Spiced Carrot Cake Oats!

Choosing your favourite flavour of cake is one of life's tough decisions and is a decision I rarely make or can give a definitive answer to, mainly because it changes daily! But saying that, carrot cake is always one of my top cake choices with its cinnamon/mixed spice aroma, abundance of veg filled sponge, hopefully some sweetness of dates and crunch of walnuts, finished off with a creamy butter or creamcheese topping. YUM! And how does this relate to the warm, comforting breakfast classic of porridge? Put the two together and it makes what can be a bland, boring breakfast into a sweet, almost naughty feeling, start to your day, when it really isn't!

This recipe is for one person and is served hot! As well as being a warm and comforting morning bowl, a few simple tweaks and you can have an on-the-go bowl of overnight carrot cake oats (more on that another time!). And as always, this simple recipe can also be made vegan by swapping out ingredients for your vegan favourites!  Plus, incorporating vanilla protein powder makes this the perfect pre or post workout meal as well.  Winner!

Recipe

Level: Easy! 

Total Time: less than 10 minutes / 20-30 minutes if leaving the oats to soak.

Ingredients

• 40g oats (adjust the amount to suit your personal requirements!)
• Milk of choice
• Carrot, grated
• Mixed spice
• Handful of dried fruit, such as raisins or dates (optional!)
• Handful of walnuts, in pieces (optional!)
• Vanilla extract, or a scoop of vanilla protein powder (your choice!)

Method

1. Pop the oats, grated carrot, your desired amount of mixed spice, and dried fruit into a microwavable bowl and combine all the ingredients.
2. Pour in enough milk to slightly cover the oat mixture and stir (you can add more milk if you prefer a runnier porridge!).

TIP: If you prefer a softer, creamier porridge, you can leave the mixture to stand for 20-30 minutes which allows the oats to soak up some liquid and become a bit plumper!

1. Pop the bowl into the microwave for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, stopping to stir every 30-45 seconds (this helps make the porridge creamy, and also allows you to check if you want/need to add any more milk!).
2. Once cooked, stir in a drop or two of vanilla extract to suit your taste and the crumbled walnuts if using.
3. Or, if you are using the vanilla protein powder: add the powder to a separate cup/bowl, add a splash of milk or water, mix to make a loose paste, before stirring into your warm porridge.
4. TIP: sprinkle some additional walnuts pieces and a drizzle of honey to really finish off your porridge!
5. Grab your spoon and enjoy your warming bowl of carrot cake flavoured oats!

Super quick and simple, non-boring porridge that tastes like cake and will definitely keep you full until lunchtime!

Made this recipe? Gluteywear and I would love to know! Tag Gluteywear and myself, oneshyfoodienorthdevon, on Instagram!