In case you haven’t noticed, I love using earthy ingredients like pumpkin, sweet potato, and carrots in porridge. These ingredients create such heartwarming bowls of oatmeal that it can make even the coldest of mornings tolerable.
The downfall of those veggies (although pumpkin is a fruit, apparently) is that they typically require an added sweetener. As you can tell from many of my recipes, I do not fear a small dose of maple syrup or honey. However, when I can sweeten something naturally, I much prefer that.
Enter: pineapple!
When I first saw this flavor combination, I was delighted. I’ve learned recently that pineapple pairs well with just about everything. I love pineapple on pizza, in salsa, and virtually every southwestern-type dish (I recently made a spicy quinoa casserole with corn, tomatoes, black beans, and…yep…pineapple!). There are few dishes I won’t try with pineapple. 🙂
Furthermore, using pineapple allows me to enjoy a carrot cake-esque breakfast without a single drop of maple syrup. Success!
Do not skimp on the spices in this recipe (especially the cinnamon). It may seem bizarre to pair cinnamon and ginger with pineapple, but…remember when I said that pineapple goes with everything?
What you'll need:
- 1 cup milk of choice, or water
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
- 1/4 cup diced pineapple (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp mild molasses (use 1/8 if using blackstrap)
- pinch of salt
How to make it:
- Add milk (I use 1/2 c almond milk and 1/2 c water) to the saucepan over medium high heat and add carrots immediately. Allow them to soak in the liquid while it's coming to a boil to help it soften.
- Once the milk comes to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you'd like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
- Add pineapple.
- Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, molasses, and salt. Stir.
- When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Add a splash of your milk of choice and any other additional toppings (maple syrup, shredded coconut, nuts, etc.).
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