Banana Cream Pie N’Oatmeal (and a Brief History of Breakfast)

• The concept of breakfast as “the most important meal of the day” can be traced to a 1944 marketing campaign launched by General Foods, the manufacturer of Grape Nuts, to sell more cereal.
• Cereal is a product launched in the 1890’s by John Harvey Kellogg, a deeply religious doctor who believed that cereal would both improve Americans’ health and lower their sex drive (both positive outcomes, in his mind). Cereal’s origins lie in sanitariums run in the mid- to late 1800s. It was not sweet, and critics called it “wheat rocks.”
• Before the  invention of cereal, breakfast was not as standard or routine as it is now and what was considered breakfast food varied widely: eggs, pastries, and pancakes, yes… but also oysters, “boiled chickens”, and steak. 
• By the 1940’s, cereal was coated with sugar, but retained its popularity and perception as a health food thanks to a barrage of advertising. Why is the marketing supporting cereal and other processed breakfast food so fierce?   
  • Studies show that breakfast choices are likely more habitual because of the strength of morning routines and brand loyalty is strong in the breakfast foods category, so once a consumer is won, they’re likely to purchase long-term.
  • While some Americans cook breakfast (more on this below), “people’s desire for a fast, convenient meal means that many breakfast foods are packaged products that rely on advertising”.
  • There is room for profits to grow since breakfast is the most skipped meal in America, which means money on the table for the food industry.

I’m trying not to jump to conclusions, but all this seems to add up to the fact that. . . maybe. . . Cereal has become wildly successful due to two key ingredients: sugar and… Click To Tweet

Anyway, the article inspired me to develop a new breakfast alternative. This isn’t the first n’oatmeal recipe on my site (hello, Blueberry Baked N’Oatmeal, Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll N’Oatmeal and OG N’Oatmeal Breakfast Bowl) but this is by far the closest to actual oatmeal in color and texture. Not so much in taste, although, if you blended banana and coconut cream into your oatmeal you’d have a very close approximation. Because oatmeal itself doesn’t taste like much, would you agree? If you’re after a little added sweetness and crunch, add some toasted coconut flakes and drizzle local honey on top (I’m loving Bay Area Bee Company honey). 

Banana Cream Pie N'Oatmeal

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Preparation 10 mins 2017-06-23T00:10:00+00:00

Serves 2     adjust servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup medium-shred unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup coconut cream (see note)
• 1/2 cooked white sweet potato (see note)
• Pinch of salt
• Toasted coconut flakes, for garnish (optional)
• Raw local honey, for garnish (optional)
• Edible flowers, for garnish (optional)
• Sliced banana, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Using a hand mixer, whip the ingredients (except for the toasted coconut flakes, honey, flowers, and additional banana slices for garnish) until the banana and sweet potato are fully incorporated into the coconut cream and shredded coconut.
2. Spoon into serving bowls, top with the toasted coconut flakes, honey, flowers and additional banana. Serve immediately.

by Fresh Planet Flavor

Recipe Notes

I used Trader Joe's coconut cream, chilled, which is solid rather than a liquid. If you use the liquid cream from the top of a can of coconut milk, for example, you'll need to add more coconut to balance it, and the result will be less sweet.
I used actual white sweet potato, roasted and then peeled, versus canned sweet potato purée. Canned purée would likely work, but will be looser and wetter than firm, starchy, fresh-roasted white sweet potato, and canned purée will darken the color of your n'oatmeal.

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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
Amount Per Serving	As Served
Calories 558kcal Calories from fat 436
% Daily Value
Total Fat 48g	74%
Saturated Fat 43g	215%
Sodium 182mg	8%
Carbohydrate 34g	11%
Dietary Fiber 11g	44%
Sugars 12g
Protein 6g

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories	2000
Total Fat	Less than	65g
Sat Fat	Less than	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g
Dietary Fiber		25g