15 Minute Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

This oatmeal recipe is taking an old instant oatmeal favorite and transforming it into a healthier, more filling experience.

Yes, this oatmeal is an experience but only a 15 minute one. I call it an “experience” because chopping the apples, rinsing the oats and what not grounds me. Food preparation early in the morning causes me to be more conscious of everything I consume throughout the day — food, media, energy, etc.

But, enough of that. I know people hate the long winded posts that often come before the recipe. Here’s what you came for:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup steel cut oats, soaked overnight

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 of an apple, chopped into medium sized pieces (I use Pink Lady. They’re sweeter and hold up better than Granny Smith apples, which get too soft and then the skin comes off.)

• 1/4 tsp each of allspice, ground ginger & cinnamon (You can add cardamom and nutmeg too. I don’t because I don’t like nutmeg period and I hate cardamom in oats.)

• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I use almond or a coconut/almond blend)

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1. Add the 1/2 cup of water, the apple pieces and the spices to a pot. Bring it to a boil and let it cook for about 3 to 4 mins.

2. While the apples are stewing, drain your oats in a fine mesh strainer and then rinse them in cold water.

3. Add the oats to the pot with the 1/2 cup of milk. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring often. (If you want creamier oats, cook about 10 mins and add more a little more milk. You may need to add another splash of milk anyway if the oats get too dry for your liking.)

4. Pour the oats in a bowl and enjoy!

15 Minute Breakfast: Cornbread + Milk

When I was a kid, my Muss would feed me cornbread and milk.

This is, in essence, a poverty meal. It’s a cheap way to extend the life of a dish for a few more days. It moistens dried out cornbread so that you don’t have to waste it and throw it out.

It also slaps. This was often fed to me as a snack or a late dinner. It’s a comforting food combination — the softened cornbread fills you up and the milk makes it fun and delicious. I get creative and play around with toppings since I’m not poor anymore. I’ve using almonds and chia seed but, next week, I’m adding peaches and almond butter. You can also eat it plain. It’s good regardless.

I have my own non-dairy cornbread recipe below that tastes like the stuff my granny use to make. (And, before you try me, eggs aren’t dairy.) But, as a Southerner, I also understand that some of y’all might not wanna fuck with granny’s recipe. I respect that. So, if you’re not into it, grab a box of Jiffy, some eggs, some oil and get it poppin.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons vegan butter, melted

• 1 cup cornmeal

• 3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

• 1 tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar or raw sugar

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt

• 2 large eggs

• 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk

1. The night before, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking dish.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a small bowl.

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients. Pour into your baking dish and bake for 20 mins.

5. In the morning, crumble a chunk of the cornbread into a bowl and top off with almond milk. Enjoy !

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Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any government entity. If there are links present, they will redirect you to studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals or other credible sources of information.

Any products mentioned in this post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and this post is not intended to provide medical advice. Please check with your doctor before adding anything new to your daily routine, diet or exercise regimen  — especially if you are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, using recreational drugs, or are pregnant, breastfeeding or intend to become pregnant in the near future.

15 Minute Breakfast: Pumpkin **or** Sweet Potato Steel Cut Oats

I love pumpkin. I love sweet potato. I love steel cut oats. And I’m fall as fuck right now.

So I created two different versions of steel cut oats. This only takes about 15 mins because you soak the oats for at least 12 hours to soften them up, which means they cook faster AND digest more efficiently. I topped my sweet potato oats with sunflower kernels, walnuts and shredded coconut. For the pumpkin rendition, I used chopped pecans and shredded coconut.

Ok, so boom:

Ingredients

• ¼ cup steel cut oats

• ½ cup sweet potato mash or pumpkin puree

• ½ cup almond milk

• 1 tsp pumpkin spice seasoning (This works for sweet potato as well since it’s just cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and what not.)

• 1 tbsp honey

Toppings

½ tbsp chopped walnuts, sunflower kernels, pecans, almonds, chia seed, hemp seed — anything!

Sweet potato steel cut oats with chopped walnuts, sunflower kernels and shredded coconut.

1. Soak ¼ cup of steel cut oats in ½ cup filtered water. Let it sit out on the counter overnight in a covered jar.

2. In the morning, add the pumpkin puree or sweet potato mash to a pan with the almond milk, spices and honey.

3. Drain the oats in a fine mesh strainer and rinse them off. Add them to the pot.

4. Cook for 10 mins. Transfer the oats from a pot to a bowl and add your toppings.

5. Enjoy !

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Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any government entity. If there are links present, they will redirect you to studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals or other credible sources of information.

Any products mentioned in this post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and this post is not intended to provide medical advice. Please check with your doctor before adding anything new to your daily routine, diet or exercise regimen  — especially if you are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, using recreational drugs, or are pregnant, breastfeeding or intend to become pregnant in the near future.

15 Minute Breakfast: Baked Sweet Potato & Cinnamon-Chocolate Coconut Yogurt

This may be one of my best breakfast recipes yet.

I love sweet potatoes more than life itself. I say that about everything. Whatever. But, yeah, I always have been fond of The Vegetable Commonly Mistaken As A Yam. When I was a kid, my Muss would eat them often. She’d share with me and, even though I preferred them as pie and yams, I was still a big fan of their texture and natural sweetness. I’m glad their peak season is approaching 😩. They’re my fall version of peaches.

