A New Spin on Oatmeal

OK. There have been lots of questions on whether oats are gluten free or not. Naturally, oats have no gluten in them. However, in most conventional processing plants, the oats are processed on the same equipment as wheat, and the protein strand that has the gluten in it can "contaminate" the oats, making them no longer gluten free. So it's not a very high level of gluten and after the detox it should be fine to go back to regular Quaker Oats unless you have a high sensitivity to gluten. However, during the detox, to establish whether you might have a gluten sensitivity, use gluten free oats from the health food store. These have been processed at a dedicated facility where there is no contact with any gluten. Anyways, here's a great recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup regular oats
• 1 cup almond milk (or rice)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 large carrot, finely grated (1 heaping cup)
• 2 tbsp coconut milk cream (use the cream off the top of the full-fat can only)
• 1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 2 tbsp crushed walnuts, divided
• 1 tbsp coconut milk cream + 1/2 tsp agave nectar (to drizzle on top)
• Shredded coconut, for garnish
• Cinnamon, for garnish
• Raisins, for garnish

Directions: Finely grate the large carrot to yield 1 heaping cup of grated carrots. Note that you want to use the fine grate, not the large one so the carrot shreds are very small.

In a medium sized pot over medium heat, add your almond milk, lemon juice, and coconut milk cream. Stir well. Add in your spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger) and salt. Stir again until mixed.

Stir in your grated carrots and oats. Adjust heat if necessary or bring heat to low if it starts to boil. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. When the mixture has thickened up, stir in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp crushed walnuts, and 2 tbsp of agave. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.

Top with 1 tbsp of crushed walnuts and 1 tsp of shredded coconut. Prepare your coconut milk cream + agave mixture and drizzle it over top. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish.

Serves 1 large portion or 2 small portions.