My mother is pretty wonderful. She knew I was coming to spend about two weeks at her and my father’s house, so she stocked up on food that she knew I would like: apples, bell peppers, honeydew, cantaloupe, whole wheat bread, watermelon, almond milk, organic spring mix (!!), and several varieties of nuts.
One of those nuts was cashews. What a treat! They are actually my mother’s favorite nuts, so I’m not surprised she picked them. 😉 I personally prefer almonds and pecans, so it’s not often that I have cashews. I’m not switching my allegiance yet, but I will say it was nice having something different.
In other news, I received major news yesterday. Back in January, I applied to be a part of a tutor corps at a charter school in Boston. I got a phone interview with them, but ultimately didn’t make it past that stage. To my credit, that program claims to be more competitive than the Harvard College of Education. Hmph.
Anyway, despite being turned down by them, they passed my information on to another school in Newark. At first, I was hesitant. Barney and Ted don’t have nice things to say about New Jersey on How I Met Your Mother. 🙂 However, a couple weeks after I initially received the email from this school, I decided I had nothing to lose and applied.
I didn’t think my phone interview went that well, but I received another email yesterday requesting me to make an on-site visit! Ah! I can almost taste the success; I’m so close!
Most people are happy for me, but I’m still getting an occasional “….Newark?!?!” (with the nose wrinkled) comment. No, it’s not paradise. But neither is Small Town, South Dakota. This isn’t a vacation; this is a job to help hundreds of young middle school students in troubled homes realize their full potential. I’m not looking for palm trees and hammocks. Just living 20 minutes from Manhattan will be enough of a thrill for me!
So anyway… 🙂 This recipe is super easy. I wondered if the blueberries would be enough to sweeten it, but it was…for me, anyway. If you aren’t used to no-sugar recipes, you may have to find a way to sweeten yours. 🙂 Oh, and if you don’t have blueberries (or don’t like them), I imagine that any berry would work fine!
What you'll need:
- 1 cup milk of choice, or water
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (can sub in any berry)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- handful of cashews
How to make it:
- Bring milk (I use 1/2 c original almond milk and 1/2 c water) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium.
- Add frozen blueberries. Stir.
- Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract and salt.
- If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, raisins, sunflower seeds), do so now.
- When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and top with cashews.
Just an FYI:
You can use fresh berries by gently folding them in after adding vanilla extract and salt.
5 Responses to Blueberry Cashew Oatmeal