Apparently today is National Oatmeal Day. I couldn’t think of a better holiday to celebrate in late October! 
Hallowe’en is for chumps. Who wants to celebrate scary stuff, when you can celebrate oat-y goodness?
I guess you could celebrate both. If you like Hallowe’en.
I don’t, so I thoroughly enjoyed Oatmeal Day with this delicious bowl of ‘not-quite-carrot-cake-oatmeal’ 
Why ‘not-quite’? You might remember that one of my pet peeves is when someone states that they have created a healthified version of some delicious dessert, and it tastes just like the real thing. It hardly ever does.
So I’m not going to lie to you. You’re never going to convince yourself that oatmeal is carrot cake.
But it is delicious! My second favorite oatmeal combination yet (nothing beats exploding blueberry!)
Not-Quite-Carrot Cake Oatmeal
- 1/3 C rolled oats
- 2/3 C water
- 1/3 C milk
- dash salt
- 1 T ground flax
- 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
- 1 small carrot, shredded (about 1/3 C)
- 1 T nonfat greek yogurt
- 1 T maple syrup
- 1 T pecans
Combine first 7 ingredients in saucepan. Heat over med heat until boiling. Simmer a few minutes, until the oatmeal thickens to your liking.
While oats are simmering, combine yogurt + maple syrup. Drizzle over oats and add pecans.
Enjoy!
Which do you prefer, Oatmeal Day or Hallowe’en? My preference is clear! I hate scary stuff!
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Lovely looking oats! I bet it tasted darn close to carrot cake.
I have to say that I do love Halloween, a lot…it’s one of my fave holidays. However, I didn’t know that oatmeal day existed until today, so I may have to rethink my top list of holidays 
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I need to try applesauce in my oatmeal. I’ve been eating mine with banana in it, but I think I would like this even better. Great idea. : )
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How could I not know it was Oatmeal Day! I may have to make up for it tomorrow! Yours looks fantastic btw!
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wow now this is one creativev bowl of oats! i love thte idea of using applesauce and carrots in here! you are such a smartie pants!!
hoooraaaayyy for oatmeal day!
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Oatmeal day! I don’t get too into Halloween, don’t know why but never have
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Hehe, I agree with you on Carrot Cake oatmeal. I made some based off a popular blog’s recipe, and for one of the first times, didn’t even finish it. I had such high hopes it’d taste “exactly like carrot cake” that it was a let down.
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Hi Allison! I choose Oatmeal Day because Halloween celebrates the mass purchase of processed refined sugar candies and their distribution to children. I don’t mind, and I think all kids should enjoy the innocence of candy, but it kind of also sets them up for later processed food binges. About healthy good-tasting oats: Have you tried buying the groats of oats and the milled oat “powder” you can buy in a bag? If you cook both together at the same time, it makes oatmeal much richer and deeper. And how can you say the healthier version doesn’t taste as well as the processed version? Many healthy versions of foods not only taste as well as the processed ones, but better! I won’t eat oatmeal now without the added milled oat powder. Steel cut oats are awesome, and you can find them at any health food grocery store. Speaking of carrots, look into Pacific brand cashew-ginger-carrot soup… a delight on a cold day… almost better than sex! Anyway, just giving you and your blog a shoutout… I’m blogging to better health too, and after dropping high fructose corn syrup from my diet have lost 10 pounds without even thinking about it. Best to you in good health, Heather
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Allison Reply:
October 30th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Heather – I never said the healthier version doesn’t taste as good as the processed version. But usually, the healthified version is not as good as the REAL version. Carrot Cake oatmeal is delicious, but it’s not Carrot Cake
and I love oatmeal, as you can see!
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Looks great, love the swirl
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Those oats look and sounds AMAZING. Yum.
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National Oatmeal day…hm, that’s awesome! And blueberry oatmeal is definitely my favorite too!! It really is pretty much as good as blueberry pancakes.
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I’m with you on the healthy thing tasting like the real thing – while good – the healthy hardly, okay, never tastes the same!
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I like both. I didn’t know that oatmeal day existed.
If you hadn’t explained that was oatmeal with carrots in it, I would have thought that it was pumpkin. I think oatmeal with pumpkin in it would be delicious – pumpkin pie oatmeal anyone?
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