It’s soon coming up on 20 months since I made the biggest
transition in my life thus far…becoming a mother! Though having an active
toddler presents many challenges, I’m absolutely loving this phase of Rohan’s
growth and development! I adore watching him run, play, swim, dance, sing and
“talk”! He’s like a total sponge right now, learning new words and making new
discoveries every day. And motherhood is, like everyone says, a perpetual learning experience. Just when you think you’ve mastered
something – breastfeeding, baby wearing, packing for a weekend away, solid feeding, going back to work –
there’s something entirely new to learn. Of course, there have been many ups
and a few downs too. Though it may sound a bit silly, I think the toughest part
of new motherhood for me was having to becoming a morning person. I’ve always
been a night owl, despite the incongruity between that and being a working
professional. I guess I was just built that way, loving to stay up late. So
during those initial months, I really struggled with the early morning wake-ups
that are part of life with a young child.
Then came turning point #2…Luis suggesting that we invest in
an A-grade coffee maker. I was a bit skeptical at first. Was it really worth
the investment? Couldn’t I just keep going to Starbucks? How would the coffee
compare? Was it going to be a pain in the butt to figure out how to use the machine? Well...once that baby Breville arrived and I made a couple of practice lattes under Luis's close supervision, I was convinced! From then on, waking up early became that much easier. And the Starbucks visits gradually dwindled off!
Rohan no longer wakes up so early anymore (now it’s more in
the neighborhood of 7:30 or sometimes even 8, which now seems pretty luxurious!). But I still love
starting my day with a hot (or sometimes iced) latte from our wonderful
machine, often made by our little man himself. Like most toddlers, he adores
pushing buttons and knows exactly how to work this particular machine...he’s
totally a future barista in the making! He also loves having his own portion of
“baby coffee”, which is what we call the extra milk froth that we feed him with
a spoon. Starting the day with this little ritual has made it much easier for
me to enjoy the mornings.
The other MUST DO now is a proper breakfast. With the
exception of weekend brunches which I always loved to prepare, I was never big
on the morning meal. I guess it went hand-in-hand with my disdain for mornings.
More often than not, I would just skip breakfast, running like mad to get to
classes or work on time and then get going with just a coffee. Now that
mornings are a real part of my life, I find that having something yummy and
healthy to eat is a real enticement to get up and about (Rohan’s megawatt
smiles and giggles are even more so!). I’m particularly fond of make-ahead
breakfasts like a jar of overnight oats or a slice of quiche, as I love waking
up with the knowledge that breakfast is already waiting for me. But lately, I
also really love a bowl of warm oatmeal or other porridge-like dishes. It may
sound a bit odd for a tropical climate like ours here in Thailand, but it’s
comforting, filling and nutritious!
This weekend, I gave my oatmeal a Bangkok touch by cooking
it in coconut water and coconut milk. A pureed or mashed up banana adds natural
sweetness (and extra nutrition), meaning that you can forego sugar, honey or any
other sweetener. And when you live in a place like Bangkok, how can you resist
topping your bowl with some luscious, seasonal, tropical fruit? Mango season is unfortunately ending here,
but lychees and mangosteen are popping up in all the markets, while we’re also
enjoying weekly delivery of passion fruit and other organic produce from Adams Organic (highly recommended for Bangkok residents looking for organic fruit and
veg). Cook up a bowl of this oatmeal tomorrow and be transported to Bangkok,
whether you’re a morning person, a night owl, a new parent or otherwise!
BANGKOK BREAKFAST
Serves 2
1 cup old fashioned (rolled) oats
1 cup coconut water
1 cup coconut milk (reduced-fat if you can find it) or other
milk of your choice
2 small bananas or 1 large banana, mashed up well with a
fork or pureed in a food processor
Chopped tropical fruit – e.g. mango, papaya, pineapple,
dragon fruit, passion fruit, coconut
Toppings of your choice – e.g. wheat germ, ground flax, Chia
seeds, chopped cashews or other nuts
1. Put the first four ingredients (oats to banana)
in a small saucepan and stir well.
2. Cook over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes,
stirring occasionally.
3. Serve either warm or at room temperature, topped
with fruits and toppings of your choice.
P.S. Rohan tried some of this oatmeal and gave it his seal of approval as well! And he also helped me to style these photos ;-)
Oatmeal was once one of the Gladiator's super foods! Today as many of us live under stressful conditions, we still need super and healthy food even if we're not Gladiators. This is a very good idea to prepare oatmeal, conveniently it adds some extras goodies like fruits providing extra taste, as well as more vitamins.
ReplyDeleteIt's a delicious win win!
Beautiful picture.
Thank you, amorzinho! You're totally right, oatmeal is a superfood, we should eat it much more often.
ReplyDeleteWow, Ramya, you made an exotic, gourmet dish out of regular ole' oatmeal! Looks beautiful; with goodness on the inside to match.
ReplyDelete