Thursday, March 22, 2012

Spiced Oatmeal





Some of the most wonderful things in the world are discovered by mistake. I made one the other day and loved the results, I have now made it a regular part of my morning.


When I lift in the morning I have a meal replacement shake and a small serving of cooked oatmeal (1/3 cup dry measure) before I go to the gym. That's a lot of carbs, some slow digesting (oatmeal) and some quick (the meal replacement drink). Combined with the protein it's what I need to fuel my body after a long night of fasting (sleeping).


I have my oatmeal cooked and weighed out already, so I just add a bit more water to loosen it up and then microwave it to warm it.


I get up at 4:00 a.m. though, so sometimes I am not quite awake as I do all this. I like to get my shake and oatmeal, and sit at the computer and check email, Facebook, make sure my blog fed properly, and eat and wake up.


Saturday I heated my oatmeal and started to sprinkle in the cinnamon (my sprinkles tend to be more like pours). As I looked at it I noticed that my cinnamon was a lot darker than usual. Damn! I used chili powder!


The containers look the same! I buy both spices in bulk because I use so much, but store them in small store bought spice containers for ease.


I took a spoon and managed to remove most of it, but didn't want to lose too much of the oatmeal so I figured once I added the real cinnamon and the sweetener it would be OK.


OK? It was fantastic! The sweetness and spiciness together are a match made in heaven! Have you ever had chocolate with chile? It's the same premise, the richness, spiciness and sweetness all combine to make a spectacular burst of flavors in your mouth.


Sunday, I am making the same thing! Give it a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.

11 comments:

  1. cool, I'm going to try that! I love oatmeal. I usually just add a splash of almond milk, but this sounds a bit more exciting.

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  2. Charlotte- I have had this everyday this week! I love it! But I love spicy foods anyway. And I love oatmeal with anything in it, especially raisins but they are so high in sugar I never eat them. I will have some raisins after my competition though! Let me know what you think of this.

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  3. Make sure and point this one out to Dad -- he eats lots of oatmeal, and he might like a way of spicing it up!

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  4. Hi Derek- I will ask him if he saw it when I speak to this this weekend. He would probably like it!

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  5. I want to try this but I'm scared at the same time...I might be brave enough to try this over the weekend...pray for me...lol

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  6. Dawn- Just put a little in you can always add more after! Its really good, trust me. I have had it everyday since the first day I did it a week ago! Let me know what you think-good or bad!

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  7. Hi, Kristy!

    I finally tried this this morning. You are right, it sure is good. The only chili powder I had at home was ichimi tōgarashi (一味唐辛子), which is different from the shichimi tōgarashi (七味唐辛子) that you've already talked about here on your blog. I'm not sure that was the best choice, but it was still delish! Did you remember to tell Dad about this one?

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  8. Hi Derek, Yes I talked to Dad about this, I am not sure if he tried it though, I will need to ask. You are correct that shichimi togarashi would NOT work, that has a much different taste! Should I send you some chili powder?

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  9. Well, keep in mind I used Ichimi, not SHIchimi. Ichimi has much less flavour, it's just a "one-spice". But in any case, I could probably find the right kind of chili powder here in Barcelona. What kind do you use? I mean, what are the ingredients, what kind of chili?

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  10. @Derek- My chili is just ground pasilla- a single dried chili! (made into powder) so its not a chili blend

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  11. I'm sure I can find similar things here. Thanks, though!

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