Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal

For some people, weekends mean making elaborate breakfasts with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and glugs of maple syrup. ("Glugs" is a word, right?)

For me, weekends mean adding chocolate to my oatmeal.

This week was extra special for me because I had strawberries. I generally try to stick to the produce that's in season, and I usually avoid all conventionally grown berries because of the pesticides. However, I was dying for strawberries, and after several weeks of thinking of them constantly, I gave in. So thanks for the strawberries, California!

Throughout the week, I ate them diced up in my oatmeal along with some mashed banana. It was quite delightful, but when Saturday came around, I was ready to amp it up. My original plan was simply to swirl in some chocolate chips at the end, but then I convinced myself to use cocoa powder instead to avoid the extra sugar (not to mention how expensive that bag of chocolate chips was!). To keep it from being too bitter, I used half a mashed banana. Perfect!

Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal

Required Ingredients

1/2 cup regular rolled oats

1 cup liquid (water and/or milk of choice)

1/2 an overripe banana

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 spoonfuls of cocoa powder
fresh strawberries

pinch of salt

1. Bring 1 cup liquid (I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water) to a boil, add 1/2 cup regular rolled oats, and reduce heat to medium. I also add a spoonful of milled flax at the same time as my oats. 
2. Next, mash half (or even less!) a banana well, and stir that in (you could also use 1/4 cup applesauce OR a spoonful of strawberry jam OR a bit of agave/honey/sugar). 
3. Once more of the liquid has dissolved, add a pinch of salt, a splash of vanilla extract, and two spoonfuls of cocoa powder.
4. Stir, and watch your oatmeal transform into fudgy goodness.
5. If you'd like to add any additional ingredients (coconut oil, sunflower seeds), do so now.
6. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, dice in 4-6 strawberries and transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and any additional toppings (shredded coconut, more strawberries, sliced almonds, banana butter).

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  Thanks!