Carrot Cake Oatmeal with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup (40g) rolled oats
• 1/2 cup skim milk (or your favorite milk substitute)
• 1/2 cup water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 medium banana, sliced into thin pieces
• 1 + 1/8 tsp vanilla extract (Best. Vanilla. Ever.)
• 1 + 1/8 tsp stevia
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbsp (6.5g) wheat germ
• 2 tbsp fat-free greek yogurt (I use Fage)
• 1 tbsp mascarpone or cream cheese (you could use fat free or low-fat)
• 0.2 oz walnut pieces, toasted

Directions
In a medium size pan, heat the grated carrot, oats, milk, water, and salt over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to simmer, approximately 5-6 minutes, stir in the sliced banana. Continue to stir, almost whipping, until the banana breaks down and the mixture thickens and becomes creamy, about another 5-6 minutes. The fresh carrot gives off quite a bit of water, so this recipe takes a little longer to thicken up. As I have mentioned in many of my oatmeal recipes, I really like utilizing the banana because it adds so much volume to the oats.

In a separate small-size bowl, add the greek yogurt, 1/8 tsp of stevia, and 1/8 tsp vanilla and whip together using a hand mixer on medium-low speed. Set aside.

Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract, wheat germ, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and stevia, to the oatmeal and stir until incorporated. Pour into a serving bowl and top with the cream cheese mixture and the walnuts. Delish!

Note: I used less stevia and vanilla in the mascarpone and yogurt mixture than in the past because Ryan asked me to make it a little less sweet. I personally like more sweet, so I would add a dash more of these two ingredients, but if you prefer a less sweet option, stick with 1/8 tsp of each.

This recipe was very very carrot cake like. We are both huge carrot cake fans, so this was quite a treat. In the future when I make this, I am going to add golden raisins at the beginning, when I add the carrots (so they can plump up), I just didn’t have any on hand today.

Nutritional Info
1 servings = per serving

Calories: 383
Fat: 12 g
Carbs: 55 g
Protein: 16 g

Check out more recipes from my 30-Day Oatmeal Challenge.