A few days ago I spruced up one of the planter beds in our front yard. My husband removed some big shrubs and then I planted some new plants and laid down some fresh mulch. It looks really nice and fresh with the tulips and daffodils in bloom.
Saturday morning I was getting ready to go mountain biking and saw a cute little black cat playing in my newly updated planter bed. What a cute cat, I thought, playing in the mulch! I went and got my phone so I could take a picture of this darling cat. But as I zoomed in with my camera I realized he was not playing. He was doing unspeakable things in my mulch! I stared on in horror. He stared back all like, what are you gonna do about it. And then he watched as I cleaned it up. What a jerk.

And then I went mountain biking and it was glorious. But before I went mountain biking I had a hearty bowl of oatmeal. Most days I just have a protein shake, but on days when I’m going to be doing something strenuous like biking or running, I need more carbs in my breakfast!

Now, look at me acting like I invented oatmeal. I totally didn’t. But this bowl of oatmeal is one I want to make again because it was sweet and cinnamon-y like a cinnamon roll minus the heart burn and diabetes. So here you go.

Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal
Makes 1 serving

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
4 dates, pitted and chopped
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
Nut butter of your choice to taste (almond, peanut, sunflower, etc)

Combine dates, oatmeal and almond milk in a microwave safe bowl and heat until the oats are cooked. My method is to microwave until it’s about to overflow then stir and repeat. Sprinkle with cinnamon and top with nut butter as desired. Stir and enjoy once the oatmeal has thickened. This would make an excellent overnight oat recipe too!

Have a great Monday!
Laura