Honeyed Ginger Pear Oatmeal

I see you - starting the new year off right! Making those healthy choices. Working hard and doing you best - and I'm here to help! As promised all this month I'm going to share with you some of my favorite healthy recipes and we're starting with the most important meal of the day - breakfast!

I love oatmeal for breakfast, it's so easy to get creative with it and try all kinds of different flavors - you could even make savory oats if you prefer! But for this dish, I'm using a fresh pear and some winter spices to warm up your body and help fuel it for the day! 

When you make oatmeal, you want to either use rolled or steel cut. These are the most whole grain version of oats - and we all know whole grains are better for us! Why? Because it takes your body longer to process them, reducing the odds of a blood sugar spike AND giving us ALL the nutrients of the grain (which get stripped away when we make things like white wheat flour). Whole grains also help our bodies digest our food overall by adding fiber to our system - keeping that digestive tract moving!

Pears are loaded with Vitamin C which makes them a great to stay healthy in the winter time. Vitamin C has been found to help reduce the odds of catching a cold or flu AND helping your body fight it if you do catch a bug.

And those spices? Ginger, nutmeg and clove - all wonderful, anti-inflammatory spices that actually help warm the body (cause MAN, has it been cold here in Jersey!) and promote healing. And with that honey added in, it's just another cold-fighting super food keeping you strong all winter long. Not to mention it's delicious! And anytime we want to eat healthy I think the automatic eye-roll moment is when we think everything is going to taste like cardboard. No way!  Try this dish for breakfast and I know you'll be pleasantly surprised! Remember, it's about taking small steps that add up to BIG goals! 

Buon Appetito! Watch the step by step video below!

Honeyed Ginger Pear Oats
Serves 2

1 C. rolled oats
1 C. almond milk (or milk of choice)
1 C. water
pinch of salt

1 tsp. olive oil
1 Anjou pear, chopped
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of cardamom
1 tsp. honey

Combine water, milk and salt in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, making sure it doesn't boil over the edge of the pan. Add the oats and stir. Continue cooking, reducing the heat as the liquid gets absorbed for about 10 minutes, or until desired consistency is reached. Set aside.

In a small saute' pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped pear. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. 

Add spices and continue cooking and stirring for another 3 minutes. In the last 2 minutes of cooking add the honey. 

Spoon oats into 2 bowls. Divide pear topping among bowls and serve warm.