Almond Cookie Oatmeal (with Dates)

It's kind of funny, I had never actually had a date until I went to Tunisia. I mean, I had eaten the nasty flour-coated mouse turds in cereal that they claim are dates. (Sorry if I just stopped you from ever touching those again. Sort of.) But Tunisia exports a lot of dates, and people eat them often, and I'm willing to try anything. And whoa. My first thought is that they are like natural pastries. Especially when fresher, and not chilled, they have a texture and flavor that reminds me so much of baked sugary or honey-covered wonderfulness.

Apparently I'm not the only one to think so because the cookie flavors of Lara bars all have dates as the first ingredient. I usually get deglet dates since they're cheaper, but be sure they're not all dried by the time you get them. Medjool are the fancier, pricier kind. And usually more moist.

So today I have more oatmeal for you. Sorry if that's boring, but with the stove still sitting in my office, there's not much choice! I did make two more crockpot experiments, one of which may get posted here, but neither was fantastic. Yet. They could be improved. But this oatmeal is completely sugar-free and extra sweetener free! Ahhh, the magic of dates!

Almond Cookie Oatmeal
Serves: 1
Prep time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (they are less processed than quick oats, but you could really use either.)
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup dates (the 5 pictured above happened to make 1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Put oatmeal in a 2-cup microwaveable container. Add water to barely cover oats for thick oatmeal, or to cover by a lot for thinner.

2. Cook in microwave on high for 90 seconds.

3. Chop dates. I did this while the oatmeal was cooking.

4. When the oatmeal is done, add almonds, dates and cinnamon. Stir and enjoy immediately or move to a prettier serving dish :)

How I normally eat my oatmeal - fewer dishes!