Coconut Oatmeal (Minus The Oats)

Here’s the thing about dental surgery: it sucks. And you really can’t chew afterwards! As I write this, I’m five solid days out and I still can’t open my mouth fully. At first I was all positive and thinking, well alright this is the perfect opportunity to sort of detox the overindulgent week you spent in Vancouver out of your system with dairy-free smoothies. In general I love smoothies, so I thought this would be no problem. Let me tell you though, after about 36 hours of nothing but pureed fruits and vegetables with bits of protein powder and coconut oil to keep the bases covered, it became a problem. I was pretty much hungry all the time, but barely even wanted to bother to make a blended beverage because they were so unsatisfying. It really is true that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. What I wouldn’t have given to be able to chomp into a cucumber! Actually, that still holds true.

Anyway, sometime around day three I decided that I needed to come up with something other than smoothies and mashed bananas to eat or I was going to lose my mind. It was true that my body had done a pretty good detoxing though and I wasn’t about to go messing up my newly established Paleo experiment with a bowl of oatmeal, so I started cruising the Internet for oat-less porridge options. Most of them have the same sort of base: eggs (or just the whites), nuts or seeds and mashed bananas, so it was easy enough to adjust them to what I had on hand and factor in my love for coconut. Dental surgery or not, I can tell this is going to be a staple in my regular meal plans moving forward. It’s not only delicious, grain free and full of omega 6s from the walnuts, but most importantly to me the egg whites give it staying power, unlike regular oatmeal. I’ve taken to doubling the recipe so I have about 2.5 portions ready at a time…it’s that good. You carb lovers may be skeptical, but give it a try and behold the power of protein when your stomach isn’t growling one hour later.

Coconut Oatmeal (Minus The Oats)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup liquid egg whites

1 mashed banana

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp cinnamon

How To:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and refrigerate overnight (if you are super lazy and groggy in the mornings like me!). Alternatively, warm the mixture on the stove at a medium heat, stirring frequently, until it reaches your  desired “oatmeal” consistency. It only takes a few minutes.

Top with whatever business (aka. toppings) you are into that day and that will balance out your nutrition. Since you have your protein and your fat covered with the egg whites and walnuts, my vote is for berries or another fruit on this instead of overdoing it with a nut butter.

Tags: Breakfast, Breakfast Ideas, Cooking, Grain Free, Health, Healthy Living, Healthy Recipes, Oatmeal Alternatives, Oatmeal Minus the Oats, Paleo, Paleo Recipes, Protein