No Oat Oatmeal… It’s No-atmeal!
When you’re looking for a protein-packed breakfast, eggs and meat seem like the most obvious choice. But if you go for the most obvious choice every single morning, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. So on those mornings when meat and eggs aren’t what you’re craving and you wake up feeling less like a hunter and more like a gatherer, try Mark’s Daily Apple reader Doug Descant’s ingenious recipe for No-atmeal.
Pronounced “note-meal” (as in, no oatmeal) Doug’s recipe, that he submitted for the Primal Cookbook Challenge, is for all you ex-cereal lovers out there and for anyone who needs a warm bowl of comforting goodness on a cold winter morning. As Doug says, “it’s a hot meal full of essential proteins and fats, not to mention the necessary vitamins and minerals, in order to stay energized for the cold weeks ahead.”
In Doug’s recipe a blend of pecans, walnuts and a dash of flaxseed is warmed up with almond milk custard, mashed banana and almond butter to create a wholly satisfying hot cereal. The texture is rich and so is the flavor, especially when you add warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and a topping of fresh berries and almond milk. Just thinking about eating No-atmeal for breakfast is guaranteed to coax you out of bed in the morning.
Ingredients:
- 1 small handful of walnuts
- 1 small handful of pecans
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 banana, mashed
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (add more if you prefer it a little runny)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds
- 1 handful of goji berries or fresh berries
Directions:
Add walnuts, pecans, flax seed and spices to a food processor and pulse it down to a course grain, making sure to stop before it’s totally ground into a powder. Set aside.
Whisk together eggs and almond milk (Doug uses a Blender Bottle) until the consistency thickens a little bit into a loose custard. Thoroughly blend together the mashed banana and almond butter and add it to the custard, mixing well.
Stir in the nut mixture. Microwave or gently warm on the stove until the “no-atmeal” reaches your desired consistency; this should only take a few minutes. In both cases, stir the mixture frequently as it cooks.
Sprinkle pumpkin seeds and berries on top. Add more almond milk if you want. Lick the bowl clean!
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Posted By: Worker Bee
i have to agree…no microwave, just a few extra minutes o the stove to make a healthy hearty meal. ~j
Just made a 1/2 recipe for lunch. Surprisingly tasty – much better than oatmeal or oat bran in my opinion. With Primal the hardest thing for me is the psychological issue with eating so much fat (even though it’s good fat!). I’ll get over it I am sure, but it is difficult!
Eat some farm-raised bacon, it’ll solve that problem!
Wow—I just made this for breakfast, but I subbed some pumpkin puree instead of bananas (didn’t have any). It is divine!
I’m really curious how adding chopped up hazelnuts and some cocoa powder would turn out? Like chocolate/hazelnut/pumpkin pie filling?!
*faints*
I just made a half recipe of this for lunch (using 2 eggs), substituting coconut milk for almond milk and pumpkin puree for banana, and it was pretty tasty. I resisted the temptation to add a bit of splenda, since I’m trying to re-train my sweet tooth and avoid artificial sweeteners. I also don’t know that I added quite enough of the spices – I didn’t measure them. But this is a great alternative to my traditional breakfast of fried or scrambled eggs, for the rare occasion I get sick of them, and it’s got a great nutrient balance (I don’t actually like banana, but I’m too sensitive to carbs to eat them, so pumpkin is a great sub).
I made this the other day using pumpkin, with nuts I’d roasted myself, heavy cream, and coconut flakes on top. omg. Doug, this stuff is great!
Thanks for this great recipe. I needed it as it got cold in South FL this week.
I hear ya dale. Just had it w/ pumpkin this morning. we about to have a freeze here in houston.
Hey cave gals and guys,
I want to give you an update on the no-atmeal.
I just made it using 1/2cup of cubed butternut squash that I roasted last week for another primal recipe (coming soon hopefully)
I prefer this version because it doesn’t involve anything that comes out of a can.
Here are the changes:
-1/2cup butternut squash cubbed and roasted with coconut oil and spices (mainly cinnamon, pinch of salt, all spice, and a touch of local honey)
- I put it in a 400* over for about 30min
- Let it cool down completely.
- I used coconut milk instead of almond milk. better IMHO
Everything else is pretty much the same. Try it and let me know what you think.
oh yeah, 1/2c of butternut squash is about 8-9 carbs. says my blackberry
Doug, thanks for this brilliant idea!
