Pumpkin Oatmeal with Toasted Walnuts and Cranberries

A couple weeks ago there was a post going around called “Five Things Super Successful People Do Before 8 AM.” Predictably, in the #3 spot: eat a healthy breakfast. Though I feel like I have a pretty good morning routine these days, which includes a gym session and breakfast (I’ll have to work on the visualization and mapping out of my day), this wasn’t always the case. A couple years ago I was waking up as late as possible and a cup of black coffee was the only thing I made myself before scrambling for the subway.

That wasn’t a great time in my life and when I started to work towards changing it, one of the first promises I made to myself was that I would make breakfast every morning for Andy and me. This small change, which only took five to fifteen minutes, helped me heal. Not only because the food fed my body, but also because the act of doing something nice for myself at the start of each day helped me start being kinder to myself throughout.

I’ve found that being creative helps keep me excited about breaking the fast. I keep it simple, seasonal, and light. With the cold snap we’ve had, signalling the true shift from summer into autumn, I’ve moved away from smoothies and granola-topped yogurt to spruced up oats (like this Pumpkin Oatmeal with Toasted Walnuts and Cranberries) and warm amaranth porridge. What are your cold weather breakfast favorites?

Pumpkin Oatmeal with Toasted Walnuts and Cranberries

 

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by: Three Many Cooks

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3½ cups vanilla soymilk
• 1 cup solid pack pure pumpkin
• 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch salt
• ¼ cup each: toasted chopped walnuts and dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Bring milk, pumpkin, oatmeal, spice, and salt in a large saucepan or 5- to 6- quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, to desired thickness, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on oatmeal brand. Serve, sprinkling each portion walnuts and dried cranberries

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