IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!
After a week vacation (hooray for mid-winter break!), it’s a little painful to head back to work on my birthday, but at least it means I have plenty of people to celebrate the day with.
To celebrate my big day, I made this luscious recipe that I’ve been dreaming of for a few months. Now that I can make recipes that don’t taste like banana, this Snickers-inspired breakfast could finally come to life.
It utilizes vegan caramel-flavored agave syrup, which I bought off Amazon, but if you don’t have that, maple syrup or regular agave would work! You could also make a homemade caramel sauce–there are many recipes floating around the web!
Although an actual Snickers bar contains that “nougat” layer (what in the world IS nougat, anyway? And why is it such a weird word?), I decided to go for a less candy-like option: peanut butter (duh). I used PB2, but any nut butter could work here. I bet walnut butter would be great. Honestly, I’ve never had walnut butter, but it seems like it would be an excellent nougat replacement.
(Siri, please add “try walnut butter” to my to-do list.)
What you'll need:
- 1 cup milk of choice (or water)
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
- 1/3 cup pureed or shredded zucchini or yellow squash*
- 4 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 serving of PB2 or nut butter of choice (optional)
- handful of crushed peanuts
- caramel sauce, such as vegan caramel-flavored agave
How to make it:
- Bring milk (I used 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup water) 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 pureed squash. Stir occasionally.
- Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir.
- When you’re pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Top with PB2/nut butter, peanuts, and a drizzle of caramel.
Just an FYI:
*Squash is for texture and nutritional reasons. Omit or substitute with another pureed fruit or veggie, such as pumpkin or sweet potato.
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