I eat pretty low carb in general (moving towards primal) but had never given up on a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I’d have a boiled egg, coconut oil and some whey protein as well, so figured that these would modulate the insulin spike, but even so I would generally be getting hungry a max of 3 hours later. Well, I made your Noatmeal this morning, with ground almonds, shredded coconut, whole milk and 1 banana and 4 eggs for two people – and it’s been 4 and a half hours and I’m still not really hungry. I’m just now starting to feel like I could eat something, but I wouldn’t starve if I didn’t.
Thanks so much!! It’s delicious and I will be trying all the variations! I’ll be thinking about going grain free too.
Lucy, you just made my day. I’m glad you enjoyed the No-atmeal. Enjoy the new sense of life you get from going primal.
Grok On!
I, too, am like Lucy and ate pretty low carb before I started making the albeit slow transition over, but always had to have something that was filling in the morning or else I would be like that person that didn’t get their cup/pot of coffee. Even before, this was typically the only meal of the day that I had carbs and it was steel cut oats. I just made this, Doug, and it was amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe. I tend to workout a good bit and so I am not even afraid to try this every day *gasp*. I also did like Lucy and used 2 eggs, mainly due to cost reasons. I’m so full that I should be able to skip my typical “mid-am snack”.
I agree with another poster above that if so many of you are so worried about a SINGLE banana, you really should take a step back and reevaluate. Thanks again, Doug! I look forward to more of your recipes.
Thanks for the kind words Brigette. I’m happy you liked it. Best of luck to you in your new PRIMAL life.
Wow, this looks amazing! I am not an oatmeal fan so trying this ‘no-atmeal’ will be nice. I actually went out and bought the ingredients yesterday so I know what I am having for breakfast. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Can’t wait
Patty
Thanks Patty.
Let me know what you think.
Grok On!
This recipe is awesome. I just made up a batch for tomorrow morning with the following additions: zest of 1 orange. about 1/2t salt. A drizzle of real maple syrup over the finished product. FANTASTIC. It should be noted that I’m not particularly fond of oatmeal and normally CAN’T STAND bananas. Also – there’s no way I’ll be able to eat this whole recipe in one sitting – I’ll just freeze the rest and save it for next week!
Hey Jeremy,
Thanks for trying it. If you’re not big on the bananas, try it w/ organic canned pumpkin. Lower carbs and pretty freak’n awesome too. A little dash of allspice kicks it up a few notches as well.
I love these ultra-sophisticated caveman recipes! This is just the kind of meal that makes me feel rubbish (anything with ground nuts/ seeds as a grain imitation seems to do that). I eat this kind of thing occasionally, and I try to justify it as primal, then regret it and realise that a bowl of raw oats (not so evil) with water/ milk and berries would probably be just as primal and make me feel a lot better.
If it works for some people, go for it, but it seems like a big investment of time/ money for a relatively high carb, processed, not so primal meal.
But, of course, it’s the removal of grains that is important to the primal diet and sometimes that kind of principle is the key to the PB working. But, I would recommend anything with mashed, cooked banana and ground nuts going into the ‘rare treat’ category.
I’m not trying to be critical, just looking at the other side.
i started making this recipe in jan when i first went primal and LOVE it. in fact, this recipe was one of the things that helped me quickly transition into primal without feeling deprived of grains (i’m like a junkie). however, i was never a fan of cinnamon oatmeal, so i substitute the spices in the recipe for shredded coconut and cocoa powder and a dab of vanilla extract. when i make this it lasts for 3 breakfasts, its so filling i can’t imagine eating the entire thing in one sitting.
tamizami,
glad you liked it and that it helped with your transition.
I was interested in making this until I saw how many calories were in it!!
I need to figure out how to make this without so many calories.
sandra,
you can substitute organic pumpkin for the banana which will bring the calories and sugars down.
you can also cut down the amount of nuts as well and still have it come out the same way. give it a shot and let me know.
OK … I’m relatively new to this primal concept. Aren’t we more concerned about moderating our insulin production than counting calories??? Are we better off with a higher calorie low glycemic meal (like noatmeal) versus a lower calorie alternative that generates a more robust insulin response?
I tried noatmeal for the 1st time this morning after a moderate workout (few dead lifts, pull ups, push ups, sit ups, body-weight squats) and LOVED IT! I may reserve noatmeal as a breakfast on days that I work out a little harder. Thoughts????
