Coconut Cream Pie Oatmeal

I'm on a strict no-dairy diet this week. And maybe the next. And perhaps the next. I generally avoid dairy anyway, but it's a little more of a struggle when I'm at home with my parents. Mid-last week, my teenage acne returned. My face looked absolutely dreadful! I'm going to point the finger at the return of dairy into my diet over the past two weeks.

Now that I'm back "home," I'm eager to return to my dairy-free lifestyle. If I say so myself, this oatmeal is the PERFECT way to enjoy this diet. It's the ultimate celebration of everything coconut. And wow, was it delicious! As I assembled it, I worried endlessly. Would it be sweet enough? Would the "Greek yogurt" give it an unpleasant taste?

There was absolutely no reason to worry; it was heavenly. If you like coconut, you'll love this. I used coconut greek yogurt, but I'd really like to try this with coconut whipped cream sometime... 

I used So Delicious Coconut Greek Yogurt. I've only bought it once before. It's quite delicious (or shall I say so delicious?), but it's really expensive. However, for this recipe, I decided to splurge. :) I bought the "plain" flavor because it lets you taste the coconut.

Coconut Cream Pie Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional, but recommended)
• 1/8 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup So Delicious Coconut Greek-style yogurt
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Bring coconut milk to a boil, add rolled oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you'd like to add chia seeds, do so now.)
2. Meanwhile, heat up a small skillet over medium heat. Once it's warm, add a handful or two of shredded coconut. Keep an eye on this; alternate between tossing/stirring the shredded coconut and stirring the oatmeal. Once the coconut turns a pretty golden color, take it off the heat. Congratulations; you just toasted coconut! ;)
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add a pinch of salt and stir. Then, stir in about 1/3 of the yogurt.
4. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, dried fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds), do so now.
5. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Add another splash of coconut milk, and then top with the remaining yogurt and toasted coconut.

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Nutty 'Nana Berry Oatmeal

I've been selfish with this one. Really selfish.

I've been making this for months. Really. Months. And it's not that I was "perfecting the recipe" or anything like that. No, not at all. In reality, I just never had the opportunity to photograph it! I was either too lazy, it was raining, I didn't have any good dishes to use for a picture, or I was in a hurry.

Normally, I make this strawberries, and it's delightful. It's essentially my Strawberry Banana Oatmeal, but with the addition of peanut butter (or any nut butter), which--as I'm sure you'll agree--makes everything better.

However, I had fresh blueberries from the farmers market this time, so I used that. I would imagine that fresh blackberries or raspberries would be lovely, too...or even a mixture of them! Oh man...can you imagine using a mixture of strawberries and blueberries? *sigh*

P.S. Have you ever seen oatmeal look so sexy before? Martini glasses are the hot pink stiletto of the food industry.

Nutty 'Nana Berry Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1/2 a ripe banana
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1-2 tbsp nut butter
• a couple large handfuls of fresh berries
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you'd like to add flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
2. Mash up banana and add to the oatmeal. Stir.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Stir.
4. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, dried fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds), do so now.
5. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, add the nut butter in small globs, dropping them various spots of the saucepan (if you add it in all at once, you'll have a difficult time "spreading out" the nut butter, and it will stubbornly stay in one clump). Swirl a spoon around the oatmeal a few times.
6. Drop in berries and stir them gently, just enough for them to get warmed up and "wet." Then transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, etc.). You could also top with more fruit, like I did.

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Dirty Chai Oatmeal

I wish coffee shops would stop bastardizing chai.

You know what I mean. You know exactly what I mean. The standard coffee shop version of chai tea comes in powdered form and is full of sugar. It gives me absolutely no control over ingredients. With other drink selections, I can request soy milk or only one pump of flavor. With chai tea, I'm stuck with the powdered sugarfest.

Thus, I rarely order it. Instead, I try to recreate it in my oatmeal. :) In case you're not familiar with a dirty chai, it's basically chai with a shot of espresso. This is how my friend Tiffany often ordered it, and I would always have a sip or two. Mmmmm.

