Pears are one helluva under-rated fruit.
I mean apples are like the most beloved fruit in all of the land. And everyone adores oranges thanks to orange juice. Aaaaand I needn’t explain how banana-crazy our nation is. We could all live off apple crisp, banana bread, and orange juice alone, no?
Pears are like the forgotten fruit. They’re sweet and tasty and pack as much fiber as an apple, but what are pears known for…their curvalicious bods?
When a pear goes all mushy on me, I want nothing to do with it. Same goes for men. But give me a perfectly firm, sweet pear and I am SO in.
Same goes for men.
I mean do you ever notice how easily they bruise? The pears, that is. Clearly we’re not talking about men here.
It’s like a cry for help. Maybe everyone should start showing pears some lovin’ so they can toughen up a little bit! In all honesty, I don’t cook with pears very often. I usually buy them for the sole purpose of snacking for when I get sick of sliced apples with cinnamon.
Regardless, pears are totally delish in their own right. And bee-tee-dubs, if you’ve never tried the juicy pear sorbet from Jeni’s ice cream, you should stop reading this immediately and go plant your face into the biggest scoop you can find. It’s like a textural foodgasm to the nine billionth degree. << understatement
When it comes to oats, steel-cut is the next best thing to the whole oat groat itself. Steel cut oats are the least processed and thus take the longest to cook. To cook ’em up quick, give this Easy Make-Ahead Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal a whirl. Old-fashioned oats are the next best thing, followed lastly by instant oats. Those cook up super fast since they’re broken down more in processing. Remeber, we want to stay as close to the whole food as possible! Ahem, steel-cut oats.
Oats are a great thing to buy in bulk. You should also buy some cardamom in bulk. It’s one of those spices that I hardly ever use, but I knew I wanted it for this recipe. I put maybe a teaspoon in a little baggie at the Whole Foods bulk spice bins and it was literally free. Like, it didn’t weight enough to cost anything. Allllll the free cardamom. Score.
Now I know it probably seems kind of weird to put something in the oven for forty minutes when it’s only for one person, but I think we all deserve a little personal treat once in a while, dontcha think? You could certainly double or quadruple this recipe and bake in in the appropriate pan to serve more people. I also think it would work super well in the crockpot if you quadrupled the recipe! Now how fab would THAT be to wake up to?
Speaking of waking up, do you ever jolt awake from those awkward twitches at night? It seems that everyone has come down with a bad case of awkward twitches lately. Sometimes you’re falling off a bike. Sometimes you’re swan-diving off a cliff. They’re the worst. SO embarrassing.
And obviously you always come down with the worst case of awkward sleeping twitches when you’re not sleeping solo. Like sometimes your boyfriend is dreaming about God knows what and accidentally socks you in the face with his awkward twitch. I didn’t have the pleasure of experiencing that reality myself, but a dear friend of mine did. Poor thing. Her mortified boyfriend, I mean.
Awkward twitches are nothing some fall-spiced pear oatmeal can’t fix.
- 1 small ripe pear, cored and diced
- ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 tsp ground flaxseed
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp cardamom
- pinch of cloves
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup steel-cut oats
- Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a ramekin or small oven-proof baking dish wish cooking spray.
- Place diced pears in ramekin.
- In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together almond milk, flax, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and salt until well-combined. Stir in oats.
- Pour milk-oat mixture over pears and stir to combine.
- Bake for 40-43 minutes.
My heart is with those today who who were affected by the tragic events thirteen years ago today. We will never forget 9/11.
Errr YUM! You had me at chai…this is like all my favourites in one! As much as I love apples, pears are right up there too! Have you tried making pear-sauce…heavenly stuff, especially as an oatmeal or yogurt topper! Bookmarking this!
Khushboo recently posted…Cashew & Coconut Oatmeal Bars
Oh I know how much you love chai, girlfrand! I’ve never made pear sauce but that sounds beyond amazing.
That looks SO GOOD. Pears are even better when they’re cooked, I think. Like have you ever had poached pears? Damn!
Colleen recently posted…URBAN OUTFITTERS IS TROLLING EVERYONE
I haven’t but now you’ve got me drooling!!
I adore pears but seriously hate how quickly they can turn to bruised mush. Such delicate little things. I love the looks of this recipe!! Once I switched to steel cut oats, I have a hard time liking the texture of old fashioned oats. I’m all about the steel cut oats these days so I’m adding this to my breakfast rotation. 🙂
Maryea {happy healthy mama} recently posted…Stitch Fix Review #4: September 2014
Wahoo!! I agree–old-fashioned oats seem so mushy now that I’m used to steel-cut. Do you ever make “oatmeal” with buckwheat groats? It’s really good!
Pears are so underutilized… definitely a great change up from apples for the fall. Plus I’m pretty much head over heels for anyting chai <3
Dietitian Jess recently posted…Nation’s Tri Recap
Me too! I can’t wait to start sipping on chai tea on the reg.
oh yum!! I think I will try this with quinoa!
