Night Cereal: Chai Oatmeal with Bacon, Mango, Dates and Raspberries

This post is sponsored by got milk? Food Loves Milk.

Have you ever eaten cereal for dinner?

Of course you have, when you’re utterly exhausted and can’t think of anything else, when you get home and there’s nothing traditionally dinnery in the house, or when you have teenagers. Bless them; they consider cereal a 24-hour all-purpose meal.

But…but…but…what if you gave it a bit of thought, and actually PLANNED to eat cereal for dinner? That’s the proposition by the got milk? folks. They asked me to reimagine the milk and cereal dynamic duo and create a more savory “night cereal” version.

I consulted my cereal-loving teenager, and we came up with a chai-flavored oatmeal that would not be sweetened by the traditional brown sugar, but would have sweet elements from a variety of fruit – dried dates and fresh mango. We’d savory-it-up with bacon, because….BACON. Really, does there need to be any other reason? And we decided to add some crunch with fun freeze-dried raspberries and delicious vanilla-flavored cereal flakes.

Dinner is all about flavor and texture, so we need both to feel satisfied.

And, of course, we would marry everything with fresh, whole milk, because milk and oatmeal are natural partners. Milk has a way of not only cooling things down, but helping to meld flavors.

Spicy, savory, sweet and crunchy…this bowl of night cereal has it all.

The base

A chai-spiced bowl of oatmeal. First we make a chai tea, and then use that tea to cook the oatmeal. Easy peasy.

Toppings

Our chai-spiced oatmeal will be topped with crispy chopped cooked bacon pieces and naturally sweetened by some fruit — fresh mango chunks and medjool dates. We’ll garnish with a vanilla-almond crunchy cereal and crunchy freeze-dried raspberries Fresh whole milk is poured around the edge of the bowl, to marry the flavors.

The taste

In each bite you get the complex, spiced oatmeal, a bit of sweetness from the mango and dates, some salty/savory from the bacon, a crunch from the garnish, all cooled down with milk.

Try night cereal when you are feeling bored with your same-old, same-old dinners. I think you’ll find it an invigorating breath of fresh air.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by got milk? Food Loves Milk. Thank you for supporting the California Milk Processor Board, and all the brands I partner with. They keep the cameras charged, the computers humming, the fridge full and the recipes flowing here at Shockingly Delicious HQ.

Tagged as: bacon, cereal, chai, dates, grains, mango, milk, oatmeal, raspberries, sponsored