Good morning! I know on Friday I laid out my grand plans for a big weekend of cooking. And it happened! But I just can’t get back to the regularly scheduled program until I stop everything and tell you about this oatmeal.
I’m going through a bit of a coconut phase. I blame the rest of the blog world, which is also in love with coconut.
In the last few weeks alone, I’ve posted lentil, banana bread, and salad recipes containing coconut. What I didn’t tell you is that I’ve been starting every morning with coconut, too!
I’m always thinking about posting my breakfasts here, but let’s face it… they’re not too exciting. Oatmeal in the winter, Cheerios in the summer, with the occasional quinoa thrown in.
In the winter months, I go through phases with my oatmeal toppings (like everyone), and I always end up craving them so much. Some favorites lately: Frozen berries and brown sugar; peanut butter, banana, and chocolate chips; and now, coconut butter and mango. And even if it is just oatmeal, let me tell you that I think this coconut + mango combination is blog-worthy.
Have you tried coconut butter yet? I just bought my first jar a few weeks ago and am loving it. Rather than just extracting the oil from the coconut, coconut butter is the entire flesh of the coconut, ground up. It’s very rich and has amazing coconut flavor. This oatmeal is my favorite use for it, but it’s also amazing spread on toast, and I’m excited to find more ways to use it, too. Whatever you do, let it melt before you eat it. YUM.
I’ll be honest: coconut butter breaks the bank a little. Artisana, the brand I bought, is $11.99 for a 16-oz jar. Yikes – that’s more than Justin’s almond butter! I did just see a 15-oz. Maranatha jar for $7.99 at the grocery store, so I’ll probably try that out next time. The good news is that a little goes a long way. In addition to being rich, it’s pretty brittle, so I usually microwave the whole jar for 15-30 seconds before scraping any out. Having to scrape it out, rather than being able to dip in and come out with a big ol’ scoop, stretches that jar quite a bit. If you like using coconut oil in cooking or baking, I definitely recommend trying out a jar of coconut butter.
It’s still very much wintertime in Utah, and when I wake up on a cold and dark morning, this is my new favorite way of denying reality for 5 more minutes. Now it’s obviously not really a “recipe” – you can make your oatmeal any way you’d like or even use these toppings on any other breakfast cereal. No matter how many times I eat this combo, though, it just feels so luxurious! One more way to trick myself into getting through the winter (and the workweek).
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 Tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1/2 cup cold water
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp coconut butter
- 1 Tbsp sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 mango, peeled and chopped (or substitute 1/2 orange or 1/2 cup of fresh chopped pineapple)
- Combine oats and flax in a microwave-safe bowl. Add water, stir to combine, and microwave on high for 3 minutes.
- Remove from microwave (careful, the bowl might be hot!), sprinkle with cinnamon, and top with remaining ingredients. Wait a minute or two for coconut butter to melt, then dig in!
Mango is delicious and it reminds me of warm weather. This recipe just screams Summertime! :)
I totally think breakfasts should be blogged about. Even when they’re simple, breakfasts can be pretty amazing. I love the combo of flavors you have going on here and you’ve definitely convinced me to a buy a crazy-over-priced jar of coconut butter :) Never heard of putting flax in oatmeal before, but that sounds amazing too!
Definitely try the flax in your oatmeal thing! It’s a great way to sneak a little more nutrition in there… so that you can justify more toppings, of course :)
I am a huge fan of coconut butter but never really thought of a way to use it… besides eating it by the spoonful. Have you tried Nikki’s Coconut Butter? She has amazing flavors like vanilla cakebatter and mocha nut – which is probably why I like to eat it by the spoonful ;) Your oatmeal looks like the perfect way to incorporate this ingredient into a healthy meal!
I’ve never tried Nikki’s – thanks for the suggestion! I will have to pick some up!
Umm coconut butter sounds deeelicious. I’ve never liked shredded coconut, but things like coconut oil and coconut water are totally converting me. I bet I’d love coconut butter too :)
How funny – I made something very similar this week by tried to pass it off as a dessert. Not so successful. This – much more successful!
I can see this being an awesome dessert! Great minds think alike.
I need to jazz up my morning oatmeal. This sounds refreshing and delicious!
I love mangos, I actually bought some already cut up from Trader Joes- I hate cutting mangos, I always do it wrong :( But this tropical oatmeal sounds delicious, and reminds me of the warm weather! I cant wait to try it. Did you use plain or flavored coconut butter?
I used plain coconut butter – I didn’t know there was such a thing until Becky’s comment! I’m sure that would be delicious. And yes, cutting up mangoes is not the most fun part… TJ’s is a lifesaver!
Looks super tasty! I love tropical flavours, reminds me of the beach!
This looks amazing. I’m a sucker for anything coconut or mango, let alone the two together. I’ve been wanting to try coconut butter. Putting it in oatmeal sounds like a great idea!
This looks delicious! I actually have some frozen mango in my freezer right now. I may have to pick up some coconut butter so I can try this out. :-) I am a huge oatmeal fan!
That looks amazing! I’ve been debating buying shredded coconut, and this looks like a perfect excuse. Can’t wait to try it.
You can easily make coconut butter at home, much cheaper than buying it. Simply take unsweetened shredded coconut and whiz it in the blender until smooth, viola! I’m sure you could add flavors if you wanted to.
Oops, that should say food processor not blender!
Cool! I’ve seen coconut butter recipes before, but always assumed they were complicated. I will definitely do this when I run out! And then I’ll keep it in my Artisana coconut butter jar to make it seem expensive :)
Mango and oatmeal? Interesting mix! Sounds damn good though!