Coconut milk and TWO Bowls of Oatmeal

Ive been hearing about coconut milk for a while around the vegan blog-o-sphere but never really paid much attention to it. Ive never been keen on macaroons so I basically wrote off coconut altogether.

Well, a while back I somehow acquired a can of light coconut milk and its been hiding in my cupboard for almost a year now. Yesterday I figured it was time to do something with it. After all, I didnt want it sitting there forever.

I went on a search (a Google search haha), looking for flavour combinations including coconut. I found a few that sparked my interest: pineapple coconut, strawberry coconut and almonds, chocolate cherry and coconut, and then... banana chocolate coconut. The light went on and I had my combination and I knew exactly how I was going to incorporate these flavours- in oatmeal!

For those of you who dont know, Im a BIG oatmeal fan. To be honest, I only started really eating it about two months ago. My mom visited and during her stay we ate at a breakfast buffet in the Hilton that had real oatmeal. And I fell in love. No more quick oats, no more quaker oatmeal packets to stick in the microwave but real old fashioned rolled oats. Delicious.



Banana Chocolate Coconut Oats

1/3 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup water
1/3 banana, mashed
1/4 cup lite coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
sweetener, cinnamon, and salt to taste (optional)
13 pieces Annies chocolate bunny grahams
1/2 tsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Add oatmeal, banana, and water to a pot and bring to a boil.
Once boiling turn down heat and add vanilla and optional ingredients.
Once oatmeal is just about done, add coconut milk and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 or so minutes.
Spoon into a bowl and top with grahams and coconut.


Im not done yet though. This morning I was at it again with yet another new combination. This one was even better than the first.



Mango Coconut Oats with Pistachio

1/3 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup diced mango
1 1/2 tbsp lite coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
stevia, cinnamon, and salt to taste (optional)
1 tbsp. pistachios, toasted

Add oats and water to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium.
Add vanilla and optional ingredients.
Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and then add coconut milk and mango.
Cook a bit longer until desired consistency and then serve with toasted pistachios!