I made a similar recipe this morning:
1 mashed banana
1/4 cup of coconut milk
About 16-20 chopped almonds (I soaked them overnight)
1 tablespoon of honey (optional)
2 tablespoons of coconut flour
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
Mix it all together and serve. :]
I had this for breaky this morning – just like the real thing if not better!! And I didn’t find mine sweet at all – my banana wasn’t very ripe. I added blueberries and a generous splash of heavy cream yum!!
glad you liked it Low Carb Princess. keep living life.
@tarek
you have decided my breakfast for me tomorrow
This tastes great, I recommend it for anyone
okay I am a newbie here also, and I cannot see myself eating a delish pancake recipe WITHOUT SYRUP…help! how can i have syrup on my pancake without indulging in sugar?
This thread is about Oatmeal replacement, not for pancakes, however we will indulge you
Cherie, I was fortunate as I was never one to like my pancakes swimming in syrup, as I never even used much syrup to start with, I sometimes would use honey, however since going primal, I discovered Coconut Milk, I suggest you give this a try to help you make this transition. I also suggest add a date or two or even honey to help you with the sweetness, eventually you will use just the coconut milk and maybe a touch of honey or one date. I make my own Coconut milk by mixing some coconut cream with some water. coconut cream is found at Tropical Traditions on the web. great stuff and is somewhat sweet. hope this helps … Baby steps ok? Eventually you will even cut out the traditional pancakes made with flour. You will be making pancakes with coconut flour,coconut cream, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla.
I hate oatmeal (too slimy) but I made this the other day for my husband who loves oatmeal – he liked this a lot and I did too. I modified the recipe to make it more low-carb (no banana) but the basic bones of this recipe really served me well. Great idea – yum!
http://delishix.com/noatmeal-no-oatmeal-recipe/
I was skeptical, but this is really tasty and satisfying. I subbed blanched almonds for the pecans – I had them on hand and I loathe pecans. I also added some pumpkin seeds to the meal. Excellent! For those concerned about the egg getting cooked, just pop a candy thermometer in there to check your temps.
The the next occasion I read a weblog, I truly hope so it doesnt disappoint me around brussels. Come on, man, Yes, it was my option to read, but I just thought youd have some thing intriguing to state. All I hear can be lots of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy searching for attention.
I’m a newbie to pb, and like Mark said, I adore recipes that point me in the right direction and get me used to eating pb. I referee youth soccer, so during the playing season I’m not such a fiend about my carb intake, especially with weekends that have 12-13 games on my schedule at a tournament. Thank you so much for taking the time to post a yummy alternative to oatmeal (which I’m not a big fan of, I love Cream of Wheat, LOL) and for those of you who are worried about the whole banana, maybe use half of a banana? I’m definintely going to try the pumpkin version, I love pumpkin!! Thanks again!
My toddler was a HUGE hot cereal fan before we started Paleo. It’s only been 12 days, but she LOVES this. I haven’t had access to the Almond milk so we’ve used Coconut milk, but none the less she eats two servings of this when I make it. I don’t care what people’s motivations for making it are, I got this when I asked a friend for something other than eggs and something filling for the toddler and this is the website she sent and I’m so glad she did! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Wow, just made that for my 6-year-old daughter and she loved it. Me too. Sometimes a bowl of hot cereal really hits the spot.
OMG!! I have been jones-ing for some oatmeal the past couple weeks (since the weather is cooler) but refusing to give into the grain pull, and just making due with my hard boiled eggs. So then I stumbled upon this recipe!!! This is the BEST!!! It’s warm and gooey and just a nice comfort food!! That’s the part of the oatmeal, I figured out, that I was craving — the warm gooey goodness of a hot bowl of oatmeal. So now, it’s a warm gooey bowl of noatmeal!! So much better than traditional oatmeal!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Wow… very tasty, very filling and my son enjoyed it too which surprised me. He even came back for seconds, very pleased.
I didn’t have almond milk so substituted coconut milk.
trying this tomorrow…but a question first…why no oatmeal? even if they are steel cut oats?
forgive me if I missed the answer to this, I’m new to the site.
thanks
No oats due to oats being a grain and grains being no go on primal
This looks so good, I’m in love with all the ingredients. I must get a food processor so that I can have my no-oatmeal for breakfast and still stick to primal
This is so yummy! My toddler loves it, as do I. Great to find a good alternative to porridge as I’m turning the family paleo.
Thank you!