Pumpkin Oatmeal

Hello people! The bad news is – it’s Monday! The good news is – it’s only a 2 ½ day work week! I’m assuming Wednesday is a half day for most people.
My weekend was quite busy. Friday night was dinner with friends at a fabulous Indian restaurant in Manhattan called Dhaba. A review on Dhaba is coming up this week.
Saturday was a fun family gathering to celebrate my sister’s in-laws' 50th Anniversary at Deewan Banquet (which btw, I totally recommend for a smaller event – excellent appetizers & dinner). My sister did an amazing job planning the event and paid close attention to the fine details. I danced the night away until the last song and I was forced to stop – don’t you just hate that?

Sunday – I recovered from my hangover. Ha!
So in light of Thanksgiving this week, I decided to work on a super healthy pumpkin oatmeal recipe which came out awesome. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try with some leftover pumpkin this week. Enjoy!

NUTRITION: Pumpkin is rich in Vitamin A and Fiber. Oats help reduce cholesterol and are a good source of protein and fiber. Milk is an excellent source of Calcium and Protein. Chia Seeds is a superfood and an excellent source of fiber, protein, omega 3 fatty acids, and antioxidants.

INGREDIENTS (if you don’t have ground cinnamon, nutmeg, & ginger powder, use ⅓ teaspoon of Pumpkin Spice instead):

Low Fat 1% Milk – ½ cup
Quaker Old-fashioned Oats – ⅓ cup
Vanilla Extract – ½ tsp
Ground Cinnamon – ¼ tsp
Nutmeg – small pinch
Ginger Powder – small pinch
Libby's Pure Pumpkin – 3 tbsp
Pure Maple Syrup – 1 tablespoon (or less)
Pecans – 4 to 5 (broken)
Chia Seeds – ¼ to ½ tsp

DIRECTIONS:
1. On low-medium heat, add milk and oats to a small pot.
2. Add vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger powder, or you can use pumpkin spice instead.
3. Stir.
4. Now add the pumpkin – I started with 2 tablespoon and then added 1 more. Stir.
5. Once the oatmeal starts bubbling, add the maple syrup. Stir and turn off the stove once heated thru.
6. Pour the pumpkin oatmeal into a serving bowl.
7. Top with chia seeds and pecans. It's rich, creamy, and healthy!