Best bowl of oats I’ve had in AGES!
The secret: cottage cheese. It really fluffs up the texture, creams it up and makes the flavors pop.
Also, you must use a perfectly ripe banana
Plus I added some chopped figs. Just love the little seed crunch!
Finally replenished my coconut + ground flax stock (I bought whole flax and ground it in my coffee grinder). I put the coconut on top and stirred the flax in at the end. I buy sweetened coconut. The unsweetened stuff is just gross.
MY OTHER RECIPES
I think organic cottage cheese tastes SOOOO much better than regular. I usually buy Organic Valley low-fat but they didn’t have that at the store I went to so I got Horizon. It’s also delicious.
I had also been afraid to try this grass-fed milk, fearing it would have some strange taste to it. But I decided to pick some up on an emergency trip to restock milk on Wednesday and it’s quite good. Tastes pretty normal to me (they didn’t have skim at the store I visited so I had to get 2% – a treat! Mmm!)
Put it all together and whaddya get – plus Hungry Bar crumbles and TJs Sunflower. AMAZING combo!
One gorgeous morning!
Friday Dance! 
Cottage cheese also adds lots of protein so I bet those oats will fill you up for a long time this morning!
Gorgeous pics this morning! Love that spoon too!
Have a great day 🙂
It is gorgeous here too… but chilly! 🙂
Happy Friday. It was a good one over here, and now I’m off to Saturday already! 🙂
It’s funny how sometimes you just make a perfect bowl! I was driving to work this morning (1/2 hours after eating) and noticed how perfectly SATISFIED I felt. It was pretty awesome.
Friday dance! Haha 😛
It’s fun to drink my morning tea and eat my bowl of oats while reading about YOUR bowl of oats. 🙂
2% is a treat. I’ve not seen that grass fed milk–I think it’s the name that makes you think it’s gonna taste weird. They should do something about that 🙂 Love the Friday dance face!
Love sweetened coconut! So good with pumpkin. I agree, the unsweetened stuff isn’t worth my money or calories. Meh.
Laura
I am soooo glad its Friday 🙂
I don’t drink milk anymore, but when I did, I loved buying 2% once in a while. The taste is so much better than skim!
I haven’t had cottage cheese oats in so long– I forget how good they are! Yum!
I have tried to embrace oatmeal but I just can’t. Reading these blogs makes me wish I loved oatmeal!!
Try the overnight cold oats if you haven’t already. I’m not crazy about hot oatmeal but LOVE the cold overnight ones!
i agree! i cannot do the cooked oats, but overnight stell cut oats – the best!
oops *steel
I have been wanting to try cottage cheese in my oats, because I love both items SO much separately…do you just stir it in at the end?
Also…dried figs + oats = match made in heaven. 🙂
I really need to try sweetned coconut…oh, and figs. I’m just finishing my oats for breakfast too….breakfast is my favorite part of the day!
I love unsweetened coconut! The sweetened is too sweet for me.
I want your breakfast! Except I want fresh dates instead of figs, and I actually LIKE unsweetened coconut (the sweetened stuff is TOO sweet for me!).
Those figs look delicious…I really need to try the lighter variety!
I had figs in my oats this morning, too! I used Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oats and 5 Grain hot cereal (to equal a quarter cup) and used the whipped banana method. Also added unsweetened dark cocoa powder…worked well with the figs! Yummy!
Made Steel Cut oats in my slow-cooker last weekend and they were awesome! Just the oats, water, some almond milk, cinnamon and dates. The whole house smelled amazing.
Thanks, Kath for all you do. We appreciate you!
Thank YOU for reading!
Grass is what cows are SUPPOSED to eat 🙂 Milk from 100% pastured (i.e., grass-fed) cows should theoretically be more nutritious (more omega-3’s, for one thing), than milk from the corn-fed factory farm cows.
Enjoy your gorgeous morning. We have a pretty great one here, too — off to “run” some errands by bike!
I know 🙂 That’s why I bought it!
