Oatmeal for Breakfast

On cold mornings when you feel anxious or just not quite grounded, oatmeal can make you feel balanced again. It's easy and cheap and is also easy to modify depending on your mood. The following is a basic recipe from Eat, Taste, Heal. It's possible to change the fruit to cooked apples or pears by adding the apples or pears at the beginning to cook with the oatmeal. You can also change the raisins to any dried fruit, such as dried figs or currants. The nuts can be modified to include walnuts or pecans, and the spices can include cinnamon.

2 cups water
1 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons seedless raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
(1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, omit allspice and ginger)
1 banana, peeled and sliced (or 1 apple, peeled and cubed, or 1 pear, peeled and cubed)
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup dairy or non-dairy milk, such as soy or almond
2 tablespoons maple syrup

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Pour in oats and add raisins and spices. Also add apple or pear, if using.

Reduce heat and simmer, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in banana, milk and maple syrup. Serve hot.