Dirty Chai Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 2/3 cup strong brewed coffee (I used cold press!)
• 1/3 cup milk of choice
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1/2 a ripe banana
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (I didn't have this, so I made it without)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Bring coffee and milk to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium.
2. Mash up banana and add to the oatmeal. Stir.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, spices, and salt.
4. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, nuts), do so now.
5. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice (and/or more coffee) and any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.).

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal

This wasn't the recipe I intended to post today, but I'd say it makes a pretty good back-up, don't you think?

I was poking around my sister's kitchen when I discovered the most glorious thing: a jar of pumpkin butter. Half of me was overjoyed, yet the other half of me was peeved. I knew exactly when and where she got that jar...because I bought one, too. We were at a glorious souvenir shop in Estes Park, Colorado. It was a little over a YEAR ago. I finished mine within a couple of months.

...Hers is still nearly full.

I was appalled! However, I opened it up, stirred it a little, and sniffed it. It seemed perfectly fine still, despite being over a year old. It needed some love, though (after being ignored for so long), so I made the recipe that I used to make last summer when I had my own jar...but I made it even better by adding some chocolate chips. :)

The awesome thing about pumpkin butter is that it's already seasoned and very flavorful. It tastes like pumpkin pie in a jar! That makes it a great candidate for "5 ingredients or less" recipes. However, if you can't get a hand on any pumpkin butter, you could recreate it by using pumpkin pie filling OR regular pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie spices.

Pumpkin & Chocolate Chip Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 2 tbsp. pumpkin butter
• pinch of salt
• handful of chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I use 1/2 c original almond milk and 1/2 c water water) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. I also add a spoonful of milled flax at the same time as my oats.
2. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add the pumpkin butter and salt. Stir.
3. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, raisins, sunflower seeds), do so now.
4. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and chocolate chips. I also topped with sliced banana.

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Mocha Oatmeal (with Variations)

Wednesday morning, I had great plans for a Peppermint Mocha Oatmeal. I planned it while falling asleep the night before, and I woke up eager to try it out.

My dreams came crashing down when I opened my mother's bottle of mint extract, only to get an awful whiff of spearmint. SPEARMINT!! Ugh. It was a combination of spearmint and peppermint. Unacceptable!

I was not about to have spearmint mocha--gross. Instead, I just went with a simple mocha oatmeal, along with a little bit of vanilla extract to enhance the chocolate flavor.

Like my Thin Mints or Lemon Poppy Seed Oatmeal, I used banana to sweeten it. I swear you won't taste it. I knew I wouldn't be able to taste it with peppermint or almond extract, but I was very surprised that I didn't even taste it with just vanilla extract! The coffee and chocolate flavors are very strong and mask the banana taste well.

The fun thing about this recipe is that the variations are endless! Instead of vanilla extract, you could use PEPPERMINT extract (not spearmint...) for a peppermint mocha, ALMOND extract for an almond mocha, etc. Imagine the possibilities: hazelnut, caramel, coconut, butterscotch, Irish cream, French vanilla....

Mocha Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 2/3 cup strong brewed coffee (I used cold press!)
• 1/3 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I used Country Choice Organic)
• 1/2 a ripe banana
• 1 rounded tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Bring coffee and milk to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium.
2. Mash up banana and add to the oatmeal. Stir.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add cocoa powder, vanilla extract (or whatever flavor you want to use), and salt.
4. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, nuts), do so now.
5. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice (and/or more coffee) and any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.).

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Easy variations:

White Chocolate Mocha Oatmeal

Add a handful of white chocolate chips toward the end (either let them melt and stir them in, or simply sprinkle them on top when serving).

Almond Mocha Oatmeal

Use 1/4 tsp almond extract instead of vanilla extract.

Peppermint Mocha Oatmeal

Use 1/4 tsp peppermint extract instead of vanilla extract. Top with a sprig of fresh peppermint when serving, if you have it! :)

Butterscotch Mocha Oatmeal

Add a handful of butterscotch chips toward the end (either let them melt and stir them in, or simply sprinkle them on top when serving).

Coconut Mocha Oatmeal

Use coconut milk with the coffee for your cooking liquid, and top with shredded coconut at the end. The vanilla extract is optional.

