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As y’all may have figured out by now, oatmeal is pretty much my favorite breakfast off all time (except for French Toast in a Bowl). I have so many oatmeal recipes because I really do eat a lot of oatmeal. Hey, why not? It’s good, and cheap, and there are so many different ways to make it that you never have to get tired of eating it the same way over and over! This Cranberry Orange version comes to you compliments of the holiday season. I love the combination of subtle orange and tart cranberry.
There are a couple of different ways you can make this oatmeal and get different results, but my favorite way is the pudding-like version in the recipe below. The orange and cranberries don’t get heated at all in that version, so they’re nice and juicy-crunchy like I like them.
To see more of my oatmeal recipes, go to my Recipe Index here and look at the “Breakfast” category.
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.

- ½ cup old-fashioned oats (gluten free if necessary)
- 1 cup liquid (water, unsweetened almond milk/carton coconut milk [nut free], or a combination)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 2-3 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (a doonk is 1/32 tsp.)
- ½ an orange, peeled and chopped
- Small handful of fresh cranberries (thawed if frozen), chopped or whole
- Dash of orange extract
- Pinch of ground ginger, optional
- There are a couple of ways you can do this:
- Mix all ingredients together the night before and refrigerate. In the morning, heat in the microwave for 3-4 minutes and enjoy warm. Or if you forget to mix it together the night before, just mix all the ingredients together and microwave in the morning (you'll just miss out on the benefits of soaking your oats overnight).
- *or* MY FAVORITE OPTION - Mix all the ingredients PLUS a rounded ¼ tsp. of glucomannan together the night before and refrigerate overnight. Eat cold in the morning. This version has a more pudding-like feel.
- *or* For more volume, increase the liquid to 1½ cups. Microwave for 4 minutes the night before. Let the oatmeal sit in the microwave for 5 minutes (omit this step for a thinner oatmeal). Refrigerate overnight and eat cold in the morning.
- In any of the options that call for heating the oatmeal, you can either add the orange chunks and cranberries before or after heating, depending on your preference for crunchiness.
Suggested products:
- Watkin’s Orange Extract
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
Stupid question I know but do you cook the cranberries first? I love cranberries but always think they have to be cooked to eat them. Will they explode in the microwave? And can’t eat oranges so could I sub apple?
Hi Pat! “In any of the options that call for heating the oatmeal, you can either add the orange chunks and cranberries before or after heating, depending on your preference for crunchiness.” I don’t heat mine. Apple would be a great substitution. 🙂