Super-Nutritious Oatmeal Breakfast - Vegan

We've all heard at some point in our lives that the breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?

What do you eat for breakfast? Do you even eat breakfast? I can't function without breakfast... I usually start my day with a glass of water and a protein shake, but that's only half of the breakfast I eat everyday, just enough to give me energy to take my dogs out for a walk. I eat the other half of my breakfast after the walk.
When I'm running out of time, I just grab a bowl of cereal or a couple of pieces of whole wheat toast with almond butter. When I have 5 extra minutes to spare in the morning, I cook this Super-Nutritious Oatmeal Breakfast. Well, it really doesn't take 5 minutes to cook, but it seems like it take a little longer to eat it since it's really hearty.

What goes in your body (1 vegan):

• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup water
• 1-2 tbsp raisins
• 1-2 tbsp roasted flax seeds
• 1/4 cup diced apple (sauteed with "butter" and cinnamon)
• 1-2 tbsp roasted wallnuts
• 1-2 tbsp ground chia seed
• 2-3 tbsp almond milk

You are going to:

1. In a small pan, cook oatmeal in water over medium low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add all the ingredients except almond milk into the pan while cooking and mix well.
2. Adjust the thickness to your liking by adding some almond milk.

Tips from the chef:

• If you prefer cooking in a microwave, you can use quick-cook oats. (Remember though that old fashioned rolled oats are more whole and nutritious.)
• If it's not sweet enough, you can add sugar, maple syrup, agave syrup, honey, etc. I recommend having several bites before adding a sweetener since raisins and apples add a natural sweetness to it.
• I lightly cook a couple of diced apples in "butter" and cinnamon, and keep it in the refrigerator so that I don't have to prep an apple each time I make this breakfast. As you saw on the 'Power Couple' article I posted on my Facebook page, oatmeal and apples make perfect couple! If you are short on time to cook apples, just add diced apples and sprinkle some cinnamon to your oatmeal. 

Bon appétit!

This soluble fiber rich breakfast is a perfect choice to promote heart health. Oatmeal contains beta-glucan, a cholesterol-lowering fiber, and avenanthramides, compounds that shield LDL cholesterol from harmful free radicals. I will write more about the benefits of flax seeds and chia seeds tomorrow.