[Here topped with a dollop of coconut yogurt]
So it’s no secret that I love summer. (No, let me rephrase that: I adore summer. I worship summer. I am summer’s acolyte. I wait all year, walking around like Pigpen with a gray cloud floating in my wake wherever I go, until summer finally arrives and the cloud dissipates. I am mad about summer. I’m smitten by it. I’m wild for it. I savor every second of it. I LURRRRRVE summer!!).
There’s nothing like a warm breeze on your bare shoulders; crisp, bright sunlight that lingers until after supper; masses of happy birds chittering outside your windows; or farmers’ market tables heaving with multicolored pyramids of fresh produce to lift a gal’s spirits, that’s for sure. Summer is the time to get outside, eat lots of raw foods, sip languidly on tall libations filled with clinking ice cubes and stress over bathing suits.
So what the heck am I doing posting a recipe for oatmeal–that quintessential wintertime breakfast–at the end of June, you may wonder?
Well, there are a few reasons I chose to post this today. To wit:
- I actually did eat this last week, when temperatures soared into the 30s C (90s F), even though it is summer. Which I adore.
- The combination of fruity tea in which the oatmeal is cooked and chopped kiwi both within and atop this bowl means the recipe practically qualifies as a fresh fruit.
- It’s cooked on the stovetop, so it doesn’t heat up the whole kitchen.
- I recently discovered Lauren’t winsome blog (seriously, you will never need another oatmeal recipe again for the rest of your life) after she posted about my Zucchini Bread Oatmeal, and felt it only polite to try out one of hers, too. 🙂
- I was fascinated by the notion of cooking one’s oatmeal in tea!
[See that slight pink hue to the oatmeal? That’s Summer Berries!]
Of course, since I am me (read: incredibly lazy, especially in the morning), I had to switch up the recipe, just a little, to streamline the prep and make it even easier than it already was. The result was an incredibly quick, simple breakfast that cooks up while you mix your morning chia, flax and spirulina concoction (what? you mean not everyone eats chia, flax and spirulina every morning?). I was surprised at how quickly it came together–and how delicious it was!
My final result was a bit different from Lauren’s since I did use steel-cut oats (and I omitted the optional applesauce). The tart raspberry-kiwi flavor combination, paired with creamy, nubby oats, made an absolutely perfect weekday breakfast.
Sitting at the kitchen table with my cup of morning matcha, the Globe and Mail and the birds chirping their approval outside, I couldn’t have asked for a better summer’s morning.
I’m sharing this recipe at Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Allergy Friendly Friday.
Tea-Steeped Oatmeal with Fresh Kiwi
Adapted from The Oatmeal Artist
Once you try cooking your oatmeal in tea instead of water, you may never go back. The possibilities are limited only by the flavors of tea in your cupboard.
1 fruit-flavored teabag (I used Tetley Summer Berry Herbal)
1 cup (240 ml) water
1/3 cup (80 ml) steel-cut oats
pinch fine sea salt
2 kiwis, peeled and diced, divided
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) pure vanilla extract, optional
8-10 drops plain or vanilla liquid stevia, to your taste
nondairy milk of choice, to your taste
Pour water into a small pot and begin to heat over high heat. Remove any paper tags from the teabag and place the bag in the water; bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and continue to boil for 10 minutes.
Remove the teabag and add the oats, sea salt, and one kiwi (diced) to the pot. Turn up heat and return the mixture to a boil; as soon as it boils, lower once again to medium-low, cover the pot and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are softened but still chewy and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
Stir in the vanilla and stevia and mix well; adjust sweetener to taste. Turn the mixture into a serving bowl and top with the second diced kiwi. Add nondairy milk as desired and serve. Makes one serving. Eat while enjoying the sunshine and the birds.
Suitable for: ACD Stage 2 and beyond, sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, low glycemic.
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Last Year at this Time: Kale and Quinoa Salad with Fresh Blueberry Vinaigrette (gluten free; ACD Stage 2 and beyond)
Two Years Ago: “Notella” (chocolate-hazelnut butter) (gluten free; ACD Stage 2 and beyond)
Three Years Ago: Kale and Seaweed Salad (gluten free; ACD all stages)
Four Years Ago: Butter Tarts, Glorious and Free (of Eggs and Dairy) (not gluten free; ACD maintenance only)
© Ricki Heller, Diet, Dessert and Dogs
Hi! I'm Ricki, cookbook author, professional recipe developer, holistic nutritionist and anti-candida crusader. Let me show you how easy it is to eat plant-based, sugar-free, gluten free food that tastes great! 
Omgosh, this sounds divine! I’ll have to check out her website too. I’ve been soaking my GF oats for at least 24-36 hours and my stomach is loving oatmeal do much better. I adore oatmeal any time of the year, and lately buckwheat hot (or cold) cereal (soaked too).
