Hot Chocolate Oatmeal

This breakfast is the definition of "dessert for breakfast." Personally, I like to start my day with something sweet to assuage my raging sweet tooth. The idea of a savoury meal simply does not appeal to me when I first wake up. Also, sweet breakfasts complement the elixir of life (coffee) perfectly. That's where the beauty of breakfast food lies. It is completely socially acceptable to disguise dessert as a "breakfast."

Don't get me wrong, it can still taste like dessert but be undeniably nutritionally dense. For example, I often make green smoothies packed with leafy greens and powders, but they taste like thick banana shakes.

This breakfast is perfect for when you're craving chocolate (a default setting for me). Fear not: It's packed with protein from the chia seeds, antioxidants from the cacao, and lots of fueling fibre from the oats. I always go crazy with the toppings because we need to break the stereotype that oatmeal is "a bowl of mush," am I right?

Ingredients:

1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
1/2 cup filtered water
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp cacao powder
1-2 tsp coconut sugar

Recommended toppings: the rest of the banana, raspberries, coconut shreds, peanut butter, granola, etc.

Method:

Add your oats, liquid, and vanilla extract to a small pan on high heat. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and put the lid on the pot.
Meanwhile, mash about 3/4 of your ripe banana and add it to the pot. Reserve the rest of it for topping. The riper it is, the sweeter taste it will yield in the oatmeal. This is important because cacao is naturally very bitter by itself. If your banana isn't ripe enough, you may want to add more coconut sugar or other sweetner to taste.
Once almost all of the liquid is absorbed, stir in the cacao, chia seeds, and coconut sugar.
Put it in a bowl and add toppings to your heart's content. Make sure you include peanut butter to make it PEANUT BUTTER CUP OATS. Yum :)