Tomorrow is my final day of student teaching. For three months, I have devoted my time to the middle school and these students; it will feel incredibly strange waking up Thursday morning as simply another college student, and not a student teacher.
Anyway, it’s also amusing that I went three months eating oatmeal for breakfast every. single. day. I can only think of two occasions that I didn’t. One time, it was because I had run out of oats. The other time, it was because I was recovering from a kidney stone and felt too nauseated to stand over the stove to cook (so I reheated my banana oat waffles).
To be honest, most days my oatmeal was pretty simple. I stuck to apple cinnamon or grapefruit (thanks to the ginormous box of grapefruit my mom bought me!). For these final three days of student teaching, I’ve been in a more “celebratory” mood, and my oatmeal has reflected that. Having fresh blueberries on hand was truly a treat! In addition to my super awesome baked blueberry muffin oatmeal (which I’m incredibly proud of), I also made this blueberry banana combination. I just love pairing berries with bananas–such a great duo!
What you'll need:
- 1 cup milk of choice, or water
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- handful of fresh blueberries*
- sliced almonds for topping
How to make it:
- Bring milk (I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. I also add a spoonful of milled flax at the same time as my oats.
- Mash up a ripe banana and add to the oatmeal. Stir.
- Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, a tiny pinch of salt, and cinnamon. Stir.
- If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, raisins, sunflower seeds), do so now. When the oatmeal is close to finished, add a handful of fresh blueberries and stir gently. You could also wait and add the blueberries as a topping at the very end, but I prefer cooked berries to raw ones.
- When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice, sliced almonds, and any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, etc.).
Just an FYI:
*You could use frozen blueberries, but you'll need to add them much sooner, like when you add the banana.
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