College Cooking Recipes: Tropical Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of the most versatile and affordable breakfast foods in the grocery store. It’s a breakfast that’s quick, filling, and has a world of possibilities. I throw in whatever I have in the pantry: craisins, raisins, fresh fruit, or nuts! I came up with this recipe after my bananas got a little too brown. The ingredients are not hard to come-by and are cheap. I usually get my groceries from Lidl because of the affordability, but any basic grocery store will have these ingredients. This recipe makes one large bowl of oatmeal.

Ingredients

1. Enough coconut oil (or butter) to coat the bottom of a pot
2. 1 sliced banana
3. 1 cup canned coconut milk (or milk of choice or water)
4. 1/2 cup oatmeal
5. 1/4 cup dried pineapple 
6. 1/4 cup frozen mango 
7. Honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar for sweetening at the end

How To:

1. Turn your stovetop on to medium heat (a 4 or 5) and coat the bottom of the pot with coconut oil. Slice the banana and add that to the pot. The banana will begin to become mushy as it pan fries it, and that’s okay!
2. Once the banana slices have caramelized (gotten a golden brown and slightly chewy texture) add in your milk of choice or water to the pot and turn the heat up to high so the liquid begins to boil and add the dried pineapple. If the pineapple chunks are large, feel free to cut them up. 
3. Once boiling, add the oatmeal and frozen mango stirring constantly. If you let the oatmeal sit, it will scorch the bottom of your pot. Keep stirring until the mixture comes together and there is little to no liquid in the bottom of the pot.
4. Scoop into a bowl and drizzle or sprinkle with desired sweetener.
5. Enjoy!