This morning I woke up early to get some extra work done before this afternoon’s Biochem class, and figured I’d take advantage of the slower pace and cook something I rarely have time for.

Enter steel-cut oats, which take a good 20 minutes on the stove. I also threw in a small diced pear. I love finding smaller pieces of fruit at the market—you can buy more for the same price as a couple of giant pieces and the serving size is much more realistic.

I also tried something new—cottage cheese. I’d spooned some on top once and not been too jazzed, but when I stirred some in for the last few minutes of cooking, I ended up with something that tasted kind of like cheesecake. Whole grain cheesecake that happens to have lots of protein, fiber and omega 3’s (from flax)…I’ll definitely be making this again.

Cheesecake Oatmeal Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 c water
• 1/4 c steel-cut oats
• 1 small diced pear
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp ground flax meal
• 1/2 c no-salt-added cottage cheese (stirred in near end)

This photo isn’t exactly sellin’ it, I know. It wasn’t until I was about almost halfway through the bowl that I realized other people might actually like this concoction. Let me know if you try it and what you think!