When I sampled a sip of my friends delicioso, cold Avena shake last night at Irazu Costa Rican restaurant, I knew I just had to try to make it for breakfast! Avena beverage is a tasty drink made with Oatmeal, milk and cinnamon that can be served cold or caliente-hot! Yum-yum-yum!
After looking up recipes for Avena drink- it was no surprise that my sweet tooth loved this fabulous treat. Some key ingredients were: sweetened condensed milk ,whole milk and lots of brown sugar. Hmmmm. So the fiber in Oatmeal still counted-yes. And the cinnamon stick was a healthy ingredient too.
So I made a few healthy swaps and my morning breakfast takers didn’t seem to mind!
I decided to swap out the whole milk and sweetened condensed milk for 2 percent milk. My grandmother use to add sweetened condensed milk to coffee which is such a delightful treat that I save for special occasions as I can very easily go through a couple jars a week!
Instead of using brown sugar I used packets of instant oatmeal with brown sugar flavor- 13 grams of sugar per serving.
After all, it was the simmering cinnamon stick that gave the warm beverage flavor!
Ingredients
2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
Brown sugar
*swap options- maple brown sugar flavored oatmeal as the oats
1 1/2 cups oats
Pinch of salt
3 cups of whole milk
*swap options: Soy milk, almond milk, skim or 2 % milk
- Add water and cinnamon stick to a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and simmer for about 4 minutes
- Add oats stirring frequently. When oats have absorbed add milk and continue to stir.
- Simmer until reaches desired consistency. Add more milk if you prefer thinner.
- Remove cinnamon stick and serve
Enjoy!!!!
Rebekah Marcano 