I love labelling that gets people thinking. I’m vegan but even if I wasn’t I don’t think I would buy milk if it said “from corn-fed cows” on the label. By now we all know that cows are not really supposed to be eating corn. It’s pretty awful to think that most dairy milk comes from cows that NEVER get to eat grass.
Ohh love the addition of figs, must try this soon!
I should get some regular coconut. It does taste better and I only need a little.
Mmm! I happen to have a little tub of cottage cheese that I was wondering about incorporating into my oats this morning! Tomorrow!!!
I LOVE your “K” mug. We did you find it? I think it would be a great Christmas gift for friends…I know I’m already thinking of Christmas.
Also, I am glad I found someone who loves oats just as much as I do! Here’s to a delish breakfast 🙂
Anthropologie!
Awesome! Thank you 🙂
I need to retry cottage cheese. I had a bad introduction to it years ago!
I’m also one of those that prefer unsweetened coconut to sweetened–but I’m also not a pumpkin-lover and really like onions . . . . to each their own, eh?
Say it ain’t so!
Happy FRIDAY! Your oats always look so good. I wish I liked oats. I also wished I could get back into eating cottage cheese, but it’s one of those foods I totally went overboard on during my “clean eating” stage. I used to buy big tubs at costco. GAG.
Oh I wanted to tell you I also tried those chocolate nibs from TJ’s you posted about. They are fab!
Cottage cheese is the ONE food I have never been able to enjoy at all.
2% milk would do a number on my tummy. I have never tried cottage cheese in oats but I love ricotta.
I’m going to the store tonight so perhaps I will pick some up. Happy Friday!
That is the only milk I buy. It tastes better and last longer than Horizon, Organic Valley etc
Yum, yum! That bowl looks perfectly satisfying in every way. 😀
You do know that skim is by far the worst kind of milk? Whole Raw Unhomgenized is ideal next would be whole unhomgenized pasteurized followed by whole homgenized. Organic is better than conventional obviously. Please stop buying skim!!
One opinion… do you have a source on why whole is better? I’d say 1% or 2% is best.
I don’t have a source (other than what I learned working at a health food store for a year), but many of the vitamins in minerals in milk are stored in the milk-fat. Raw, unhomegenized milk has a lot of “good” bacteria for your body. However, you can get that same bacteria from yogurt or probiotics. And skim milk isn’t inherently evil. 🙂 It all depends how you like to “spend” your fat serving for the day.
Other than vitamin A being fat-soluble, skim and whole milk are pretty comparable nutrient wise (meaning protein, calcium). The difference mostly is in the fat. I think whole milk is a bit toooo much, but 2% is a dream. I usually settle for 1% when I can find it. It’s my favorite flavor.
Friday dance ALL the way 🙂
I must admit, you inspired me to try cottage cheese oats, and I don’t think I can ever go back! They are amazing!
Hey – I have a mug like that too. Did you get it from Anthropologie? (Sp?) I think that’s where I got mine…
anyway, oatmeal looks amazing!
ooh! i’d like to find grass-fed milk around here!
why on earth would you be afraid of grass-fed milk? cows are meant to eat grass not organic corn.
Afraid of the taste – that’s all. Of course I eat grass-fed beef all the time.
I think flax makes a huge difference in oats! I think it just brings the whole thing together perfectly! Enjoy your day!
I love adding cottage cheese to my oats. I usually add it after though to cool them down a bit. I’m not a huge coconut person but it looks delish in your breakfast!
I think the reason I never like sweet oats is bc you didn’t make them Kath ;D Will you make me breakfast ?? hehehehe!
I hear you on the organic cottage cheese. It is SO much better than regular! I am obsessed with Nancy’s Organic Cottage Cheese. It’s amazing.
Coconut on oatmeal sounds amazing…I too am doing a Friday dance!
TGIF!! Definitely a Friday worth doing a dance for- it was a long week!
I am currently having a great bowl of oats made with cinnamon applesauce. SO good. I love fall oats.
oats with cottage cheese sound s so yum
i have to second the comment on the deliciousness of organic valley cottage cheese! i had decided i liked it b/c it’s so salty tasting and was afraid the sodium content was high until my grocery was out of it so i had to buy another brand and was able to compare. organic valley did NOT have higher sodium!!! i’m not sure what makes it so tasty-er? i’m glad to hear horizon is also good….i might try it in a pinch even tho i don’t like their milk.
delicious combo – i too am a big fan of cottage cheese. my hubby isn’t. more for me!!!