Almond Joy Mocha Oatmeal

Use 1/4 tsp almond extract instead of vanilla extract, and top with shredded coconut at the end.

Of course, you could also use flavored syrups as well. :)

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Blueberry Cashew Oatmeal

My mother is pretty wonderful. She knew I was coming to spend about two weeks at her and my father's house, so she stocked up on food that she knew I would like: apples, bell peppers, honeydew, cantaloupe, whole wheat bread, watermelon, almond milk, organic spring mix (!!), and several varieties of nuts.

One of those nuts was cashews. What a treat! They are actually my mother's favorite nuts, so I'm not surprised she picked them. ;) I personally prefer almonds and pecans, so it's not often that I have cashews. I'm not switching my allegiance yet, but I will say it was nice having something different.

In other news, I received major news yesterday. Back in January, I applied to be a part of a tutor corps at a charter school in Boston. I got a phone interview with them, but ultimately didn't make it past that stage. To my credit, that program claims to be more competitive than the Harvard College of Education. Hmph.

Anyway, despite being turned down by them, they passed my information on to another school in Newark. At first, I was hesitant. Barney and Ted don't have nice things to say about New Jersey on How I Met Your Mother. :) However, a couple weeks after I initially received the email from this school, I decided I had nothing to lose and applied.

I didn't think my phone interview went that well, but I received another email yesterday requesting me to make an on-site visit! Ah! I can almost taste the success; I'm so close!

Most people are happy for me, but I'm still getting an occasional "....Newark?!?!" (with the nose wrinkled) comment. No, it's not paradise. But neither is Small Town, South Dakota. This isn't a vacation; this is a job to help hundreds of young middle school students in troubled homes realize their full potential. I'm not looking for palm trees and hammocks. Just living 20 minutes from Manhattan will be enough of a thrill for me!

So anyway... :) This recipe is super easy. I wondered if the blueberries would be enough to sweeten it, but it was...for me, anyway. If you aren't used to no-sugar recipes, you may have to find a way to sweeten yours. :) Oh, and if you don't have blueberries (or don't like them), I imagine that any berry would work fine!

Blueberry Cashew Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (can sub in any berry)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• handful of cashews

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I use 1/2 c original almond milk and 1/2 c water) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium.
2. Add frozen blueberries. Stir.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract and salt.
4. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, raisins, sunflower seeds), do so now.
5. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and top with cashews.

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Banana-Berry and White Chocolate Oatmeal

Have you ever looked at the ingredients list for white chocolate?

Like most of my recipes, this particular one was sitting in my mind for a while. I didn't want to actually buy white chocolate chips, though; it's not an ingredient I would use a lot, and I knew my mom had a bag. Thus, my plan was to wait until I was visiting my parents to try this out. So that's what I did.

However, I also looked at the ingredients list as I was making it. Umm...how can white chocolate legally call itself "chocolate?" It's essentially sugar, milk, and other crap. Still, I was too emotionally invested in this recipe to turn back, so I continued. :)

The first time I made this, I didn't include the banana. I'll be honest: I hated it. :) It was just...not great. The second time, I tried it with banana and much less berries (and mostly blueberries, my favorite berry), and I actually really liked it. I'm not sure if I'll make it again (because of the white chocolate, which kind of grosses me out now), but it was definitely delicious enough to share! 

Edit: Here is a much better brand of white chocolate chips, if you're interested!

Banana-Berry & White Chocolate Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1 ripe banana
• handful of frozen berries (I used blueberry and raspberry)
• pinch of salt
• handful of white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium.
2. Mash up ripe banana and add to the oatmeal. Add frozen berries. Stir.
3. Once more of the liquid has dissolved, add a pinch of salt and stir. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, dried fruit), do so now.
4. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and a handful of white chocolate chips.

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Fudgy Banana and Peanut Butter Oatmeal

**This post has been updated since its original post in July 2012**

Which oatmeal do I run home to after a tough day at work? Which oatmeal is good enough to be my breakfast on my 23rd birthday? Which oatmeal do I turn to when my produce drawer is looking empty? Which oatmeal contains the best flavor trio (chocolate, banana, and peanut butter) EVER?

