Happy Valentine’s day and day 1 of love your oatmeal week! It doesn’t matter if you’re making this for your special one or as a special treat to yourself – you can’t go wrong with coconut, almond, chocolate oatmeal.

Almond Joy Oatmeal

2 to 3 servings

**This recipe uses a smaller slow cooker that’s 1 1/2 to 2 quarts

• 1/2 cup steel-cut oats
• 2 cups unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk (only 50 calories a cup!)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
• 2  tablespoons finely shredded unsweetened coconut (I used reduced fat organic)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• sweetener to taste (I use about 2 tablespoon agave nectar)
• Toppings for serving: slivered almonds (about 1 tablespoon per serving)

The night before: Spray your crock with some oil to help with clean up later. Add everything except agave and almonds. Cook on low over night (7 to 9 hours).

In the morning: Stir your oatmeal well. It may seem watery at the top but if stirred it should become a more uniform consistency.  Stir in sweetener and top each serving with slivered almonds.

You can top with extra coconut and mini chocolate chips if you really want to go all out. It is V-day after all and this is still better for you than a box of chocolates! 1/2 half of this recipes has 318 calories which is not bad if it’s your whole breakfast. (This number does not count in extra toppings other than 1 tablespoon slivered almonds.)

A few faqs on making oatmeal in the slow cooker:

There are a few things to keep in mind when you are cooking oatmeal in a slow cooker. The most important is to use steel-cut oats and not rolled oats. Steal cut can hold up to an 8  hour plus cooking time much better than rolled oats. I’ve heard horror stories of waking up to burnt rolled oats.

If you are concerned about clean up, spray the crock with a little oil before adding the ingredients. But be aware that even if you spray your crock with oil some oatmeal will still stick to the sides. To clean it out simply fill it with water in the morning. It will come out easily that evening. I fill mine with water, then drain off the excess water and give my dog the oatmeal that was stuck to the sides. She loves it and it’s good for her coat.

Unfortunately slow cookers run at different temperatures depending on age and manufacturer. So there is some trial and error in getting everything just right for your slow cooker. I have one newer model that I add some extra water to and 2 others that use this recipes just fine as is. If you think you might sleep in go ahead and add a little extra water then too.