Eating With The Seasons: Simple, Healthy Oatmeal

There’s a time and a place for an elaborate meal. When you’re hosting Christmas dinner, sure, start cooking at noon and slow roast a massive prime rib, served with an au-jus of brandy and pan drippings.

When it’s 6:00 AM on a weekday in August and you’ve got to get the kids fed and ready for school and get out the door for work— that’s not the time to get fancy. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get healthy.

It’s times like these that we turn to a classic staple: oatmeal. It’s reliable, customizable, and done as fast as you can fill a bowl with oats, seeds, and fruits.

What to Put In Oatmeal

While you can put pretty much anything you want in oatmeal, there are a few guidelines we recommend to put together a perfect bowl:

• Oats: This one kind of goes without saying. You need oats to make oatmeal! However, not all oats are the same. Some are larger, or cook at a different rate than others. We go with a simple “Old-Fashioned Oats.”

• Seeds: Seeds are an incredible source of nutrients. We like to keep them on hand at all times in the fridge, to throw on a salad, in pancakes, or in oatmeal. If you’ve made our hemp seed pancakes, you know we love hemp, flax, and chia seeds. Hemp is one of the most effective ways of getting complete proteins from a vegan source. Flax is a source of magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and fiber. Chia seeds are a rich source of omega 3s, protein and antioxidants.

• Fruits: We always keep fresh fruit on hand, as well as some dried fruit. Oatmeal is a fantastic way to use dried fruits, since they’ll rehydrate when you pour water into the bowl. We always include goji berries, which are almost always found in a dried form. Goji is an incredible antioxidant that is also found in our Healthy Heart decoction, as well as a number of formulas we prescribe at the clinic.

• Nuts: Nuts are another fantastic source of protein. You can simply toss a handful of crushed walnuts into the bowl, or use a scoop of peanut butter or almond butter to give a robust, rich flavor to your oatmeal that is packed with protein.

• Sweeteners: Sweetness doesn’t have to ruin the nutritional value of your breakfast. Skip the refined sugar and go with the good stuff: honey and maple syrup!

You can mix and match from the above categories depending on what’s in season and what’s in your house. We’ve created a recipe that fits the current season: Late Summer.

Cooking for Late Summer

While most of us are used to recognizing 4 seasons in a year, Traditional Chinese Medicine has five seasons on the calendar. As of this writing, we’re entering into that fifth season— Late Summer.

As we’ve written in other blogs, TCM encourages changing your diet with each season to adjust to two things: 1) the produce that is abundant and fresh in a given season, and 2) the effect the climate has on our bodies. During the summer months, we’ve put an emphasis on fresh raw produce and leafy greens to introduce cold and combat the heat. That was a great solution to the hot and humid summer, but now it’s time to adjust, as those can lead to excess dampness in the body and poor digestion.

Late summer focuses on foods that encourage spleen and stomach health. We want to focus on earthy, naturally sweet foods, as well as whole grains like oats. Late summer is also a great time for balanced meals that are rich in protein, vegetables, and grains. As we’re transitioning away from summer heat and into the cold of autumn and winter, we also want to warm up our food— but not too much. Meals should be warm, but not hot. Spices like cinnamon are also a great way to aid digestion.

With all of those concepts in mind, a rich, delicious, sweet oatmeal with lots of vegetable proteins is the perfect way to serve your body this season. 

Oatmeal Recipe

Ingredients:

Note: these ingredients are per bowl of oatmeal. To make multiple servings, simply increase the amount of each ingredient by the number of additional people you are feeding.

— ½ cup oats

— 2 tbsp chia seeds

— 1 tbsp hemp seeds

— 1 tbsp flaxseed

— ½ cup goji berries

— ¼ cup walnuts

— ¼ cup dried strawberries

— salt (to taste)

— cinnamon (to taste)

— maple syrup (to taste)

Equipment:

— Tea kettle or large pot

— Serving bowls

— Spoon for mixing

— Large lid or plate 

Recipe:

— Bring water to boil in a kettle or large pot.

— While water is boiling, put oats into bowls. You can make individual bowls, or pour everything into a large bowl and make multiple servings at once.

— (Optional) Crush walnuts. This can be done to preference— we typically just break walnuts up by hand so they’re in large chunks, but you can make them smaller pieces as well. Avoid crushing everything into a powder, though.

— Add all other ingredients to the bowl(s) with oats except the walnut, syrup, and banana. Add salt and cinnamon to taste. We recommend a light amount of salt, and a generous helping of cinnamon. Mix together lightly.

— Once the water is boiling, pour it onto the oats. Mix everything thoroughly. 

Cover with a lid, plate, or cutting board. Let rest for 5-10 minutes, or until the ingredients in the bowl are rehydrated.

— Remove the lid, portion into smaller bowls (if necessary), and add the walnuts and banana. Drizzle maple syrup over the top and enjoy!