Chai Chia Oatmeal

This warming oatmeal is full of comforting chai spices and filling chia seeds. It’s the perfect, healthy cold weather breakfast that will keep you right on track with your healthy eating goals. 

It’s time to hop back in the saddle of life, and I’m going to do it with this Chai Chia Oatmeal by my side.

We got back from Lake Tahoe late Thursday night, just one day after we had initially anticipated and one day before the next storm was supposed to come in. We had such a great time relaxing, playing games and spending time with family…We never wanted to leave but, alas, we had to get back to reality and do this thing called life.

After two weeks away from home (and mostly eating other peoples’ food) I was so excited to get back in the kitchen on Friday and make my own delicious, wholesome food. First up on the list was this Chai Chia Oatmeal, which IMHO is the perfect January breakfast. Healthy, filling and easy to prepare, while still making us feel that we don’t have to say goodbye to all of the festive holiday cheer that has filled us up over the past couple of months.

Speaking of cheer and happiness, has everyone set their intentions and goals for the New Year? I prefer to do this instead of setting resolutions, as having an end goal always motivates me to push forward and achieve everything I want to do. I took some time in between Christmas and New Year’s to reevaluate the direction I want to take the blog (and related business,) and I’m so excited to start setting things into motion to achieve these goals.

The New Year is a perfect time for this, but I think it’s important for us to remember to stop, reflect and reassess more often than once every 365 days. One of my goals for 2017 is to check in with myself AT LEAST every month, and see if I need to approach things a little differently or start focusing more of my time on something else. I think this is so necessary for entrepreneurs like myself, but also for anyone who is trying to achieve something in the New Year. Tell me, what are your goals and intentions for the year ahead?

We all know that one of the biggest intentions people set at New Year’s is to clean up their eating habits. Although you all know I don’t believe in restrictive diets, I think it is inevitable that eating healthier, more whole foods is top of mind at this time of year. I’m all for the healthy eating (and this Chai Chia Oatmeal is healthier than I’ll get out) but let’s not forget to sneak in little indulgences here and there. If it were up to me, I’d ask each and every one of you to have the goal of more BALANCE in your life as opposed to setting restrictions for yourself.

So time for me to get off my pedestal and tell you all about this Chai Chia Oatmeal that is likely to be on repeat weekly in your household once you try it. It comes together in under 30 minutes, and even reheats well if you want to prep it in advance. There is also a huge amount of flavor for very few ingredients. All wins in my book!

Perhaps my favorite part of this recipe is the way we get the “chai spice” flavor into the oatmeal. Rather than having to worry about throwing in all of the different spices that go into chai, we simply steep two chai tea bags in the oatmeal’s liquid as it cooks. I used half water and half unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but you could easily go all one or the other based on your taste preferences.

Aside from the above mentioned base ingredients, all that goes into this wholesome breakfast is honey, a little vanilla extract and, of course, the chia seeds! And if you really want to jazz up your Chai Chia Oatmeal, may I suggest topping it all with toasted walnuts, homemade whipped cream and ground cinnamon? Or what about pecans, maple syrup and Greek yogurt? The healthy possibilities are endless, my friends, so let’s get about whipping this up in the kitchen, shall we?

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Chai Chia Oatmeal

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

This warming oatmeal is full of comforting chai spices and filling chia seeds. It's the perfect, healthy cold weather breakfast that will keep you right on track with your healthy eating goals.

Course: Breakfast

Servings: 2 servings

Author: CaliGirl Cooking

Ingredients

For the oatmeal:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 chai tea bags
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Suggested toppings:

• Toasted walnut or pecan pieces
• Homemade whipped cream
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Ground cinnamon
• Maple syrup

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, almond milk, oats, salt and tea bags. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, or until all of the liquid has absorbed into the oats. 

2. Stir in the honey, chia seeds and vanilla extract. 

3. Spoon into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve immediately.