Creamy Tahini & Date Oatmeal (vegan, gluten-free)
I've mentioned before that I'm a morning person, but I'm also a breakfast person.
I go through phases of breakfast favorites, and I'll eat the same thing pretty much everyday until I get sick of it. When I was a kid my breakfast of choice was a toasted Eggo waffle with butter and pancake syrup. Since then, I've enjoyed many days of chia seed puddings, yogurt and berries, and green smoothies.
Recently, I've traded my daily smoothies for oatmeal (learn more about why I gave up drinking smoothies every morning in this post). Like I said, I love breakfast, but I especially love a breakfast that makes me feel nourished and energized, and it has to be delicious!
Oatmeal is great because you can keep changing up the flavors! I posted on Instagram last week asking what everyone likes to add into their oatmeal. I got a mix of answers, mostly sweet, some savory, but all sounded so good. I started out making the tasty, tried and true, oatmeal favorites- apple and cinnamon, peanut butter and berries, but then I started getting experimental.
If you know me, you know I love tahini. I love it in salad dressings and in savory dips like my homemade hummus and baba ghanoush. I've used it in many desserts like my flourless chocolate chunk blondies. So I figured it was time I introduced my morning oatmeal to some tahini!
I was also inspired by one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted, the tahina date shakes from Michael Solmonov's restaurant, Goldie , in Philly. This shake is a mandatory treat every time I visit my best friend in Philly. The flavor is a combination of nutty tahini, sweet dates, all in a creamy vegan shake! I cannot wait to get back there ASAP!
With the tahina date shakes and breakfast on my mind, I cooked up this oatmeal idea, creamy tahini & date. It cooks in minutes on the stove, which by the way, stove-top oatmeal is the best and arguably the only way you should make oatmeal (believe me, and it only takes like 2 minutes longer than microwaving it - thank me later). It's creamy from the tahini + the stove-top cook method, with a little sweetness from the dates, and the cardamom and cinnamon spices tie it all together. I hope you enjoy this new idea for your oatmeal, too!
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
3 pitted dates, chopped
1 tablespoon tahini
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: extra tahini, extra chopped dates, and cinnamon for topping
INSTRUCTIONS
Add oats and water to a small pot and bring to a boil.
Once it's boiling, turn down the heat and bring pot to a simmer. Stir in the chopped dates.
When the oats absorb all of the water, remove the pot from the heat. Mix in the milk, tahini, cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla extract until combined and the oats reach a creamy consistency.
Pour into a bowl and top with more chopped dates, a drizzle of tahini and a sprinkle of cinnamon!
Share your oatmeal ideas and photos with me on Instagram or Facebook @bewellwithmarissa !