When I was younger I went to sleep away camp for 2 weeks every summer. It was really fun, and I have amazing memories from my time there every year. Between the weeks they took us on an overnight backpacking trip. We had a choice between hiking and canoeing. One year, I chose canoeing and we packed up all our overnight supplies and went on our merry way.
Somehow, our food supplies got mixed up, and we didn’t have the food we were supposed to. The details are fuzzy to me now (this was a really long time ago) but somehow or other we ended up eating oatmeal with hot chocolate mix for breakfast.
Holy cow was it incredible!! So incredible, that now that I am a grown up with lots of other things to think about, I still think about that fun trip with the hot chocolate oatmeal. Guess my life has always kind of revolved around food!! 
This is like the grown up version of my hot chocolate oatmeal from many moons ago. Much like my coconut cream pie oatmeal, I think this is interchangeably breakfast or dessert.
Pomegranates are in season, so they are kicking around right now, but if you can’t find them feel free to use any fruit you like, berries or bananas would be delicious in here!!!
Health highlight of oats: Oats are packed with fiber and antioxidants, and can help reduce your cholesterol (from all that soluble fiber). Oats have also been shown to help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, and help stabilize blood sugar. They have been shown to protect your heart, and contain a lot of great vitamins and minerals. Oats are a great source of manganese, which serves several important functions in your body including protection from free radical damage.
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (you can use more or less to your taste)
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- Seeds from 2 pomegranates (or 1 cup of your fave berries)
- In a medium pot bring the water to a boil
- Stir in the oats
- Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat to low
- Cook for about 25 minutes, or until the oats are tender but chewy
- Stir in the cocoa powder, maple syrup, chocolate and pomegranate seeds
- Stir until the chocolate is melted and everything is well mixed
- Dish up and enjoy!!!