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables recently posted…Adoption: Does He/She Feel Like Yours?
Fab idea!
I cannot wait to start making some steel cut oats in the slow cooker…I am going to wait though until the temperatures in Houston start going under 100 degrees though…HAHAHA!
She Rocks Fitness recently posted…5 UNHEALTHY Health Foods with HUMMUSAPIEN
100 degree?! Holy moly. I would be staying far, far away from oatmeal!
That is so true about pears! I love them when I eat them, but it seems to be very rare, in fact, I seriously can’t remember the last time I ate a pear. But I did have an apple and some orange juice just the other day! I made a peach baked oatmeal a while ago and ever since, I’ve been dreaming of all the other fruity flavors I could make. Chai spiced pear baked oatmeal sounds amazing and like the perfect breakfast for the cooler weather that I’m praying is coming my way soon 🙂
Isadora @ She Likes Food recently posted…Three Bean Loaded Veggie Chili
I’m not excited about the cooler weather, but this oatmeal makes it a wee bit easier to handle!!
i have fallen in love with steel cut oatmeal and i have a recipe coming up with pear tomorrow also 🙂 great minds think alike my friend.
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health recently posted…Chicken Choyela
Me too!! Seriously, there’s nothin’ better!
hahaha. I feel the same way about men too 😉
Alysia @ Slim Sanity recently posted…How and Why to Take Care of Your Contact Lenses
Hhaha I never realized pears and men had so much in common 😉 Pears are seriously underrated which is why I have a recipe with them coming up–I feel bad because they never get the love they deserve!
Erin @ The Almond Eater recently posted…Lemon Thyme Tilapia
I actually had brief stint with pears this summer after my mom kind of turned me on to them, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other since I need to replace apples with -something-. Still bitter about that one 😡
Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted…. thinking out loud #95 .
Wow this baked oatmeal looks and sounds delicious.. I must try out the recipe, looks like the perfect start to the day!
Thalia @ butter and brioche recently posted…Canneles
“When a pear goes all mushy on me, I want nothing to do with it. Same goes for men. give me a perfectly firm, sweet pear and I am SO in.”
I just can’t.
Davida @ The Healthy Maven recently posted…Healthy Ways to Top Your Crackers + A Nairn’s Giveaway
I’m such a weirdo and actually love soft fruit! Well, some fruit like peaches, plums and pears. I put them into brown bags until they are almost bad and then they are my favorite.
Um, not sure what that says about my taste in men?
Chai + Pear + Oatmeal = I am so in.
Alex Caspero MA,RD (@delishknowledge) recently posted…Lentil Flatbread Sandwiches
Can you use steel cut oats in baking recipes, like cookies??
Sometimes! But if it calls for old-fashioned oats, you’ll want to stick with those. They cook up much faster and don’t have that chewy texture!
I am going to go all mushy on you and change your opinion.
This sounds delicious. Wait, was that too mushy?
This sounds good. Better.
Arman @ thebigmansworld recently posted…4 Ingredient Paleo Nutella Cookies
You’re one of those mushy people?!?!
Pears are truly underrated. I love them! The softer ones that are not so crunchy. Juicy and sweet, whats not to love about them!?
Agreed, friend!!
This looks phenomenalllll! And I love your story about the free cardamom – HAH! Never thought that would happen at Whole Foods! I don’t give pears enough love but I plan to start with this recipe 🙂
Erica {Coffee & Quinoa} recently posted…The Last Wedding Planning Update!
You would SO appreciate the free cardamom!!
I need cardamom. It’s everywhere. Why don’t I own it? I wonder if I can just get a giant cinnamon-sized one at Costco lol.
Cassie recently posted…What to Eat During a Ragnar Relay Race
No worries, I just started owning it!! It made my whole spice cabinet smell like chai tea 🙂
I absolutely love the flavors and spices in chai (especially cardamom!) and I’m definitely going to try it in my slow cooker! However, I’m interested that you say “we want to stay as close to the whole food as possible” but then suggest using vanilla almond milk in this recipe. Cow’s milk is far less processed than any plant-based milk, especially one with added flavorings. Modern dairy farms provide safe, healthy, humane environments for cows, enabling them to produce milk with almost half the carbon footprint (per gallon of milk) of cows in the 1940s. (That’s for conventionally-produced milk; milk produced organically, without the use of modern agricultural innovation, has a larger carbon footprint.) If you’re avoiding dairy and processed foods, it’s probably better just to use water, plus a little vanilla extract.
This looks delicious! I’m usually a green smoothie drinker in the mornings, but it’s getting too cold!
If you make 4 serving in the crock-pot, do the leftovers keep well for a few days in the fridge?
Oh yes! They’ll definitely keep in the fridge. I always make extra!