Breakfast: Is it the most important meal of the day? Does it matter? I love breakfast, as long as it isn’t in the form of cold cereal and milk – too much added sugar, salt, and not much by way of protein. Pancakes and waffles are delicious, but also high in sugar and low in protein, meaning I’ll be hungry again in two hours. But oatmeal, as a blank slate that you can add almost anything to – it always fits the bill for me.

Because I like fall, and because I like vegetables for breakfast, I thought I would check out what the internet had to say about pumpkin-themed oatmeal. Turns out there are a ton of pumpkin oatmeal recipes out there, most along the lines of pumpkin-pie flavored and with varying levels of sugar. In the interest of my blood sugar, I was definitely looking for something with minimal sugar, and I finally came across this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal from Fannetastic Food.

Loved it.

I did make some modifications – I don’t love ripe bananas, so as soon as they start getting spots, they go in the freezer for the next batch of banana bread. So I used a slightly green banana, with the addition of some vanilla protein powder to up the sweetness and add some protein at the same time. I also wanted a little more pumpkin, and some chopped walnuts for a little extra texture. You could go crazy with the add-ons, because oatmeal is awesome that way, and I would love to try with it dried cranberries, roasted pepitas (the inner green part of the pumpkin seed), or probably any other nut-seed-dried fruit combo you’d like. Go crazy and eat well!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Fannetastic Food

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (makes 1 serving)

Adapted from Fannetastic Food

• 1/2 C old fashioned oats
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• 2 hefty shakes cinnamon
• Generous tablespoon vanilla protein powder
• Handful frozen wild blueberries (optional)Drop of vanilla extract
• 1/3 C pureed canned pumpkin
• 1 small shake ground cloves
• 1 small shake ground nutmeg
• Small handful dried nuts or fruit, as desired (I used walnuts)

Instructions:

1) Put the oats, milk, sliced banana, and cinnamon into a small pot on the stove. (This will also work in the microwave — simply combine all the recipe ingredients in a microwave safe bowl  and cook on high until oatmeal is cooked, about 2-5 minutes.)

2) Stir continuously over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture gets thick and creamy (and starts slightly bubbling). Stir in the frozen blueberries now, if you’re using them.

3) Turn down heat to medium low and add in the vanilla, canned pumpkin, nuts, and a small shake each of ground cloves and ground nutmeg. These two spices make this recipe — don’t skip them!

4) Enjoy!