Morning has always been my favorite part of the day.
When I was young I would stay curled-up in bed and continue reading my book from where I dozed-off the night before. I’d then head to the kitchen for a big bowl of cereal or homemade pancakes.
When I entered college, mornings were my time to reflect. I would write in a journal over dark coffee and generic bran flakes before my housemates woke-up.
When I worked in a Seattle coffee shop after graduating college, mornings were spent opening the cafe with a hot Americano and day-old pastries that could no longer be sold.
Today, I still love mornings and my ritual often includes a cup of coffee, a hot bowl of oats and reading the news along with some of my favorite blogs.
Depending on the season, my mood and what’s available in our home, my oatmeal “toppings” change. Most recently, my favorite combination is a a mixture of half old-fashioned oats with half oat bran with a scoop of nut butter (usually almond), a sliced banana and a dash of cinnamon.
When I make my oatmeal, I usually add the oats, oatbran and sliced banana at the beginning, with the water. When the water begins to boil, I stir vigorously to combine everything; this makes the consistency much creamer rather than having the separate banana slices. I learned this technique from KERF’s Whipped Banana Oatmeal recipe.
I’m always looking for creative new ways spruce-up my oats, so when this package from Artisana arrived, I couldn’t wait to start trying new varieties in my morning oats! This package includes Tahini Butter (Ingredients: 100% Organic Raw Sesame Seeds), Walnut Butter, Macadamia Butter, Pecan Butter and more! I had never heard of so many of these flavors and couldn’t wait to dig in!
I added a scoopful of Cashew Butter to my oatmeal and loved the mild, creamy taste! I also love that so many of these come in the individual packets; I think this is the perfect snack idea to pack with my lunch and eat with crackers and/or a fruit!
~What is your favorite type of nut butter? How have your breakfast’s changed since you were a child?
