Search Results for: pumpkin pie oatmeal

Happy April! Meet this month’s Enthusiast, Rachel. You may know her from Instagram as @rachelhoatmeal, but I know her as the person whom I secretly thought was my sister-in-law for several months due to the fact that they share a first name and last initial, and I’m stupid like that. ? I eventually convinced myself they were not the same person, and I’m happy to share Rachel’s story here today!

Hi fellow oatmeal lovers! My name is Rachel. I am 18 years old and a high school senior in Missouri. I am a very active person, involved in gymnastics, track, student council, yacht club and AP classes. A busy lifestyle like mine requires much energy, and I get a great deal of my energy from a hearty bowl of oatmeal each morning.

In elementary school, I always ate breakfast at school; then throughout middle school I usually had Pop-Tarts or chocolatey cereal for breakfast. Sometime around my transition from middle school to high school I decided to try making chocolate oatmeal with instant oatmeal packets I found in our pantry. Unfortunately, I was not too pleased with my first oatmeal concoction. Following my first oatmeal blunder, I began to put Nutella and/or chocolate protein powder in my oats and thus began my relationship with oatmeal. Pinterest helped me discover many more ways to spruce up the measly instant oatmeal packets, besides Nutella and protein powder, soon I started using oats out of the carton instead of the packets. I happened upon Lauren’s blog when I was googling recipes, and I hopped onto the oatmeal bandwagon.  

My sophomore year of high school was when my oatmeal enchantment really took full swing. I was infatuated with all the different recipes to try on the Oatmeal Artist and many of the overnight oat recipes on Pinterest that I enjoyed after morning weightlifting for track. Most often I made oatmeal with ⅓ cup oats to ¾ cup almond milk and water because the instant oatmeal packets were a ⅓ cup. However, during this time I also began to develop an obsession with working out and eating healthy. This year was a great time for me in track because my height in pole vaulting increased two and a half feet, but my weight dropped into a low percentile. Eventually my mom took me to the doctor who instructed me to gain weight for my health. Following this ordeal, I began to make my oatmeal with a full serving of oats. This aided in my recovery, but I also learned to love my body for all it allows me to do.

[Note from TOA: Yes!! Instant oatmeal packets come in smaller portions so they can say it’s “100 calories” or “150 calories” on the front of the box. Ugh!]

At the beginning of this year, I showed my friends the wide variety of oats I had on my camera roll, and they suggested I make an Instagram account to display my oats. I was hesitant but gave in, and my friend Emily named the account Rachel Hoatmeal, as a play on my last name and the word oatmeal. I have constantly made Lauren’s recipes, but until the beginning of this year I had never shared them on social media. I do really enjoy sharing my oatmeal in the mornings and my Instagram has become like own little oatmeal collection.

Day 1: Dark Chocolate Dreams Overnight Oatmeal

This is a bit of a twist on Lauren’s Dark Chocolate Dreams Oatmeal, but I made it overnight oats because I had track weight lifting before school. To make this an overnight recipe I used equal amounts of oats, almond milk, and Greek yogurt, then put some strawberries and bananas into it along with chia seeds and mixed everything in a nearly empty peanut butter jar. I usually eat a banana and maybe drink some coffee before weights then eat my overnight oats afterwards because I don’t like to eat a whole lot before weights and because it’s quicker in the morning to just pack already made oats then eat them at school.

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Once again, I apologize for being so absent. It pains me to see how few recipes I shared in February, but I guess if it’s a symptom of me achieving other great things, then it’s not such a terrible thing, right? For the start of March, I’d like you to meet Michael, whom you may know from her Instagram, @finding_clareity.  She has been a long-time participant in the #oatmealartist hashtag, and I’m so excited to finally feature her here!

Hello there my oat lovin’ friends!

My name is Michael Clare. Some of you may know me as Clare (finding_clareity) on Instagram. I am a 20-year-old Journalism student at Saint Bonaventure University in Western New York.

