"Balanced" Oatmeal Blueprint

With the improvements I've been seeing in my digestion, my naturopath has given me the OK to slowly wean off of the specific-carbohydrate diet and add in small amounts of oatmeal and cooked, dried fruits. 

This has been a roaring success.  Seriously, you've never seen anyone so excited to eat oatmeal before. I credit the extra carbohydrates with further improving my digestion, helping me to feel full without having to eat an entire jar of coconut butter in a day, and raising my body temperature.  This morning, about an hour after eating this bulked-up and balanced bowl of oatmeal, my temperature was a steamy, above-average 98.8.  Did I mention that I'm loving the oatmeal?  :)

The oatmeal recipe (more a blueprint, really) that I'm sharing with you today is balanced because it contains all three macronutrients, in the optimal proportion of more carbs than protein, and more protein than fat.  The additional ingredients bulk it up, too, so that one bowl is all I need for breakfast.  It's incredibly filling and soul-satisfying.

So, for a one-bowl balanced breakfast of goodness, you will need the following ingredients:

1/2 cup oats (I used gluten-free)
1 to 1 1/2 cups water
one fruit, peeled and diced
1/4 cup dried fruit
3 tablespoons of gelatin (Great Lakes brand is perfect)
1 tablespoon oil of choice (I just eyeball it.  No need to break out the measuring spoon)
a dash of cinnamon or a splash of vanilla, if desired
a pinch of salt (optional, but warming)
1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (optional)

Method:

1.  If desired, soak oats overnight in 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.  In the morning, stir in baking soda to cut vinegar.
2. Whether or not you soaked the oatmeal, put your oats, fresh and dried fruit, oil and gelatin into a small saucepan.  Then, add enough water (up to 1 1/2 cups total) to cover the mixture.
3. Bring mixture to a boil, and then simmer until water is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in cinnamon and/or vanilla, if desired, and enjoy!

Some of my favorite combos are:

• granny smith apple, raisins, coconut butter and cinnamon.  It tastes like apple crisp, except not crispy.  I guess you could add some toasted pecans or something to remedy that, but this oatmeal is so filling that I couldn't imagine adding any more food into the bowl.
• 3/4 cup mixed berries, cut-up dried figs, ghee and vanilla.  This mixture is powerfully reminiscent of the blueberry pancakes at Cracker Barrel.
• peach, cut-up dried dates, coconut oil and cinnamon.  I don't have a comparison for this one, but it's really good.

There's just about a million other combinations of fresh and dried fruits, oils and flavorings that you could add to this, so have fun experimenting, and share your favorite combos in the comments!

This post is linked to Sunday School 7/21/13 at Butter Believer and Party Wave Wednesday 7/24/13 at Holistic Squid