A Breakfast Flashback: Cocomeal

 I know, I know- why make  "faux"meal in the middle of summer? Well, I was getting tired of smoothies and turkey bacon, so I thought I'd try my hand at something different.

Honestly, one food item that I miss most, besides my mom's DELICIOUS ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls made every Christmas, is oatmeal. I miss waking up on a rainy day to a steamy bowl of oatmeal with raisins, and sometimes, brown sugar. But those days are over, but sometimes I just want to relive the past. So, I did- sort of. This time with coconut. 

If you would have told me even a year ago, that basically everything I would eat would be coconut based, I probably would have laughed. Laughed and then stuck my tongue out in a "that's yucky" face. I used to hate coconut with a passion. Seriously, I would not touch anything that came within fifty feet of coconut or coconut smell. I even hated coconut lotion. But now, I absolutely love coconut! Granted, I'll probably never drink coconut milk by itself, but I am impressed with how much coconut I can tolerate.

  That said, if you hate coconut, DO NOT MAKE THIS BREAKFAST ITEM! Coconut is the nuts, bolts, and framework to this delicious creation. 


Needless to say, not only was I amazed that I ate all of it, but that I made it the next day. This simple meal caught me by surprise! It tastes even better with fresh fruit, and can easily be transformed into different variations. I added some fresh nectarine and sprinkled more chia seeds in it. The next day, I added some applesauce, cinnamon, and blueberries for a cinnamon-apple-blueberry creation. It was delicious! Feel free to add in more nuts, fruit variaties, seeds, etc. Make it your cocomeal!

~COCOMEAL~

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon coconut flour
1 teaspoon chia seeds

Directions: 

Toast shredded coconut by heating a sauce pan over medium- high heat on the stovetop. Be careful, because they burn easily and quickly. 

Next, stir in the water and coconut milk. Cover and bring to a light boil. Once it has reached a boil, add in the coconut flour and cook for about three minutes until it thickens. 

Finally add in the chia seeds and "extras" {flax seeds, applesauce,apples, etc.

**If you want it a little thicker, I've found that removing it from heat and allowing it to set about 5-10 minutes is a good technique. 




Variations:

For apple cinnamon, add 1/4  teaspoon more of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of applesauce (add the applesauce when you add in, and some chopped apples for an added punch.

For cinnamon blueberry, add fresh blueberries on top, and even a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. 

For orange-banana, add 1/2 tsp of orange zest and 1/2 of a banana, chopped.