I have been planning this blog for a long, long time. Considering how many food and healthy lifestyle bloggers I follow myself, I wanted to join and contribute to the blogging community and share my love of food and cooking. And not just food itself, but everything that comes along with a meal - traveling, holidays, friends and family, wellness, hosting and entertaining, healthy living, indulging - I take real joy and inspiration from all of it. I figure NOW is the time to do it, so, hello blog world! I’m excited to finally be a part of all of it!
As my first contribution, I knew I needed to start with a breakfast recipe for a variety of reasons. One, it is my favorite meal of the day. Two, because this recipe is so delicious. And three, because who doesn’t love artistic shots of a bowl of oatmeal (I know I’ve instagrammed many myself). My go-to breakfast is this oatmeal below, sans the pumpkin. The simple addition of a scoop of canned pumpkin and a couple of shakes of pumpkin spice takes it to a whole new level. While it is not much a change between summer and fall here in Santa Monica, it is fun to celebrate with this warming breakfast this “hypothetical” season change that so many seem experience… 😉
This breakfast gives you everything you need to power you through lunch with its equal balances of fats, proteins and whole grains. And you even get to eat your veggies at breakfast with the addition of pumpkin! For those folks who normally make their oats with their choice of milk, I highly suggest swapping out some liquid for egg whites. Not only does it double the size of your oatmeal, but it makes it super fluffy AND with extra protein. That is an early morning win-win. I do want to let you know that the base recipe I have created is not sweet. I enjoy adding in whole and dried fruits and nuts for added texture and sweetness as toppings, but feel free to cook into oats your sweetener of choice, whether it be maple syrup, brown sugar or even cooked banana.
I whipped this breakfast up on an early morning and then sat myself down at the kitchen table for a day of work - enjoying the contrast of such a fall breakfast treat with our pretty sunflowers and sun streaming in through the windows. I hope you enjoy this breakfast as much as I do. I promise it will brighten and warm up any of breakfast scenes!
- ⅓ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup liquid of choice (I usually use water or almond milk!)
- 3 egg whites
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tbsp chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, or walnuts)
- ¼ sliced banana (optional)
- 1 tbsp dried fruits (optional)
- In a small pot on the stove on medium-low heat, mix the oats, liquid and egg whites
- These will cook relatively quickly, so be sure to stir every so often
- If you like chewier oats like me, continue to cook for five minutes. For folks who like looser oats, cook for less time
- Stir in pumpkin and spice and cook for another minute
- Pour into a bowl and top with your add-ons of choice!
- *Note: This base oatmeal recipe is not sweet - I like to add in some sweetness through chopped dried fruit and banana once cooked. One option to ensure sweeter oats without adding any sugar would be to cook in sliced banana at the beginning with the oats in step #1!
Thanks for stopping by! 
