Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

When I woke up this morning, I knew all this crazy traveling was finally catching up with me. My throat hurt, my nose was stuffy, and I was exhausted. Plans for my usual Wednesday 6:30 a.m. run with the girls quickly went out the window; my alarm was reset and I finally dragged myself out of bed at 8. Since this is only 5 a.m. west coast time, I still considered it a success ;)

When I was in college, I never used to eat a real breakfast (tsk, I know). I would grab a banana on the way to class and then just wait until lunch. Since my body was used to not eating until later, I was never hungry in the morning. The only exception was on days I felt under the weather — on those days, I would make a little extra time to hit up the campus coffee shop and buy one of those Quaker Oatmeal Express “Baked Apple” instant oatmeal bowls, eating it on my way to class. The warm oats always soothed my throat and improved my spirits.

Today, I knew some oatmeal (and hot tea!) was in order — but not just ordinary oatmeal. Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. I know you guys see a lot of recipes for/pictures of oatmeal on blogs, but trust me, this one was worth sharing :)

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C old fashioned oats
• 1/2 C skim milk
• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• 2 hefty shakes cinnamon
• 1/4 C pureed canned pumpkin
• 1 tiny shake ground cloves
• 1 tiny shake ground nutmeg
• Handful frozen blueberries (optional)

Instructions:

Put the oats, milk, sliced banana, and cinnamon into a small pot on the stove. Stir continuously over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture gets thick and creamy (and starts slightly bubbling). Stir in the frozen blueberries now, if you like. Turn down heat to medium low and add in the canned pumpkin and a tiny shake each of ground cloves and ground nutmeg. These two spices make this recipe — don’t skip them!

Serve hot and enjoy :)

I spent the whole time I was eating this saying “mmmmmm.” It literally tasted just like pumpkin pie! Hard to believe there’s no added sugar — yay for ripe banana and flavorful spices. Please try this recipe, you won’t regret it.

Time to get back to studying — I missed a Food Science exam on Monday that I have to make up tomorrow morning. Plus, I need to hit up the DMV! That’s right, friends… I’m officially becoming a North Carolina resident. Here’s hoping I look cute in my new license photo ;) (And that I pass the written drivers test that I originally took in Virginia when I was 15… gah!)

What’s your favorite comfort breakfast when you’re feeling under the weather?