Filling Hemp "Oatmeal"

I had been experimenting with oatmeal dishes for quite a while. I have eaten oatmeal for breakfast for quite some time, playing with different ways to make it. During my first year at college I got into the habit of eating a bowl of dry oats with almond milk and nutritional yeast every morning. I forget how I discovered this exactly. I think I may have been too lazy to continue using my roommate’s portable kettle to heat water to actually cook the oats, or maybe I was just in the mood for cereal, but had none, and then somehow decided that nutritional yeast would work in this mixture as well. Either way I was hooked on this dish for months.

By the time I arrived back home, however, my taste buds were searching for something different. I also needed to find a breakfast that was more filling because once at home for the summer I returned to my job at a bakery in a farm store called Moulton Farm. At the bakery I begin work at either 5 or 6 in the morning and do not take many breaks throughout the day. I am also on my feet, moving around for most of the day and I found that my usual breakfast was not sustaining me for a long period of time. I would often end up eating my lunch at 7 or 8 in the morning and not have much food left for the rest of the day.

During high school I used to make my oatmeal with just raisins, cinnamon, honey (from my grandmother’s bees, which I have also helped tend so I know they are treated humanely), and sometimes peanut butter. This was very good, but did not fill me up as much either when I tried it again that summer. I also try not to add too much unnecessary sugar to my diet. If foods taste good enough without sugar, why add it? And I knew a satisfying dish of oatmeal could be delicious in many ways without adding sugar. I just needed to find one.

Through researching food, browsing the Nutrition Center on the main street in my town, and remembering what a friend said once while we were hiking, I decided to try hemp seeds. These seeds claim to be a super food full of complete proteins, healthy fats, nutrients (see here and especially here), and sustain a consumer for hours, even an entire day. My friend had said that she made hemp granola in order to “get the most amount of calories in the least amount of food” because when hiking, that matters quite a bit.

 Hemp seeds, I learned, were rather tasteless and could be added to just about anything. They also held true to their claims as they were indeed quite filling.

I then thought I’d try them along with some dry oats, raisins, cinnamon, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk for added flavor and nutrients. And it was delicious. I’ve had it every morning since, with the exception of the occasional attempt at a new pancake recipe on my mornings off haha.  

This dish can either be made ahead of time, which allows the oats to soak for a while and become easier to digest, or prepared just before consumption. Whatever works for you! I’ve eaten it both ways and both are quite tasty.

Ingredients

• ½ cup oats (use GF if necessary)
• 2 Tbs. hemp seeds*
• 1 Tbs. raisins
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Instructions

1. Add all dry ingredients into your favorite breakfast bowl. 
2. Add milk. 
3. Let sit overnight
4. Enjoy a nice, filling, sweet without being sweetened bowl of oats!

Notes 

*I no longer promote eating grains, but I have left this up for those who still enjoy meals which include grains. 

A variation of this dish is my Carrot Cake “Oatmeal”, which includes about a tablespoon or two of shredded carrots and half a banana, sliced, in addition to the other ingredients.