Popular Porridges
Author Archives: Lauren Smith
Cinnamon Raisin PB2
Does this oatmeal look familiar to you? It should! It’s actually Monday’s Cardamom Butternut Squash Oatmeal.
I wanted to top this oatmeal with cinnamon raisin peanut butter, but I had just finished my jar of it. Then I remembered I could recreate it with PB2.
Cardamom Butternut Squash Oatmeal
Since I had some butternut squash left from making my Savory Citrus Arugula Steel-Cut Oatmeal (I stored the extra squash in the freezer–hooray for saving food!), this seemed like a great combo to try. Most people pair butternut squash with spices like nutmeg and cloves and ginger, a la pumpkin pie, but I went right for the cardamom. 🙂
German Chocolate Cake Oatmeal Bites
I’m extra excited about this recipe. These little energy bites capture the flavors of my German Chocolate Oatmeal with a quarter of the hassle and an eighth of the pecans.
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POSTED IN: chocolate, coconut, dessert lovers, dried fruit, not porridge, nut butter, nuts, oatmeal bites, peanut butter
POSTED IN: chocolate, coconut, dessert lovers, dried fruit, not porridge, nut butter, nuts, oatmeal bites, peanut butter
Cantaloupe Date Oatmeal with Mint-Melon Relish
These oats are ~classy AF~
This relish is like a dessert pico de gallo, with cantaloupe instead of tomato and mint instead of cilantro. The purpose of a relish is to add a strong flavor to a dish, and this does just that. It can guarantee maximum flavor and freshness, and it’s a fun way to spruce up a simpler oatmeal.
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Kat!
Happy June, oatmealers! This month’s Enthusiast, Kat, came to me through my “This Week in Oatmeal” series. This weekly tradition brings me joy every week because the designated themes allow me to see how many of you actually read my blog on a regular basis. I actually imagine people visiting TOA by accident after finding me on Pinterest or Google, and then never coming back. However, when I set weekly themes like “unique toppings,” and suddenly I find dozens of you throwing animal crackers on your morning porridge, it hits me that some of you actually read this thing.
Anyway, Kat is one of the many Instagrammers who regularly participates in my fun but arbitrary themes. I am so pleased to present her as the Oatmeal Enthusiast for June 2016!
I sat silent on the stage as a few hundred strangers tried to give me a nickname. They asked me my favorite food, most embarrassing moment, favorite color, and most memorable family vacation.
Suddenly, a boy jumped onto his chair and shouted, “I’ve got a name! Answer me this: what is her favorite food?”
Everyone yelled, “oatmeal!”
“That’s right!” The boy said, “Rolled oats. And what does she sometimes put on her oatmeal? Thai spices, so I say that we name her ‘Let the Good Thai’mes Roll!” The crowd erupted into applause, and the name stuck. For the rest of the summer, I was referred to as “Good Thai’mes” in honor of my love of oatmeal with Thai spices.
When I affirm that oatmeal is my favorite food, people stare at me in disbelief. They glance at the cafeteria serving line with its lumpy porridge and decide that the cafeteria staff must be slipping a little something extra into my oats. They aren’t—I truly love oatmeal that much. My friends just don’t realize that the cafeteria’s plain oatmeal is my canvas every morning. I paint it with yogurt, adorn it with bananas, and sprinkle it with nuts. Making oatmeal is truly an art.
I have not always been so fond of porridge. Before college, I rarely ate cereal at all—hot or cold. My breakfasts usually consisted of a few iced oatmeal cookies and a glass of chocolate milk. But one morning at the beginning of freshman year, I heard my mouth ask the cafeteria worker for oatmeal. I took a bite…and I was not impressed. Plain oats were a letdown to my ubiquitous sweet tooth. A few weeks later, I asked for a bowl of oats again, and I added some jelly to the steaming cereal. Slowly, I realized that oatmeal is made to be decorated. Later that year, I found The Oatmeal Artist’s blog, and I started creating my own works of art whenever I was home. Below you will find a week’s worth of breakfast creations; to see more, check out my blog.
Sunday: Cinnamon Microwave Oats with Strawberries and Peanut Butter
When I first started making oatmeal, I meticulously measured everything, and my bowl would overflow every time I tried to make microwave oats. Now I just eyeball the amount of water that I add to a scoop of oatmeal and microwave for one minute; it’s delicious every time! (more…)
Raspberry Almond Butter Oat Smoothie
Yes, I know. I’m all about raspberries right now. I guess you could say I’ve been compiling a list of raspberry ideas, and now that they’re finally affordable, I’m blazing through all of them.
Salted Rosemary Brownie Batter Oatmeal
A few months ago for my birthday, my BFF Kate gave me a box of chocolates from the vegan company Lagusta’s Luscious. One of the flavors was rosemary sea salt caramel, and considering my love of all things rosemary, this was absolutely my favorite of the bunch. Since then, I knew I had to make this flavor combo an oatmeal recipe.
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POSTED IN: chocolate, herbs, nut butter, peanut butter, sweetened by dates, veggies, zucchini
POSTED IN: chocolate, herbs, nut butter, peanut butter, sweetened by dates, veggies, zucchini
Raspberry and Chocolate Tahini Oatmeal
Vibrant and fruity oatmeal topped with a fudgy scoop of tahini? Oh, yessss.
Banana Caramel Walnut Oatmeal
It’s super common to top oatmeal with maple syrup or a pinch of brown sugar. For an extra special twist, caramel sauce is truly a treat.
Topping: Cheesecake PB2
This recipe tastes like peanut butter (or, at least, PB2), with a creamy tang. It’s not quite like biting into a slice of cheesecake because the PB2 flavor is still pretty pronounced, but the two flavors together (with the richness of the cream cheese) is really quite pleasant. After all, peanut butter is a hugely popular ingredient in variations of cheesecake! They are a great match.
