Free songs
Home / recipe / My Mom’s Oatmeal

My Mom’s Oatmeal

my mom's oatmeal

Whatever my mom makes for me is delicious. Consistently.

Something about her hands, or how she cuts everything into perfect geometrical shapes and how she pours love into the perfect, careful spreading of mayo. I remember once, years ago, when we were making a big batch of paninis for the family. She would spread the pesto evenly so the last inch of every corner of bread had sauce. When she looked over her shoulder to see my efficient, careless spreading she gasped genuinely and full of horror.

“Is this how I raised you? To not care?”

“But no one is going to see the inside of the sandwich,” I stammered, “No one will know.”

“But I’ll know.” She said. That’s always her answer. That’s why even the depths of the pantry must be tidy. Because even if I convince her that no guest will want to snoop around my pantry, then, of course, it must be tidy because “she’ll see it” and “she’ll know.”

“Your father and your brother are going to eat these,” she added, matter-of-factly, as if that explained why you must take ridiculously long to spread pesto.

————————————————————————-

Maybe she seeps love into her cooking. Maybe it’s just that diligence tastes good. Or maybe I just idolize her.

Whatever it is, my mom’s food always tastes special and wonderful.

my mom making oatmeal mom serving oatmeal

When I make oatmeal, it’s mostly kind of bland, kind of meh. I’m never excited about oatmeal. My oatmeal is dry and basically only ever as good as its toppings. Like how yogurt with cereal is only as good as the cereal.

My mom’s oatmeal? Yes, please.

It’s never dry. It’s like a little soup of cinnamon sweetness.

My parents just came to visit and since my mom has been making oatmeal for breakfast I decided to watch and write down her recipe.

I plated it in a classic white bowl. Stacked the cooked oats high, as I’ve been taught by food photography books, since soups and stews look better when you ‘push’ the ingredients forward and for all intents and purposes, staged the perfect shot.

“Can I start eating?” She asked shyly. She had been very shy about me taking photos of her.

“Sure,” I told her, busy clicking at my camera. But when I looked up I saw the real perfect shot. The way she served it was how it was meant to be – the way I loved her oatmeal: creamy and casual and inviting.

So voila! My mom’s oatmeal (literally: her recipe, her bowl):

my moms oatmeal

The real secret is boiling the water with a cinnamon stick. You can replace mostly anything in the recipe, but don’t replace the cinnamon stick for cinnamon powder!! It makes all the difference. Second key ingredient is the green apple. Crunchy and sour. If you get the cinnamon stick and green apple  you can change anything else in the recipe: adjust sweetness, milk type and toppings.

My Mom's Oatmeal
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Oatmeal by my mom. Great warm out of the pan; DELICIOUS cold, the next day.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup unsweetened pecan milk (I made mine but you can use store bought almond milk or milk of your choice)
  • ⅜ teaspoon stevia (about 1½ tablespoon regular sugar)
  • 1 cup green apple, cubed
  • 1 stick cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Boil 2 cups water with cinnamon stick in a medium sauce pan.
  2. Once boiling add oats and stevia (or sugar) and decrease heat to low. Let sit for 1 minute then add pecan milk, mix for about a minute, add apples, turn off heat and cover.
  3. Let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
  4. Serve and sprinkle with raisins, dried pineapple or goji berries. We topped it with goji berries, chopped pecans and chia seeds.
Notes
I don't usually use stevia - but I wanted to keep true to my mom's recipe. Feel free to replace with sweetener of your choice.
Don't replace cinnamon stick with cinnamon powder. It makes all the difference!
You can make homemade pecan milk by soaking pecans in water overnight, straining them then blending them in a power blender with water and a pinch of salt. Strain and voila.
oatmeal in a mason jar

It is DIVINE cold. I actually prefer to eat it cold! Pack leftovers into individual mason jar portions and ENJOY later today or the next day!

Hi! Thanks for reading! I’m a certified nutritionist exploring the local & sustainable foods scenes in The Woodlands and Houston! Keep in touch and follow me! As of 2017 my sister and I just opened an outdoor dessert café – check it out! I couldn’t be more excited!

7 comments

  1. This looks so good! I never would have thought to use a cinnamon stick!

  2. Pecan milk!? Now that sounds like something I could get on board with! And that cinnamon stick boiling trick… your mum is definitely onto something there. I’m going to have to try both next time I make oatmeal!

    • Thanks Angela! Oh, I love homemade pecan milk. If you get sprouted pecans you can avoid the soaking process and just throw them into a vitamix with water and a bit of salt and sugar to taste! Something about the sprouted pecans make a caramel-like taste to me!

  3. I think that was as much a tribute to your mom’s oatmeal as it was to your mom! Being a fan of oatmeal, I’m totally gonna try the cinnamon stick in water step!

    • Thank you Tamar! Definitely try the cinnamon stick – it’s a whole new world of cinnamon heaven if you’ve been using powdered cinnamon all along!

  4. I love oatmeal – that looks good and great tip about the cinnamon stick – I never heard of that :)

  5. Oh my this looks fantastic! I’ve never tried pecan milk, it sounds amazing I will have to try making it!

Leave a Reply to Natalia Richer Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*