Carrot Cake Oatmeal With Cream Cheese Frosting

hannahactually's Note:

A healthy alternative to carrot cake? One, moreover, that you can eat for BREAKFAST? Impossible, right? No! This recipe, from Sheila on livewell360, has become one of my favorite healthy yet decadent breakfast or dessert recipes. I like to add golden raisins.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 1

• 1/4 cup carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup skim milk (or your favorite milk substitute)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 medium banana, sliced into thin pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Best. Vanilla. Ever.)
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract (Best. Vanilla. Ever.)
• 1 teaspoon stevia
• 1/8 teaspoon stevia
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ
• 2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt (I use Fage)
• 1 tablespoon mascarpone (you could use fat free or low-fat) or 1 tablespoon cream cheese (you could use fat free or low-fat)
• 1/4 ounce walnut pieces, toasted

Directions:

1. In a medium size pan, heat the grated carrot, oats, milk, water, and salt over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to simmer, approximately 5-6 minutes, stir in the sliced banana. Continue to stir, almost whipping, until the banana breaks down and the mixture thickens and becomes creamy, about another 5-6 minutes. The fresh carrot gives off quite a bit of water, so this recipe takes a little longer to thicken up. As I have mentioned in many of my oatmeal recipes, I really like utilizing the banana because it adds so much volume to the oats.
2. In a separate small-size bowl, add the greek yogurt, 1/8 tsp of stevia, and 1/8 tsp vanilla and whip together using a hand mixer on medium-low speed. Set aside.
3. Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract, wheat germ, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and stevia, to the oatmeal and stir until incorporated. Pour into a serving bowl and top with the cream cheese mixture and the walnuts.

Reviews

[haven't the slightest]

This is so delicious! I made it last night to save time and just microwaved it when I woke up. Tastes great cold or hot. The icing was nice and really made it seem like carrot cake. My only suggestion would be to add more cinnamon when cooking the oatmeal, but otherwise top-notch!