I’m also PMSing and craving chocolate. And while a few dark chocolate squares wouldn’t hurt, I can’t control myself during this part of my cycle. I will eat a whole bar or two. I’ll eat milk chocolate and throw myself into a sugar-induced rage that will throw my hormones even further out of whack, cause me to storm into Trader Joes and buy all the chocolate bars. Then I’ll sit in on my couch and shove whole bars down my throat until I’ve made myself sick with shame and dairy I can’t digest. The Office will play as background music to my tears.

So I was thinking: “How can I combine my love of sweet potatoes and chocolate?” Well, let’s get into the part you came here for.

Ingredients (for one serving)

• 8 oz baked sweet potato

• 1 cup vanilla coconut yogurt (I use this one from Trader Joe’s but you can go for any brand or even make your own)

• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Toppings

• 1 tbsp chopped pecans

• 1 tbsp almond butter

• A sprinkle of chia seed

• A sprinkle of coconut shreds

1. The night before, bake your sweet potato at 375 degrees for an hour or until a fork easily pokes through the middle.

2. In the morning, warm up your sweet potato for 60 seconds in the microwave. While that’s heating up, mix the cocoa powder and ground cinnamon into the coconut yogurt.

3. Mash the soft part of the sweet potato with a spoon. Leave it in the skin.

4. Add the yogurt to the bowl beside the sweet potato.

5. Garnish with almond butter, pecans, chia seed and coconut shreds.

6. Enjoy!

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Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any government entity. If there are links present, they will redirect you to studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals or other credible sources of information.

Any products mentioned in this post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and this post is not intended to provide medical advice. Please check with your doctor before adding anything new to your daily routine, diet or exercise regimen  — especially if you are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, using recreational drugs, or are pregnant, breastfeeding or intend to become pregnant in the near future.

15 Minute Breakfast: Healthy Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

This is my fave smoothie recipe to date.

It’s creamy, thick, and taste like your favorite pumpkin spice latte but contains much less sugar and way more vegetables. If you make smoothie freezer packs the night before, you should only freeze the cauliflower and banana. Omit the pumpkin purée and spices. The purée will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 5 days.

Now, let’s get into it shall we?

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin purée (Or you can make your own! I don’t know how to do that, but if you want to you can).

• 1 cup frozen cauliflower florets

• 1 frozen banana

• 2 cups vanilla almond milk (I used sweetened but unsweetened works just as well.)

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• 1 tsp pumpkin spice seasoning (I bought mine at Trader Joe’s and it has the benefit of including just the right amount of lemon zest. You can be brave and add your own though I wouldn’t advise it since it’s a literal dash of it. To substitute, use 1 tsp of cinnamon, cardamom and allspice. If you wanna make it extra warm, add 1/2 tsp of these spices in addition to the pumpkin spice seasoning.)

1. Put everything in the blender and blend it up!

2. Pour into a large glass or mason jar.

3. Enjoy!

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Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any government entity. If there are links present, they will redirect you to studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals or other credible sources of information.

Any products mentioned in this post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and this post is not intended to provide medical advice. Please check with your doctor before adding anything new to your daily routine, diet or exercise regimen  — especially if you are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, using recreational drugs, or are pregnant, breastfeeding or intend to become pregnant in the near future.

15 Minute Breakfast: Sweet Potato Egg Nests And A Side Of Spinach

This breakfast is easy, quick and nice to look at.

You get a boost of fiber from the sweet potato noodles, a shot of protein from the eggs and the spinach is a nice vitamin filled addition. It will keep you nice and full until lunch (or for about 4 hours). If you prep the noodles beforehand, this meal takes all of 15 minute to prepare in the mornings. And, yes, you have 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp of oil or ghee

• 130g of sweet potato noodles (Note: I prefer to spiralize my own noodles using medium sized sweet potatoes — leave the skin on! — and then weighing out how much I want on a food scale. I’ve found 130g to be a sweet spot. If you’re store-buying or don’t have a spiralizer, you can use a handful of noodles which is roughly the same amount.)

• 2 eggs

• Seasonings (I use Mrs. Dash for the noodles and basil and black pepper for the eggs.)

• 2 handfuls of raw baby spinach

1. Wash your sweet potatoes and then turn them into noodles using a spiralizer. (Amazon has a great one for $23).

2. Use a food scale to measure out 130 grams. If you don’t have one, just grab a handful. If you’re making them the night before, store the rationed out noodles in ziploc bags or some kind of container.

3. Heat your pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tsp of oil or ghee. Once it’s hot, add your sweet potato noodles and some seasoning.

4. Saute the noodles until they soften — about 3 mins — and then separate them into “nests.”

5. Crack your eggs into the nests, sprinkle with your seasonings and cover the pan with a lid. Check on your eggs every few minutes to see how done they are. If you like them a lil runny, this will take 5 minutes. If you like them harder: poke the yoke so it’s free, turn the heat on the pan down and let them cook for about 8 minutes.

6. When they’re done, scoop them out the pan. Add the spinach — you don’t need any additional oil — and saute it for about 1 minute.

7. Enjoy your food! Nom af.

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Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any government entity. If there are links present, they will redirect you to studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals or other credible sources of information.

Any products mentioned in this post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and this post is not intended to provide medical advice. Please check with your doctor before adding anything new to your daily routine, diet or exercise regimen  — especially if you are taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, using recreational drugs, or are pregnant, breastfeeding or intend to become pregnant in the near future.