Hot Cocoa Oatmeal
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups full fat coconut milk or whole/raw milk
- 1 ½ cups water or more milk
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats See Notes
- ¼ cup buckwheat groats or more oats
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup coconut sugar See Notes
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- Optional add-ins to stir into the pot of oatmeal after cooking to boost nutrient variety: 1-2 tbsp flax seed meal, chia seeds, or hemp hearts. ¼ cup grassfed collagen.
- Optional toppings: Dollops or swirls of homemade whipped cream or Coco Whip Dollops or swirls of homemade whipped cream or Coco Whip, shavings of dark chocolate or chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, crushed naturally dyed candy canes (See notes)
Instructions
- Put everything except the optional add-ins and toppings into a medium sauce pan, and bring to a simmer. Put a lid on the pot, and allow the oatmeal to simmer on low for 10 minutes until the oats and buckwheat are tender, stirring occasionally along the way.
- Once the oatmeal is cooked, you can stir in any optional add-in's you want to use, and scoop the oatmeal into bowls. Add toppings to your desire, or set up a toppings bar for the kids to decorate!
- Leftover hot cocoa oatmeal can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days. To re-heat, add splashes of water to the oats and warm it up in a pan over low stove-top heat.
Notes
- I like to use sprouted oats for best digestion. If you have regular rolled oats, and follow traditional food preparation guidelines, and would like to soak your oats, you can swap ¼ cup of the milk for yogurt or whey and soak the oats in the liquid overnight.
- You can swap the coconut sugar for maple syrup or raw honey. I tend to use more like 1/4 cup of the sweetener if I plan to use sweet toppings like whipped cream or marshmallows. It leaves the oatmeal more "dark chocolate" in flavor, and less sweet to make up for the toppings. If you don't plan to use toppings, start with 1/4 cup and add more to your taste.
- If you want to stir in bone broth protein powder or protein powder of choice, you could add a vanilla or chocolate flavor. You will need to adjust the sweetener amount to make up for the sweetness in your protein powder.
- If you have little ones at home that do not typically have marshmallows or candy canes, I might suggest refraining from adding these for right now. It is much easier to explain to an older kid or teen that we are just having a little bit of the topping for fun today. You might get a melt-down out of a toddler or small child for “more,” and/or also a possible expectation to have the marshmallows at breakfast every day. It can be a hard temptation for small children to process.