Yes, soaking will make a huge difference to digestibility (I’m afraid I often forget and eat them unsoaked anyway. . . but get on that!). 😉
I LOOOOOVE this idea!!! Summer berry tea in oatmeal! I’m going to add that to my list right now.
It was totally delish! 🙂
That looks really good, Ricki! I’m not sure you’d love summer as much if you lived in the south with all our humidity, but Canadian summers (even with 90-degree temps) are a beautiful thing for sure. 🙂 I love your description of yourself as “summer’s acolyte.” I’ve been doing some experimenting with tea in recipes, too. It’s fun and tasty! 😉
xo,
Shirley
Thanks, Shirley! I’m not a huge fan of humidity, but we have it in spades here in the summer in Toronto, too. Often the temperature will be something like 25C (77F), but 35C (95 F) with the “humidex” (ie, what it actually feels like once the humidity is factored in). Looking forward to your tea-based creations, too! 😀
Sylvia and E ate porridge all summer
oops – that was sylvia and dolly prematurely publishing – I was going to say that I was surprised but at least it was easy – and I guess if you love summer so much that you want summer all year round, there is no reason not to incorporate some of the best of winter to make summer even better 🙂
Ha ha! Well, I am glad to hear that about Sylvia and E. I felt a bit weird eating it, but it was soooo good, and I am sure I’ll do something similar (cinnamon-spice tea? mint tea?) in winter, too! 🙂
I wish I had summers like you do! I love the fresh produce that summer brings, but more specifically, I like the produce of EARLY summer around here. Come the end of July, I’m SO over it. Everything gets dried up, and it’s HOT HOT HOT. And it doesn’t cool down until the end of September. LOL We don’t have it as humid as Shirley does, but it’s often quite humid – this weekend it’ll “cool off” to highs of 98F, but the heat index will be up near 106F. (Earlier this week it was drier, but the highs were ACTUALLY 106F.) Anyway. This oatmeal. WOW, how different, and creative! I love the idea. Especially with kiwis. Now, as for your green drink, you’re drinking a mix of only chia, flax, and spirulina? That’s hard core! I throw a bit of flax and spirulina in my smoothies, but I can’t handle that much spirulina – like maybe 1/2 teaspoon. It’s overpowering! It does make any smoothie and interesting blue-green though. My smoothie this morning looks near-black from a combo of blueberries and spirulina (spinach, flax, banana also came to play this morning). 🙂
Wow, Alta, that IS hot! I guess all my years of winters have me primed for the heat now. 😉 Re: the spirulina “slime,” it’s not a smoothie–more like a gel (yep, kinda like slime) which I spoon up. I have found it very effective against my IBS symptoms over the years. Not recommended if you’re looking for a yummy smoothie-type taste!
You know, I’ve always thought about doing this and I don’t know why I never have. I think I’d love it with chai tea.
Btw, I need to have a super important chia conversation with you soon.
Chai would be great in winter, I think! And I’m happy to talk chia any time (lol). 🙂
i’ve done this sort of thing to an ice cream base, but why not oatmeal?! fabulous. and i need to eat more kiwis 🙂
I love kiwis! I think they are overlooked far too often. 🙂
what a beautiful bowl! and that sounds so delicious!
Thanks, Caralyn! It *was* delicious! 😀
How cool and creative! I think die-hard oatmeal lovers will eat it just about any time of year, no matter the weather. My dad is one of them. 🙂
I have to agree–the HH is one of them, too. 🙂
Do you think you could do this as an overnight oatmeal in a jar? Where you soak the oats in tea and then don’t cook them? I have been making oatmeal in a jar, with almond milk and almond yogurt…let it sit overnight in the fridge…simppy delish. What about using tea instead of the almond milk and almond yogurt? Any thoughts?
You could do it that way if you use rolled oats, not steel-cut as I do here. Steel-cut need to be cooked before they can be eaten; rolled oats are already steamed and, therefore, semi “cooked” already (which is why they can be used in “raw” recipes). Let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!
I have never even THOUGHT to do this, but now I am totally going to try! WHat a fun and fresh idea. My hubby would LOVE this! I am totally making this soon!
xo
kim
I really loved it. SO fruity and yummy! 😀
What an awesome idea – I never would have thought of that! My morning oatmeal is so boring (1/3 cup oats, hot water, 1 T. maple syrup and a handful of dried cranberries; repeat tomorrow) that it would be nice to liven up my mornings a bit. Also, I too luuuuurrrrve summer. I spend every moment out in the sun that I possibly can.
Nice to know another sunshine girl! 😉 And I agree–I could have this oatmeal countless times without repeating as long as I switch up the tea! 🙂
I love this idea! The possibilities are endless…Pete is the oatmeal lover in our house so I will pass this idea on to him. Lovely pics Ricki!
Thanks, Maggie! It’s opened up a whole new variety of oatmeal breakfasts for me! 🙂
i too, lurve! summer! 😉 it would be nice if it’d show up on vancouver island though – we’re still wearing jackets this year. In JULY! aye!
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