I am currently enrolled in a fun, easy, and free online coursera course called Child Nutrition and Cooking. (BTW, anyone can enroll into these amazing free classes. They are full of students from all over the world.) Taught by a Stanford University professor, the course explores the reasons the US is facing a childhood obesity epidemic and teaches us how we can make more nutritious food at home.
The professor, Maya Adams, gives quick “video lectures” starring herself in her home kitchen cooking food for her family. She challenges us to examine our own eating habits and come up with new recipes without using processed foods.
One challenge was to create a simple balanced breakfast and this is my homework assignment.
complex carbohydrate = steel cut oats.
fruit = mango & dates.
dairy = yogurt.
Serve it up in smaller bowls for portion control.
Pit and dice up a few whole dates and add them to the oats before cooking along with a cinnamon stick for flavor. Let it simmer unattended for 20 minutes and go get the kids ready for school. Come back to a wonderful smelling kitchen and some delicious creamy hot oats. Add a few spoonfuls of greek yogurt, some fresh chopped fruit (I used mango), and sprinkle with some ground cinnamon.
Like eating rice pudding for breakfast, but its good for you. Absolutely heavenly. The whole family loved it.
Thanks again to Chobani Greek Yogurt for sending me several delicious Greek yogurt samples. I have been cooking with yogurt for a week now and find that there are endless possibilities when it comes to it’s versatility. Check out what else I have been creating with Chobani yogurt: Creamy Fava Bean Spread, and Fluffy Pancakes with Caramelized Banana Syrup.
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 2 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole dates, pitted, diced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Chobani Greek Vanilla Yogurt
- Fresh fruit (mango)
- sprinkle of ground cinnamon
- Add water, oats, and cinnamon stick to a pot over medium heat. Once it begins to boil, give it a stir and then cover. Reduce heat to Low. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
- When finished cooking, remove from heat and stir in a little butter and milk. (If you want to sweeten it up you can add a touch of maple syrup or honey.)
- Dish into small serving bowls and spoon in a little yogurt and fresh fruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.
I love mangoes! Never tried them in oatmeal before. This looks interesting! Thanks for the heads up on coursera, too, never heard of any such thing!