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There’s nothing like a big bowl of oatmeal to warm you up on a cold morning. Temperatures in Charlotte have been dropping down into the 20s overnight so breakfast has been all about warm foods. After spending last winter drinking green smoothies while shivering in front of a space heater I decided that while smoothies are delicious, they’re not worth freezing over!

I have been playing around with all sorts of new oatmeal combinations. One of my favorite ways to switch up my oatmeal is to incorporate other grains. I rediscovered Cream of Wheat while visiting my grandmother a couple of weeks ago and brought the box back to Charlotte with me. Using a tablespoon of it in my oatmeal has made it super fluffy and voluminous, especially if I stir in an egg white at the end. If you haven’t tried this yet, I promise it’s not weird. My grandmother was so confused to see me stirring egg into my oatmeal but it’s tasteless and adds volume and a few extra grams of protein.

I also like to mix and match the fruits in my oatmeal. While banana and apple are my standard flavor choices, I’ve been loving a fall-themed pear and cranberry mixture lately.

Pear and Cranberry Oatmeal

Pear & Cranberry Cream of Wheat & Oatmeal Bowl

I wanted to share a recipe for you today for my Pear & Cranberry Cream of Wheat & Oatmeal Bowl. It’s a delicious mix of cream of wheat, oatmeal, chia seeds, pears and cranberries. If you want to take your oatmeal bowls over the top, add a scoop of peanut butter and some preserves on top. In this bowl I used blueberry preserves and natural salted creamy peanut butter but I can’t wait to make this again after Thanksgiving and top it with homemade cranberry sauce. Yum!

Pear & Cranberry Cream of Wheat & Oatmeal Bowl
(Recipe developed by Jen Eddins, Peanut Butter Runner)

Screen Shot 2015-11-24 at 3.19.11 PM

And here are the nutritional stats. I shoot for 400-600 calories with breakfast so this falls nicely in that range. If I need a little staying power I usually just double up on the peanut butter. Always a good idea! 🙂

Looking for more warm breakfast inspiration?
Banana Egg White Oatmeal
Quinoa Breakfast Bake with Blueberries and Bananas
Cranberry Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

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