Stick with Organic Valley when you can. Horizon gets BAD marks for their dairy farming practices and they get fined all the time for violating the “organic” requirements (but they are huge and can afford to pay the fines.) Check out cornucopia.org for independent ratings. Sorry, but I get a little upset when large corporations try to market themselves as something they are not.
Between You and Kailey posting about cottage cheese, I’m definitely going to add it to my shopping list! Your oats look delicious!
Sounds good, but I disagree about the coconut. The sweetened is too sweet for me!
i think i never had sweetend coconut actually!
love the look of your bowl!
coconut and cottage cheese are definitely two of my top oatmeal favs!
gorgeous bowl!
Love,
Cathy B. @ brightbakes
i dont think i’ve had cottage cheese. i never knew what to do with it so thanks for sharing!
Unsweetened coconut is yum, not gross. And it’s great in homemade granola! : D
I can’t seem to have oats without cottage cheese anymore! It’s perfect 🙂
I love coconut on oatmeal! So good!
Kath,
I’ve never had grass fed milk either (it’s not available where I live, so organic and local is what I buy) but would also be a little nervous the first time I try it. I guess I would think it would taste, um…..grassy? Like milk and wheat grass mixed, ha! I love the sweetened coconut too, made the bestest easiest macaroons with it last weekend (from the Splendid Table: How to Eat Supper cookbook) SO FREAKIN GOOD! By the way, made pumpkin oats for the first time last week, life changing! Ok, not really, but very yummy.
🙂 LauraLee
What a lovely oaty combination. Thanks for the morning inspiration.
It was your Tribute to Oatmeal that got me hooked on your blog like three years ago!
Are these overnight oats or did you prep them on the stove? 🙂
Stovetop!
Are you adding the cottage cheese while you whip the banana or do you add them at the end?
Love the title of this post!! You’re hair cut looks very nice. Happy Friday!
love this!! same question as above: when do you add the cottage cheese? during the cooking process to get creamy, midway, towards the end…? looks delish! and i love anthropologie, i’m always eating my oats/having coffee from their bowls and mugs. i bought a set of 4 and it was totally worth the price 🙂
Cottage Cheese = Stirred in at end of cooking process! Just enough to get it warm.
I am so happy to see you eating “real” milk – grass fed! I only drink raw milk. I encourage you to try some if you ever get the chance. It is different than “normal” milk, but it is the way that we are actually supposed to drink milk; straight from the cow, now pasteurized or homogenized which leaves the milk with no beneficial bacteria, protein, or vitamins and minerals! The carton is super cute too 🙂
Kath, did you by any chance see Alton Brown’s “Good Eats” episode yesterday about oats? Watching it made me think of your blog – for obvious reasons and also because I think I recall Matt mentioning some AB influence when he was doing the whole Brew and Bake thing. Anyway, the episode is hilarious and super interesting. There’s a part about cholesterol that had me dying and also wishing that my profs would have shown some scenes from Good Eats in my DPD coursework!! It’s perfect for food science, nutr biochem and other classes. You should check out the episode if you can!
I think I have seen that one!
Grass fed cows ??
That is the only type of dairy farm there is, in Australia. The cows come into the dairy building to be milked by machine twice a day and are free in the pastures of grass all the other time.
They get a small amount of food to eat while they are being milked, so they come in by themselves when it is milking time.
You might be interested in finding out exactly how a cows stomachs work if you are concerned about them eating grass.
PSA:
I know cows are supposed to eat grass!!
I 100% support grass-fed cows!!
That is why I BOUGHT the grass-fed cow’s milk when I saw it on the shelf.
My comment only meant I was expecting that it might taste funny (even if funny is normal). Thankfully it tasted good.
I’ve never been able to stomach cottage cheese in sweet form, but you really do hype this up so much that I should probably try it! The kinds in Australia are so salty though…