediately!
Looks fantastic! My favorite oatmeal is with pumpkin and cinnamon, but hey, bring on the brownies 🙂
I think you have finally persuaded me to eat oatmeal in the morning! This looks sinful, decadent but healthy – a delicious choice 🙂
Thanks so much everyone! @Kiri – I love pumpkin oatmeal too – it’s one of my favs 🙂 @pauline & @curt – hope you like it! @choc chip uru – let me know if this makes you an oatmeal convert!
Anjali’s blog sounds like one I would LOVE! I’m the “picky eater” in a family of meat and potatoes-loving folks and I’m always looking for recipes that they’ll eat too! This oatmeal sounds amazing!
Seriously???? This looks great. Who would have thought about brownie oatmeal. This may be a way to get my husband to actually like oatmeal for breakfast.
Not so ridiculous really — we need food to survive, we need good food to be healthy, we need interesting food to be inspired in many ways. Air and water might need to be high on our concern list as well but for some reason we as a species like to ignore those until it close to too late.
Nice narrative that accompanies this post. It’s interesting (and, I’m sure, quite a challenge) to blend two ways and styles of eating. I love that your oatmeal recipe has the healthy factor and the “yum” factor going on. Thanks, too, for adding the nutritional information.
Cheers,