Author Archives: Lauren Smith

Hello again!  My name is Christina (I post under the name Christine).  As winner of the comment contest, I am thrilled to be back as Oatmeal Enthusiast.  I was also Oatmeal Enthusiast for May 2015.  That was not long ago, but my oatmeal style has evolved since then.  The recipes that I featured in May were all quick oats made in the microwave.  I have since ‘branched out’ to old fashioned (rolled) oats, overnight oatmeal, baked oatmeal, and other breakfast foods made with oats.  I’ve been experimenting a lot over the past several months.  One reason: I joined Pinterest in July.  It serves as an unlimited source of inspiration.  Another reason: the comment contest.  I like feeling goal-oriented.  I knew that every time I tried a new recipe, it would give me something substantive to comment on.  In the end, I posted about 200 comments.  

Being named Oatmeal Enthusiast for December excited me because it’s the best month for food.  You can still get away with fall flavors (pumpkin, apple, pear, etc.), plus there are holiday flavors to choose from – gingerbread, peppermint, egg nog, hot chocolate.  My inclination was to do all seasonal recipes based on Christmas cookies and Starbucks drinks.  But when I was officially announced as Oatmeal Enthusiast, Thanksgiving was over a week away and I wasn’t quite in the mood for Christmas yet.  Instead of doing all seasonal recipes, I decided to channel the holiday spirit of giving back.  As much as I love the Oatmeal Artist’s recipes, I wanted to introduce readers to favorite recipes from other sources.  I also wanted to share cooking tips and tricks.   

First, I couldn’t help but notice the absence of carob recipes on the Oatmeal Artist blog.  Carob seems like a natural fit for a blog focused on heathy eating.  After leaving a comment to that effect, the Oatmeal Artist replied that she does not like carob.  I wanted to fill the void with a post on carob for those who do like it or are interested in trying it.

On Carob

There was a food co-op on campus where I went to college.  That was before stores such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods became mainstream.  One day, I picked up a bag of carob peanuts.  At the time, I’d never heard of carob.  The clerk at the food co-op explained that it’s a chocolate alternative that does not have caffeine.  I bought the bag of carob peanuts and a box of carob-chip granola bars out of curiosity.  The carob tasted smooth and sweet.  I told myself it tasted like mild chocolate.

Unfortunately, there’s not a food co-op or even a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods convenient to where I live.  In the intervening years, I’d sometimes linger in the natural foods section of the grocery store, hoping to find carob-flavored something.  I never did.  This fall, I decided to get some carob.  I found a website that sold it, and was going to place an order except for one night when I happened to stop by a Whole Foods.  Carob!  I bought a canister of carob powder and a bag of carob chips.  

I purposely let myself run out of cocoa powder so that I could start using the carob.  When I opened the canister of powder, it smelled like a shoe.  I didn’t remember it smelling like that.  I went ahead and used carob powder in lieu of cocoa powder in a recipe.  Do not try that. Carob tastes nothing like chocolate.  I understood why some people do not like carob. 

Meanwhile, I had an entire can of carob powder and an unopened bag of chips to use.  I wanted to like carob.  A search of Pinterest yielded two overnight recipes and one baked oatmeal using carob.

Here’s the link to the first recipe I tried – Carob Banana Chia Overnight Oats by Oh-She-Glows.

I was skeptical when assembling the recipe: I couldn’t get over the smell of the carob.  When I took the lid off the oatmeal the next morning, the carob still smelled funny.  The taste was a different story.  Carob powder is not as bitter as cocoa powder; I liked how the chopped banana provided bursts of sweetness between bites.  

Oh-She-Glows’ recipe calls for more chia seeds and fewer oats than I normally use in overnight oatmeal.  It’s more of an overnight oats/chia pudding hybrid.  Her recipe inspired me to create an overnight recipe more along the lines of the Oatmeal Artist’s.  

Carob Banana Overnight Oatmeal:

½ cup old fashioned (rolled) oats
½ cup milk
Dash salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon water or milk
1 tablespoon carob powder
1 overripe banana
Carob chips to taste (optional)

Put all ingredients except banana and carob chips in a container with a lid. Contrary to what you see on Pinterest, you do not need a mason jar to make overnight oats. Any container with a tight-fitting lid will work. I used Tupperware, but have made overnight oats in empty peanut butter jars. A 1:1 ratio of liquid to oats generally works best. I learned from the Oatmeal Artist that for every teaspoon of chia seeds you use, you need an additional tablespoon of liquid for the oats to reach their proper consistency. Chia seeds soak up liquid and make the oatmeal fluffy.

As for the banana, you can either mash it all, chop it all into small bits, or mash half chop half. I chose the latter.

Add the banana to the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. You do not necessarily need to shake the container. Stirring with a spoon works.

Put the oatmeal in the refrigerator overnight. Top with optional carob chips. Tip: If you heat the oats in the microwave, add the carob chips after you heat the oatmeal to prevent melting.

Wednesday, November 18th: Carob Banana Overnight Oatmeal

I debated whether to heat the oatmeal or eat it cold.  Since I liked Oh-She-Glows’ recipe cold, I decided to have mine that way too.  Tips: If you heat your overnight oats, make sure you do so in a microwave-safe container.  You may need to add a little water before you put them in the microwave.

This recipe tasted great!  It was more like oatmeal and less like a chia pudding.  Another thing I appreciated was that it was a simple recipe made with few ingredients.  As much as I enjoy the fancier (i.e. more tedious) recipes, I don’t have time for them on weekday mornings.

I would recommend this recipe to anyone who has never tried carob or who thinks they do not like carob.  Tip: Carob is best enjoyed in its own right.  Don’t expect carob to taste the same as chocolate.  Carob is a chocolate alternative, not a chocolate substitute. (more…)