Mango Oatmeal

Since I will be moving in a few months, I am more determined to eat through the backlog of stuff in my freezer and pantry.

I have a bit of frozen fruit, including frozen mango, in my freezer and I have found it hard to be inspired. Mango, so succulent and juicy is best fresh and I rarely cook or bake with it. Frozen mango deserves a special place in my kitchen, but so far I have been stumped. Until now.

My morning oatmeal is a great place to experiment and this did not disappoint.

I simmered my steel-cut oats and chia seeds with a bit of leftover mango nectar as well as these juicy frozen mango pieces, spiced it with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg and found myself in the tropics for breakfast. It couldn’t have been easier, especially since I used the quick-cook steel cut oats from Trader Joe’s.

While I could try to eat this all week, I have other baked mango dishes that I am contemplating:

Lentil Mango Picadillo from Eats Well With Others
Black Bean and Mango Curry from Branny Boils Over
Raw Mango Sorbet from Everyone is Vegan
Brazilian Black Bean Stew from 1000 Vegan Recipes
Mango BBQ Beans from Appetite for Reduction

This is my submission to this month’s Veggie/Fruit a Month, featuring mango.

Mango Oatmeal

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup mango nectar (optional, otherwise replace with more water)
1/2 cup steel cut oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup chopped mango (I used frozen)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
agave nectar, to taste (I didn’t think it needed any sweetener)

1. Bring water and mango nectar to a boil in a saucepan with a pinch of salt, then add steel cut oats and chia seeds.

2. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. If using frozen mango, add mango to oatmeal at around the 30 minute mark along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Continue cooking another 10-15 minutes, until you reach the desired consistency for your oatmeal.

Serves 2-3.