A Bowl Full of Sandwich

Momma's got the day off thanks to the government holiday.  So I used the opportunity to create a smashing new breakfast.

 

When I have a free morning, I like to depart from my weekday cold cereal regimen.  I often do this in the form of creative egg scrambles, baked eggs, and steel-cut oatmeal.

 

I know I raved a lot about steel-cut oats a while back when I posted the Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal recipe, so I'll spare you all the fiber and texture talk.  What I will talk about here is its versatility.  You can mix anything with bland old oatmeal to make it special, so here's what I did today.

 

Peanut Butter, Banana & Jelly Oatmeal 

Serves One

 

3/4 c water

3/4 c skim milk

1 stick or a few dashes cinnamon

1/4 c steel cut oats

1-2 drops vanilla (optional)

2 packets Splenda (or to taste)

1 Tbsp natural (or your favorite) peanut butter

1 banana, sliced

1-2 Tbsp Smuckers Sugar Free Red Raspberry Preserves (or your favorite)

1/4 c frozen raspberries, optional

 

In a small pot, bring water, milk & cinnamon to a boil.  Stir in oats and simmer on low heat, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed to your desired consistency.   

 

Stir in vanilla, Splenda and peanut butter until well-combined.  Add banana slices and optional raspberries and stir to combine.  If oats are thick, add a little more skim milk to thin it out.  Sweeten with Splenda to taste.  Pour into a bowl, then top with a dollop of preserves, as much as you like.

 

Notes on ingredients:

 

Water, Milk, Cinnamon & Vanilla - I always use this combination when I make oats without all the add-ins.  It just makes it more of a treat.  Sometimes I'll replace the water with the chai tea mix that's sold in little cartons like chicken stock.  I love that stuff.

 

 Natural Peanut Butter - It might sound a little high-falutin' to use natural peanut butter over Jif or Skippy, etc., but I like it better for multiple reasons.  It tastes like you're eating real mashed peanuts and not a whipped spread.  The ingredient list reads:  "Peanuts, Contains 1% or less of salt."  According to its website, Jif's label says: 

• "MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN), FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES AND SALT."

No thanks.  And the biggest reason for buying natural peanut butter?  I can drain the oil from it.  Yup.  If you look at a natural peanut butter in the store, you'll see about 3/4 of an inch of oil sitting on top of the butter.  When I get home, I pour it all off, disposing of hundreds of calories per jar.  Very smart...

 

Raspberries / Smuckers Sugar Free Red Raspberry Preserves - I love this stuff.  I'm not a fan of grape anything ('cept for wine), and while I love strawberries, I go for raspberry preserves when given the option.  It feels a little more prestigious.  Plus, have you seen how much a half pint of raspberries costs?  That's pricey stuff.  So I get my raspberry flavor in the form of sugar free preserves and fresh-frozen berries.

 

So there's that,

 

Laura