Honestly, I had to pinch myself when the Oat Queen herself asked me to be the Oatmeal Enthusiast for March. When I first began following her in tenth grade (five years ago!) I never thought I would get to be featured on her blog!

Isn’t it beautiful that Lauren has brought us together through our love of oats? I think so!

In fact – the Oatmeal Artist Blog was a real “grain-changer” for me. Like many folks, the first time I tried oatmeal, I was appalled. I made a sachet of apple spice oats in the microwave and thought, “How do people eat this!?!”

Being an avid baker, my senses told me that I couldn’t trust the microwave version of anything.  

A Google search led me to Lauren’s recipage and after a few weeks of using her amazing recipes, my own creative juices started to flow.

Oats became more for me than just a breakfast, though.

Between my senior year of high school and sophomore year of college I struggled with a  eating disorder. Luckily I had wonderful doctors, friends, family, and teachers to give me the support I needed to recover. Still, it was incredibly challenging and complicated. Eating in recovery was anything but fun. It was a scary, daunting, struggle. Oatmeal changed all that.

Each morning, I looked at my oat bowl as a work of art and myself as an artist. I didn’t think about the calories, macros, ingredients, or amounts I used. Oatmeal helped me see food as being fun! Nourishment for the soul and body.

From a practical standpoint, oatmeal also allowed me to easily up my calorie intake. I started to make a new oat base: ½ cup oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, ½ scoop plant protein, and 1/3 cup liquid egg whites. This allowed me to keep my same familiar bowl of oatmeal for breakfast that I was used to having but with some added fuel. Oats are amazing because they can be customized for a multitude of dietary needs!

These days, my favorite way to eat my stovetop oats is cold. I usually cook the base the night before and add fruit and toppings in the morning. It saves me lots of time for my busy college schedule! Also – I always add a bit of cereal for CRUNCH ☺.

Monday: Chocolate Banana Berry Oats topped with Rice Krispies.

Chocolate is always a good idea for breakfast, but it is a MUST on a Monday!

Tuesday: Chocolate Sweet Potato Berry Oats topped with Cinnamon Chex

When I have sweet potato oats, it means I had some left over from dinner the night before ☺. I love how it pairs with berries and chocolate, too.

Wednesday: PB&J Oats – grapes, strawberries, powdered PB mixed in, topped with Trader Joe’s Valencia PB and multigrain Puffins after the photo

Peanut Butter and Jelly is CLASSIC. You just can’t go wrong. I used to think grape oatmeal was too weird, but grapes quickly became a favorite add-in for me.

Thursday: Chocolate Covered Pineapple Raspberry Oats topped with Van’s Cocoa Sensation cereal

Pineapple can be a hassle to cut, honestly… but it is so worth it! I usually just spend a little extra and buy some pre-cut.

Friday: Strawberry Kiwi Oats topped with Trader Joe’s sunflower butter and Vanilla Chex

This was actually my first time using kiwi in my oats and I LOVED it! Also, shout out to my fav nut/seed butter.

Saturday: Pumpkin Blueberry Oats topped with Peanut Butter & Co. Pumpkin Spice PB and Trader Joe’s Pumpkin O’s

Okay, call me basic but I am going to be real – Pumpkin spice oats are my fav year-round. I love the flavor of real pumpkin combined with cinnamon and ginger. Frozen blueberries add a nice hint of sweetness.

Sunday: Mixed Berry Oats topped with sun butter and Very Berry Cheerios

I had to buy the Very Berry Cheerios as soon as they came out and, obviously, they had to go on top of mixed berry oats as well.

Note: For all “chocolate” oats, I mixed in Trader Joe’s dark chocolate chips while cooking. I also always use frozen raspberries and blueberries in the winter time — plus I like how it freezes the oats 😉 .

That’s it, my week in oats! Thanks for reading and many thanks to Lauren for making my wildest oat-dreams come true. <3