PB+J oatmeal

Life with an infant, for me, means, oatmeal for lunch on plenty of days. Luckily, I happen to find oatmeal so tasty and it is said that eating oatmeal can boost the milk supply of breastfeeding mammas {I'll take the extra iron, anyway}.

Oatmeal doesn't have to be boring when you can add in any combination of nuts, berries, other fruits, spices, protein powder, etc. I find that a bowl of oatmeal fills me up and keeps me full for the rest of the afternoon {also important for a momma to an infant}. Most often, my favorite version is something I like to call PB&J oatmeal.

PB&J Oatmeal

• single serving of oatmeal {or however much you want to eat} - I like whole oats and steel cut and never use quick cook oats; some days I have one and other days another
• 1-2 tablespoons peanut butter {or other nut butter; almond is delicious - either way it is some great protein and fiber!}
• fresh berries {I like blueberries and raspberries}, however many you like
• 1/2 banana, sliced

I like to cook my oats on the stove top and I usually cook them in a mixture of one part almond milk and one part water according to the normal oatmeal-cooking spcecs. When finishes cooking, I pour the oats in to a bowl and add nut butter, stirring to combine. The heat really helps the nut butter to mix into the oats well. If necessary, I add a little extra almond milk as well. I sprinkle my berries and bananas on top and then eat!

The PB and berry mixture reminds me of a PB&J, although I will admit this does not actually taste like a PB&J sandwich. I plan to try mixing in some PB and my favorite jelly because that sounds delicious, too. But, I have to take advantage of having fresh berries in the summer; so I will save jelly for the winter.

Recently I have come across some oatmeal recipes that are savory and/or have an egg on top ... I am curious to try this. What are your favorite oatmeal toppings?

{thank you to Sarah Gleason for the idea of adding PB to my oatmeal ... and by the way, photo taken by me}