My appetite has been majorly suppressed. I don’t know why, but I’m trying to back track to see what it was or is about my eating habits that has contributed to this suppression. I’m thinking it is the almonds that I have been overindulging in all week long. I AM IN NO WAY TRYING TO SUPPRESS MY APPETITE! I LOVE TO EAT! I am not trying to loose weight and I miss craving foods. I know food is good and taste great and I want every part of it.

This appetite suppression is caused by one of two things:
1. The almonds or
2. The organic apple cider vinegar.

I usually take 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar each day. However, for the last week, I have increased that dosage to at least 3 tablespoon each day. I know apple cider vinegar assist in weight loss and has a wealth of health benefits, so that may be the culprit.

Now I don’t know what has gotten into me with this almond craze. I would usually eat a handful of almonds, not necessarily on a daily basis, but for some strange reason, this week I have been consuming them daily. Since I now make my own almond milk from scratch, I have been pouring almond milk into my glass bottles, that I specifically purchased to utilize as water bottles on-the-go. Instead of water, I fill them with almond milk-on-the-go. So I drink and drive with almond milk. Not bad huh? The other day I even made some almond-pistachio milk and it was so amazingly out of this world. Anyway, while I’m drinking my almond milk on-the-go, I sometimes munch on extra almonds.  Last night I baked a cake which included almonds too. So….you see…. I have really been going hard on these almonds.

Usually on Sunday mornings I prepare a huge breakfast, but not today. Guess what I woke up with on my mind? Yup….you got it right…almonds again! I decided to make almond porridge. I have never done any such thing in my life, but I did it. And guess what?  It was creamy and nutty and fulfilling and d’luscious! The walnuts that I added provided that extra crunch. I find that each time I create an authentic drink with almonds, it is always so rich in both flavor and texture and all I can think of is: I HAVE GOT TO GET AN ICE CREAM MAKER!

In the past, what I have observed with all the other porridges that I have prepared, is that they usually thicken with little or no effort. I guess the other porridges are starchy. The almonds didn’t thicken at all. I had it cooking for a good twenty minutes and the consistency just wasn’t thickening, so I decided make it sort of a multigrain (even though almond isn’t a grain) and I added some oatmeal to add more body to it, while creating a healthier hot cereal. Oatmeal is excellent for reducing cholesterol and almonds are an excellent source of vitamin E which might I say, attributes to my great complexion amongst other things. Nuts are good for you…. period!

So….I really need to ease up on the almond because I want to cook more food and eat. My almond-walnut-oatmeal porridge was d’luscious and nutritious….and I’m going to put it into a blender when it cools and make it a smoothie, and drink it for the rest of the day. Or maybe not….but it so taste like ice cream.  I just want my appetite back.

Note: I used the pulp from almond milk that I had made previously. It was sort of rolled into a ball, so I ran it through the food processor the obtain the ground texture.

 Transferred the ground almonds to a plate and set aside.

Added the walnuts to the food processor.

Pulsed walnuts in processor to desired consistency, transferred to a plate and set aside.

Almond-Walnut-Oatmeal Porridge

6 cups of water
3 cups of almond pulp (from my home made almond milk)
3/4 cups of chopped walnuts (I pulsed it in my food processor)
1 cup of oatmeal
3 vanilla bean
2 cups coconut milk or your favorite milk
1 teaspoon of nutmeg (grated)
2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
Himalayan pink salt to taste

Instructions:
Bring water to a rapid boil and add salt
Add almond pulp and stir

It will begin to foam as the liquid rises.

Reduce heat, add walnuts and cook for 15 minutes

Stir in oatmeal and cook additional 20 minutes
Turn off Stove
Slice vanilla beans lengthwise, remove the caviar and stir into pot
Stir in coconut milk, nutmeg, cinnamon and brown sugar

Enjoy!