Here's a delicious meal or snack that you can make using that leftover pumpkin puree you have in your fridge. It's perfect when you have some pumpkin puree laying around and it's not quite enough to make a full dessert out of. This is not your typical boring oatmeal; it's packed with flavour and full of protein and vitamin A.

You can also try my Cookies and Cream Tropical Oatmeal or my Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal.

Ingredients

Serves one.

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder or cinnamon swirl flavour
• 3 tbsp pumpkin puree (a big dollop)
• 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt (a small spoonful)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/8 tsp stevia or to taste
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp chocolate chips
• 1/2 a banana, sliced

For the chocolate version, use chocolate whey protein powder and add about 1 tsp of cocoa powder.

Overnight Method

Stir together all of the ingredients except the bananas and chocolate chips. Put this mixture in a covered container in the fridge overnight. Stir again the next day and put in the microwave for about a minute. Do not overcook as the protein powder will burn. Another option is to add in the protein powder right before banana and chocolate chips, instead of overnight. Add in the banana slices and chocolate chips once the oatmeal is heated.

Instant Method

Put the almond milk and oats into a bowl and heat in the microwave until the oatmeal is cooked to your preference. Then stir in the protein powder, followed by the rest of the ingredients. You may want to use a little less milk since it won't absorb quite as much as it does overnight, although this depends on how runny/thick you like your oatmeal. If you do this method, the chia seeds will not be expanded so the texture will be a little different.