Inspired by the incredibly moist and chocolate-y zucchini bread that my grandmother used to make when I was little, this oatmeal tastes like a treat, while making you feel great about getting something green into your breakfast.

Note, I used steel cut oats, so I started the recipe the night before, but you could also make this recipe using rolled oats, so that you can start the recipe in the morning.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (40g) steel cut oats
• 1 cup water
• pinch of Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 medium zucchini, grated
• 1 tsp stevia
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

The night before you plan to eat the oatmeal:

In a medium size pan, heat the oats and water over medium-high heat, with a lid on. Once the mixture reaches a boil, turn the burner off. Make sure to keep a close watch, because a boil over can happen very quickly (speaking from experience). You do not want to lose half of your oats all over the stovetop!

DO NOT REMOVE LID. This is very important. This keeps the heat inside, which is going to continue to cook the oats. Leave the covered pot on the stovetop overnight.

In the morning:

Turn the burner on to medium heat and add the salt and grated zucchini and stir to incorporate. Allow the mixture to simmer for approximately 8-10 minutes. Continue to stir often, until the mixture thickens and the zucchini softens.

Once the oats have thickened to your desired consistency, turn the burner off and add the stevia powder, then pour the vanilla extract over the top of it (which liquifies the powder so you don’t get clumps) and mix to incorporate. Then add the spices while continuing to stir.

Pour into a serving bowl and enjoy!

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

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