Caramelized Banana Steel Cut Oats

I remember waking up at 7am on a brisk, fall morning and my Dad standing over the stove with a big steaming pot of oats. We’d scoop up a bowl with raw honey, a creamy banana, and cold milk and sit down at the table by the window watching the sunrise. Now as an adult, oats bring me back to the slow mornings of my childhood. I think they’ll always be the bowl of warmth that I’ll look forward to making because I feel the nostalgia and coziness of each bite.

While I think overnight oats are a great, quick breakfast, there is something about standing over the stovetop and stirring the oatmeal. Oats are the perfect breakfast to make on a winter, snowy morning when you want a bowl of comforting goodness and healthy too!

What I love about oats is they are high in fiber helping to keep you full longer. They also contain trace minerals and plant-based protein and provide slow-releasing carbohydrates so your blood sugar doesn’t spike. They really do pack a punch! And if you are trying to get in extra nutrients like flax seeds or collagen, that is a sneaky way to mix it in your oatmeal! Oats are also one of my favorite meals to eat before working out (I’ll eat them 1-2 hours before).

As I’m typing up this post, I’m currently bundled up in a fluffy blanket, slippers and eating a hot bowl of creamy oatmeal. But I’m also getting ready to go for a workout. So there you go, you can have a slow morning with dreamy oatmeal and be productive at the same time! And when you feel the name is too fancy for you, I mean caramelizing, you really have to know it’s quite easy. So don’t skip that step cause it will take your oatmeal to the next level and you won’t want to miss how golden and sweet these banana toppings are.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup steel cut oats (least processed oats, contain most nutrients)
• 1 cup water
• 3 tbsp butter or coconut oil
• 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1 banana, sliced
• cinnamon
• cardamom
• nut nutter
• pink Himalayan sea salt
• whole milk yogurt

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of butter and 1/3 cup oats in a pot to toast about 2 mins. Add water and bring to a boil with a sprinkle of salt. Reduce to simmer for 10 minutes or until oats are creamy.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of butter or coconut oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup, dash of cinnamon, cardamom and allow to cook for a couple minutes. Place bananas in the pan turning over once to get nice and caramelized. Turn off heat.
3. Add bananas to oatmeal and serve with nut butter (I love almond!) or whole milk yogurt, your favorite milk or maybe even more butter!

Note: those sensitive to oats just look for the gluten-free label. Oats are naturally gluten free but they may be processed in an area around wheat. Soaking oats overnight and rinsing them off in the morning will help release enzymes that are difficult to digest.