30 Days of Oatmeal: Chocolate Cinnamon Turmeric Oatmeal

I mentioned in an earlier post that golden milk overnight oats introduced me to the flavors of turmeric. The other morning at breakfast, I felt a little lethargic and decided to add turmeric to my hot chocolate. The bitter cocoa, spicy cinnamon, and earthy turmeric melded beautifully. And thus the idea for chocolate cinnamon turmeric oatmeal was born.

If you like things sweet, you might want to add a little maple syrup or honey to this. Otherwise, enjoy its detox benefits just as it is.

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
1 T dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t turmeric

Directions:

1. Bring oats and water to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
2. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the cocoa, cinnamon, and turmeric.
3. Transfer oatmeal to a bowl and enjoy!

Turmeric Apricot Oats

I'd never experimented with turmeric until I read about golden milk overnight oats. On a whim, I made some for a work breakfast. The flavors pleasantly surprised me. Earthy, but sweet, I knew I'd make these oats again.

Fast forward to winter, and I'm not feeling cold oats so much. But after reading in the newspaper this week about the benefits of turmeric, I decided I needed to try a warm version of turmeric oats.

I stirred in some apricots leftover from a Morrocan stew recipe and wow, was this bowl good. The yellow color of the oats may surprise you, but rest assured, the sweet, earthy, and spicy flavors won't disappoint!

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick oats

1 c water

4 dried apricots, cut into pieces, plus more for topping

1 t turmeric

1/2 t cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine oats, water, and apricots in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

2. When oats reach desired consistency, stir in turmeric and cinnamon.

3. Transfer oats to a bowl and top with more dried apricots, if desired.

Note: I added a blackberry to my bowl to make it more aesthetically pleasing, but I found that the berry flavor paired well with the oats. Feel free to add blackberries as an additional topping, if desired!