Nothing beats a tasty, nutritious breakfast like this Super Seed Chocolate Oatmeal. It’s one of my favorites! The addition of heart-healthy ingredients sends it over the top. In fact, I’m so obsessed with this as my breakfast, I’ve taken a lot of casual photos and I’ll post a few below.
The super seeds included in this recipe are ground flax, hemp, and chia. I also love the addition of a tablespoon of walnuts. They all are high in omega 3’s. To see the amazing benefits of chia, read my article, “Chia: Small Seeds with Big Nutrition.”
Breakfast is a great time to eat more fruit, as well, since we need at least 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. It’s easy to forget these lovely sweet treats. I do recommend organic berries because strawberries and cherries are on the dirty dozen list from the Environmental Working Group.
You don’t have to use berries if you don’t have them on hand. Many ripe fruits work well. I love bananas, chopped apple, peaches, or even canteloupe.
Dr. Michael Greger from nutritionfacts.org recommends 1/2 cup of berries per day plus 3 servings of other fruits so finding ways to eat more fruit is important. One serving is 1 medium-sized fruit or 1 cup cut-up fruit.
The addition of chocolate in the form of organic cacao powder is another way to eat a heart-healthy breakfast. It turns out that arterial function is significantly improved within hours of consumption. And, the good thing about cacao powder is that is doesn’t contain all the fat and sugar in other types of chocolate.
The recipe calls for just 1/4 cup of uncooked oatmeal per person and this is plenty with the addition of the seeds and nuts. Especially if you mix in the seeds in the pot at the end of cooking. It plumps up the oatmeal quite a bit.
Sweeteners
You may want to sweeten up your oatmeal and I suggest using date syrup or even chopped dried dates. Maple syrup works well, too. If you want to make your very own date syrup, try this recipe because it’s very easy although not quite as refined as the store-bought version.
There’s a more complicated date syrup recipe that involves reducing the syrup and straining it, but I like to keep it simple with this recipe. Just make sure it’s thin enough for drizzling over your oatmeal.
Date Syrup
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup pitted dates, tightly packed (Medjool work best)
1 1/2-2 cups water
Instructions
Add all of the ingredients and 1 cup water to a blender and blend until smooth.
Add another 1/2 cup water or more until you get the consistency of syrup.
Refrigerate in a sealed glass jar for up to a month.
Which Type of Cinnamon is Best?
I will also mention that Ceylon cinnamon may be the better choice over cassia cinnamon “due to the compound, coumarin, present in cassia cinnamon which data suggests may be toxic to the liver in quantities of one or more teaspoons per day.”
Plant Yogurt
Another delicious addition to this oatmeal is a couple of tablespoons of plant yogurt. There are two on the market that I’ve used and liked, unsweetened plain Kite Hill Almond Yogurt and unsweetened plain Forager Cashew Yogurt. These are great to keep on hand as a substitute for sour cream. I love a little in my bean burritos or quesadillas or to top a baked apple or sauteed sliced cinnamon apples. Yum, I’m getting hungry.
Secret tip: fruit and plant yogurt is a great dessert, as well.
Coffee Replacement
Since giving up coffee recently, even decaf, I’ve enjoyed drinking a couple of cups of Teechino, which are really quite satisfying. It’s a deep rich color that looks like coffee, even with the addition of my non-dairy soy milk, and has a hint of sweetness. There are several different flavors but my favorites are the mocha and the vanilla hazelnut. I’m looking into Crio Bru, which is a chocolate drink made from cacao beans.
If you have tried it, I’d love to know your experience with this chocolate brew. I don’t know why, but regular coffee started affecting my blood pressure, and even the decaf has some. I know that hibiscus tea can lower blood pressure, so that is always an option, and I have a homemade recipe if you’d like to try that. Here’s the article and recipe, “Lower Blood Pressure with Hibiscus Tea.”
Let me know what’s your favorite breakfast obsession in the comments below.
Or, I’d love to hear your feedback for this Super Seed Chocolate Oatmeal! If you have a photo, post it on Instagram, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking in your caption, and I won’t miss it!
Super Seed Chocolate Oatmeal
Equipment
- Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see note below)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tbsp Ceylon cinnamon*
- 1 tbsp cacao powder (or cocoa)
- 1/4 tsp salt (optional)
- 4 tbsp ground flaxseeds
- 4 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 4 tbsp walnuts
- 2 cups frozen mixed organic berries or fresh
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plain vegan yogurt
- 4 tsp date syrup (optional)
Instructions
- Heat water in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, and salt and heat to just boiling. The chocolate will blend in better once the water heats.
- Add oats and stir to combine. For creamier oatmeal, add the oats before heating the water. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- While the oatmeal is cooking, defrost berries in a ceramic bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute. I like to cut up the strawberries so they defrost more with smaller berries.
- When the oatmeal is cooked, add 1/4 of it to each bowl. Top with 1 tablespoon of flax, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, 1/2 tablespoon of hemp seeds. These can alternatively be mixed into the oatmeal at the end of cooking with about 1/4 cup extra water. Also, add 2 tablespoons of plant yogurt for each bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup berries, 1 tablespoon walnuts and a teaspoon of date syrup if you'd like it a little sweeter.
Costco had Crio Bru for awhile, but our store doesn’t seem to have it now. I’ve tried it on its own, but I like it better added to some Teechino or decaf coffee. I also love yogi tea: 5 cinnamon sticks, 20 black peppercorns, 20 cloves, 20 crushed cardamom pods, 2 inches sliced ginger, boiled for 1 hour in 1 gallon water…let sit overnight or several hours before straining and refrigerating.
I read the reviews on Amazon for Crio Bru and some people loved it and others, not so much. I think you’re right that it’d be tasty added to Teechino or decaf coffee. Your yogi tea sounds wonderful. Maybe add a touch of turmeric to up the anti-inflammatory properties. I’ve gotta try it!