This recipe was originally included as an option in my Variations on Peanut Butter Oatmeal post, but a porridge this good deserves special treatment. We're talking about my favorite recipe, you guys.

After all...it's pretty much heaven in a bowl. Sweet and creamy bananas...salty peanut butter....fudgy chocolate...ahhhh. But it's so simple, too! I always have cocoa powder. I always have peanut butter. I always have bananas. If I don't have a fresh banana available, I have some frozen bananas sliced up in the freezer, waiting for me at my convenience. This recipe is as dependable and cheap as it is delicious.


And if I may, I actually would recommend trying Hershey's Dark Chocolate cocoa powder. I used that for many of my chocolate oatmeal recipes (which is why my chocolate oatmeals are so blackish). However, I frequently make this with regular cocoa powder (like in these photos) and it's still marvelous.

Marvelous enough to be my #1.

If you've tried this recipe, please let me hear your reviews in the comments section! We can fawn over this porridge together.

Fudgy Banana and Peanut Butter Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 rounded tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 or 2 tbsp peanut butter
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water) to a boil, add rolled oats, and reduce heat to medium.
2. Mash up a ripe banana and add to the oatmeal. Stir.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir. If it doesn't look very chocolaty, add more cocoa powder.
4. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, drop in small clumps of peanut butter and stir in. I don't like to stir mine in completely. I like it left in clumps so I get bursts of peanut butter flavor every few bites. :)
5. Transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and any other additional toppings (chocolate chips, shredded coconut, nuts, etc.).

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Cherry Garcia Oatmeal

This recipe has been on my mind for at LEAST half a year. Why, oh why, must cherries cost so much??

I once tried this with cheap cherry jam. I was at a diner for Sunday breakfast, and they had those little individual packets of jams. I immediately thought of my chocolate-cherry idea, and I snatched one and hid it in my purse. ;)

Sadly, it did not turn out as I had hoped. Cheap, processed cherry jam is lame. Luckily, I can confidently tell you that FRESH CHERRIES are spectacular, and they make this oatmeal so wonderful. Finally, my chocolate-cherry dreams have been met!

Cherry Garcia Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 10 or so cherries, fresh or dried
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• handful of dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water) to a boil. While you're waiting for it to begin boiling, prepare your cherries: rinse, slice in half, and remove the pits. Set the prepped cherries in a bowl and set aside.
2. Once the liquid is boiling, add the rolled oats and reduce heat to medium.
3. Dump in your halved cherries (save some for topping, if you wish) and stir!
4. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract and salt.
5. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, raisins, sunflower seeds), do so now.
6. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, drop in about half of the chocolate chips and lightly swirl them into the oatmeal. Then, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice, and top with the remaining chocolate chips (and cherries) and any other preferred toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, etc.).

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!

Apple-Cherry Oatmeal

My family is quite accepting of my oatmeal love. In fact, when we were camping the other day, my mom made sure to have some rolled oats and almond milk packed for me. How sweet!

Even more sweet was what she bought for me: fresh cherries. I've wanted to use them in oatmeal for the longest time, but they're so gosh darn expensive! I mentioned to her that I've always wanted some, and much to my delight, she actually bought some!

I couldn't believe how delicious this was. Cherries taste delightful on their own, but cooked in oatmeal really brought out the flavor. Some fruits lose their flavor in oatmeal. Cherries seem to gain flavor!

Apple-Cherry Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 5 min

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Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1 small apple
• 5 or more cherries, fresh or dried
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I use an equal mixture of almond milk and water) to a boil.
2. While you're waiting for the liquid to boil, prep your fruits. Slice and dice your apples, and cut your cherries in half and remove the pits. Set them aside in a bowl.
3. Once the liquid starts to boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. Add flax or chia if you'd like. Then, add apples and cherries.
4. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, salt, and cinnamon. Stir.
5. If you'd like to add any extra ingredients (coconut oil, raisins, sunflower seeds), do so now.
6. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl. Serve with another splash of your milk of choice and any other additional toppings (shredded coconut, nuts, etc.). You could also top with more cherries!

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**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!