happy oatober! celebrate with pumpkin pie oats

With the crisp air beginning to settle in for fall, warm and hearty breakfasts take center stage of my morning routine. In the colder months, I tend to lean heavily on oatmeal to fortify me at the start of each day, adding warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg for flavor and immune boosting power. 

Oatmeal is not only fueling and filling after an AM sweat sesh, but it is loaded with fiber, and protein and is adaptable to various dietary preferences. Oatmeal is a forever staple in my breakfast repertoire. Eating breakfast is essential to boosting your metabolism and improving focus. It helps to prevent overeating at meals and assists in achieving a healthy and a happy weight. 

This month marks the start of Oatober, a month long celebration of all things oats. I had the opportunity to kick off the celebration with Quaker and a few of my crunchy friends at OatMeals, a NYC-based cafe that offers over 30 sweet and savory varieties of oatmeal. One of my favorite variations that I sampled was pumpkin pie oats. Nothing quite says fall like pumpkin and spices. To replicate a version of the oatmeal at home, I roasted a kabocha squash and combined the filling with spices, maple, and, of course, oats to create the ultimate fall breakfast.

Pumpkin Pie Oats

serves 2

ingredients

• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 cup extra-thick rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or extract
• Small pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup unsulfered golden raisins
• 1/2 cup cooked pumpkin (I used roasted kabocha squash. Unsweetened canned pumpkin works fine too.)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup 
• 2 tablespoons toasted pecans
• Sprinkle of hemp seeds for garnish
• Milk of your choice 

 method

1. Soak oats, water, raisins, salt, and spices overnight in a small pot. In the morning, add pumpkin and maple syrup, mix well, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes. 
2. Divide into two bowls, garnish with pecans, hemp seeds, and milk of your choice. 

For more ideas on how to celebrate Oatober visit Quakeroatober.com

This post was created in partnership with Quaker. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that support crunchy radish.