Recipes: Turmeric Ginger Oatmeal

Before I left for Kauai, my mom came to visit and provide her loving motherly support.  As all doting mothers do, they cook and clean and just generally make life better. Love you, Mom. For several mornings in a row, she kept offering to make me her favorite new oatmeal creation for breakfast. I resisted and resisted, insisting that I really didn’t eat oatmeal any more for XY&Z reasons and wasn’t really interested. Maybe it was because I wasn’t a big breakfast eater and preferred my big creamy morning elixirs instead, or maybe it’s because I’ve overlooked oats to explore more exciting porridge grains – like amaranth, buckwheat and brown rice. Whatever the reason, I was stuck in my stubbornness – like all daughters do with their mothers.

One morning, I walked into the kitchen to find her just sitting down to eat her oatmeal creation. It was so fragrant and golden, steam carrying the aromas of turmeric, cinnamon and ghee into the air. I swooped in for a bite and melted into delight. These weren’t oats like I used to eat as a kid. This was like Golden Milk in a bowl, but oh-so-satisfying on a cold winter day! And the most amazing thing about this recipe, it took no longer to make than a mug of tea. I was hooked, and so I became an oatmeal eater again.

With any big move, life transition or change, Vata tends to increase and can create digestive upsets and emotional unrest. Knowing I was on the road to travel, this recipe became a morning staple for me. It’s soupy cooked oats, warming spices and healthy fat provided grounding nourishment to support the light, dry and mobile qualities of Vata dosha present in the winter move. And most of all, this meal reminds me of my mom’s loving embrace through food and her sweet presence, which is the more invaluable and intangible qualities that help to balance Vata as well. Curious to learn more about Ayurveda? I offer one-on-one coaching to explore a very practical framework for integrating nature’s wisdom into your diet and lifestyle to transform your wellbeing through all seasons of life. I provide free consults to learn more and visit about your needs.