Waking up to the chilly breeze and a dark sky reminds me of the many early mornings back in high school when I would be up by 5:30 to study or to head to church for our seminary class. Although I don’t miss those days, but the memories of being at home makes me homesick. My usual breakfast back then was a PB and J sandwich or a bowl of warm oats with fresh blueberries made by loving nanny. If I had known back then about overnight oats, bircher muesli or carrot cake oats or even chocolate zucchini oats, my breakfasts would have been a lot more exciting; and mornings wouldn’t felt as daunting. After all, nothing excites me more than food.
Chocolate Zucchini Oats has been my latest obsession. Its like hot chocolate in oatmeal form. I’ve been craving this for weeks in a row, and have eaten it everyday without fail for breakfast or as a sweet snack. In fact, I eat this as a substitute for my dessert. It’s now a part of my daily routine to have this. Lately, I just grate all my zucchini and store it in the fridge so I can just add it into my oatmeal in the morning.
The added nutrition from the zucchini makes it all the more reason to have this. Best part is zucchini really packs volume so you feel like you’re eating more than 1/2 cup of oats! I usually opt for zero-calorie sugar to not spike my blood sugar levels especially when I’m at work. But you can use maple syrup and adjust the taste to your liking.
A favorite variation of this: adding 1 ripe banana, topping with peanut butter + extra chocolate. Dessert in its healthiest form 😀
This recipe is so versatile, there are a million different toppings you can add: chocolate chips, chocolate protein powder, cherries/raspberries for nice contrast, sweetener of choice (agave, maple, dates or honey).
- Oatmeal Base:
- ½ cup quick oats (gluten-free, if needed)
- ¼ of a large (72g) zucchini
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk
- 2 tsp cocoa powder (we like to use Dark Hersheys, make sure you use a good brand) or cacao powder
- pinch of salt
- 2-3 tbsp sweetener of choice (Add to taste)
- Toppings:
- Nuts, Seeds, Coconut, Peanut Butter, Cocoa Nibs, Fruit
- Grate zucchini (or you can finely chop but make it thin and small because you don't to eat chunks of zucchini)
- Bring water and milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add in grated zucchini, oats, salt and cocoa powder.
- Bring to boil and then lower heat to simmer until thickened. Stir occasionally.
- Add sweetener of choice.
- FUN PART: Add toppings of choice
LOVE,
Zoe & Mia
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