Author Archives: Lauren Smith

It’s April! My favorite month of the year. Today I’m happy to introduce you to Sandra, whom I “met” last fall when I did the comment contest. Sandra was one of my top commenters, leaving a response on every post. She continues to be a regular visitor to the blog and leaves the most enthusiastic comments! I could not wait to invite her to be April’s Enthusiast.

Hello Oatmeal Connoisseurs!!  Sandra here.  I’m a 21-year-old college student. Besides school, my life revolves around cooking, nail art, fashion, leisurely walks, celebrity obsessions, scientific curiosity, writing, photography, Cappuccino, my cat/mountain lion, friends, and family. 

In the past, I neither loved nor hated oatmeal.  It was just there, for it was either blandly healthy or chemically enhanced. I lacked the time and appetite for hearty breakfasts on early school mornings, yet I’d long for weekend brunches prepared by my parents or at my favorite restaurants. Daily nourishing breakfasts are pretty new to me because of how my life evolved. (more…)

It’s March! Spring is just around the corner. Like many of you, I did not get into oatmeal until recently, meaning I spent two decades missing out on precious porridges. This month’s Enthusiast has been enjoying oats since she was six–maybe sooner! I must say, I’m a little jealous. 🙂 

My name is Emily and I am an avid biker, hiker, surfer and long distance runner.

I was introduced to oatmeal from a very young age. My first memories of oatmeal are from when I was 6 years old on my family’s 40 mile back packing trip in upstate New York. Me being the picky eater I used to be, survived for a week on peanut butter and jelly and packets of Quaker oatmeal. Every morning I’d wake up to two packets of oatmeal, then hike to the next destination. Once back in civilization, we went to a diner to feast on everything we’d missed out on for the past week and what did I order? Oatmeal. My sisters still like to give me a hard time about this and looking back on it now it’s so silly.

Oatmeal has been a part of my life ever since. I’ve graduated from those Quaker packets to homemade oatmeal concoctions. I love how it is filling, makes you feel good, and is so fun to make. I look forward to waking up every morning and creating a masterpiece consisting of basically anything I want: veggies, fruits, eggs, you name it. It prepares me for everything I love to do and I know it will keep me full and energized.

For me, being healthy is not eating the foods with the least amount of calories, checking the labels for grams of sugar, and all of that nonsense. Being healthy and living a healthy life is having an honest connection between your mind and heart. It is recognizing that a delicious salad and a chocolate chip cookie can be equally as “healthy” depending on what your heart wants. Listening to yourself and being so grateful for food and where it comes from is essential. It is essential to be mindful that food is the product of the earth and designed to fuel you.

I love oatmeal because it makes me happy and that embodies everything I believe to be a healthy lifestyle.

This is banana, plain oats, original almond milk, flax seeds and honey.

Apple, banana, plain oats, original almond milk, peanut butter, vanilla protein and nutmeg

Chia seeds, plain oats, apples, almond butter, vanilla protein, and graham crackers

Some oatmeal/date/ coconut cookies 🙂

Hemp milk, plain oats, pears, granola, honey, dates, flax seeds, vanilla protein

Cashews, sunflower butter, flax seeds, plain oats, granola, vanilla almond milk, protein and banana

Vegan/sugarless pb and oatmeal cookie w/ a pb cream filling

Raisins, oats, pears, original almond milk, vanilla protein, honey and peanut butter

Chocolate protein, granola, peanut butter, plain oats, original almond milk, bananas and chia seeds

Plain oats, original almond milk, mashed banana, egg whites, chia seeds, granola, sunflower butter, vanilla protein, chia seeds