Pear & Cranberry Oatmeal

Typically this time of year I start seeing cranberries popping up in the grocery store.  There is something about Thanksgiving (turkey) and Christmas (red??) where cranberries are in abundance.  I spotted a bag of fresh cranberries when I was at Trader Joe’s earlier in the week and brought them home.  I love putting fresh cranberries into my oatmeal.  Today I added in one diced pear and a small amount of cranberries to the water and set it to boil.
 

I think the most fun part of cooking with fresh cranberries is they made a noise as the water starts to heat up.  I sort of envision it similar to lobsters making noise when you steam them.  It is almost of it the cranberries are saying “no…please don’t kill me.”  Okay maybe a tiny bit morbid but it is kind of funny when they hiss and pop as they cook. Once the cook down, the cranberries release their sweet and tart flavor and no longer resemble a plump hard berry.  It adds so much depth to my morning oats.

When I was at TJ’s I also picked up some new oatmeal.  I found a multigrain hot cereal (a mix of oats and other grains) and some quick cook steel cut oats.  I’ve been eating the oat bran for a while now.  I like the smooth texture you get by adding in oat bran with oatmeal vs. just straight oatmeal.  I also add cinnamon when I cook my oats.

 

Once the oats are cooked I add in 1 tsp of brown sugar and one packet of Stevia.  I then top my oats with peanut butter and honey.
 

 

Delicious!

You can find cranberries in your produce or fruit section at your local grocery store usually for under $2.00 a bag.  I have also cooked down some cranberries in just water and added them to plan non-free Greek yogurt.  I love that sweet tart taste.