Made to Order Oatmeal

Did anyone else hate oatmeal as a kid as much as I did? Even that dinosaur egg oatmeal junk didn't make it fun enough for me to enjoy eating it. But as I've grown older, my tastes have changed. I have come to quite enjoy a nice hot bowl of oatmeal. It is a welcome alternative to the usual cold bowl of cereal, especially during these chilly winter months.

I have recently become a fan of muesli as well, which is almost the same thing as oatmeal. Except for one main difference: It's a heck of a lot healthier. Pre-packaged oatmeal generally has added sugar and preservatives to make it extra tasty. One of those preservatives in my favorite oatmeal is BHT, which is used to "protect flavor." A study done by the International Journal of Toxicology found that BHT is known to cause liver damage when fed to rats, and lung tissue damage in rats when applied to their skin. Despite this, testing has concluded that BHT is not a carcinogen or a threat to human health. I don't know about you, but that evidence has by no means convinced me that BHT is okay to put into my body.

So what's a girl to do? Well since muesli is a healthier and also delicious option, I've been sticking to that. There are a lot of certified organic and "all natural" brands out there that don't have BHT listed in the ingredients. You can also make a trip to the bulk foods section of the grocery store and make your own muesli by adding in whatever ingredients you prefer. My favorite muesli combination is a mixture of rolled oats, coconut flakes, slivered almonds, dates, and cranberries. You can add in as much or as little of each ingredient as you like. And voila, you have your own, personalized mix of muesli.

If you want to take a step further, you can be a little naughty and add a few chocolate chips to the mix. As the muesli heats up in the microwave, the chocolate chips melt into little pools of chocolatey goodness. After microwaving, the muesli is stirred and the oatmeal transforms into a rich, decadent breakfast that hopefully has a little less sugar than that pre-packaged oatmeal (but who knows). Chocolate is good for you anyway... right? The point is that you control each ingredient that goes into the mix. If you want just a hint of chocolate, add five chocolate chips. If you want a stronger chocolate taste, add ten, or fifteen, or a hundred!!!

This morning I decided to be even more radical. How does chocolate banana muesli sound? The over-ripe banana sitting on my dresser has been begging to get eaten, but I wanted to do something creative. Chocolate and banana always go so well together so it seemed like a no brainer. Here's how I made it:

Here we have 20 chocolate chips, about a cup of
muesli, and half of an overripe banana

The chocolate chips have been added to the muesli.
Enough water has been added so that it just barely reaches the
top of the cereal.

After microwaving for two minutes it looks like this!
Not much different. Until...

You stir it up! Just look at that rich, chocolatey color

I didn't microwave the banana with the muesli. I've never
microwaved a banana before and didn't know what would
happen to it. If anyone has any insights please let me know.

A hot cup of chamomile tea with honey accents the dish nicely

If you think this chocolate banana muesli looks good in pictures, I can confirm that it tasted even better! Now that you've witnessed my breakfast success, it's your turn to cook up something different for breakfast. Have fun and be creative!