Popular Porridges
Author Archives: Lauren Smith
Strawberry Shortcake Baked Oatmeal
Ahhh yes. This recipe brings me back to my childhood.
I spent so many holiday celebrations enjoying strawberry shortcake at my grandma’s house. To be honest, it wasn’t traditional strawberry shortcake. It used angel food cake instead of actual shortcake, store-bought Cool Whip, and the kind of syrupy strawberries that come in frozen tubs. Don’t get me wrong; I loved it. (more…)
Restaurant Review: Porridge Cafe [Guest Post]
TOA: The following review was written by reader Brianna. The Porridge Cafe can be found in London, England. If you have a special oatmeal eatery in your stomping grounds, we’d love to hear about your experience!
I am an avid porridge experimenter and heavily dependent on my morning bowl of porridge for that warm-belly-happy-heart feeling. So, I was perhaps a bit inappropriately excited when I saw the news that during March there would be a pop-up cafe dedicated especially to the world’s most versatile and wholesome breakfast foodstuff in Central London.
Their menu changes daily and offers a selection of sweet and savoury porridges with a range of bases, milk and toppings. The setting is trendy: a small cafe with wooden benches topped with potted flowers, bright and airy lighting, upbeat weekend music and colourful prints adorning the walls. The easy, relaxed atmosphere was completed by the staff who were warm and easy-going.
Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Oatmeal
NYC makes being vegan a breeze. Most restaurants have an option (and many have more than one). The city also has dozens of fully vegan (or at least vegetarian) restaurants that are revered even by meat eaters.
Many establishments, particularly coffee shops, will have a vegan baked good option in their display case. For most, it’s a chocolate chip or peanut butter cookie. Now, I don’t often buy cookies because of my sugar sensitivity, but every now and then it’s fun to splurge on a vegan chocolate chip cookie.
That being said, it feels wrong to complain. What I really want is a snickerdoodle cookie. Snickerdoodles are by far my favorite kind of cookie, even if cookies aren’t totally my thing. It’s like a more sophisticated version of a sugar cookie. I love the blend of sweet and earthy with the pillowy interior. But when will I ever see a vegan snickerdoodle?
Brownie Baked Oatmeal with Mint Avocado Frosting
Happy early St. Patrick’s Day! Having studied abroad in Ireland, I have a special place in my heart for St. Patrick’s Day.
I considered utilizing my Jameson collection for my St. Patrick’s Day-themed recipe this year, but decided to keep it PG and finally make the Mint Avocado Frosting I’ve been dreaming of.
Creamy Almond Oatmeal with Cherry Chia Compote
I think I mentioned once upon a time on the blog that I disliked frozen cherries–that they were flavorless and tasted like ice.
I withdraw that comment.
I recently purchased frozen dark cherries from Trader Joe’s. It was an impulse purchase, and I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do with it. However, everything that I have made with it (it goes beautifully in banana soft serve) has been a treat. I think my initial experience with frozen cherries a few years ago had been with another brand that simply wasn’t good. (Thanks, Trader Joe’s. You da best.)
Mango and Roasted Grape Oatmeal
As crazy as my life has gotten, it’s very important to me to maintain some sort of regularity on this blog. I loathe how “one recipe a week” has become so commonplace. I find this unacceptable, and I want to do better.
Thankfully, April is coming up. April is this beautiful month in the education world where you have a week off for Spring Break, you receive the blessing of multiple days of state testing (aka NO LESSON PLANNING), and for the most part, the students have your procedures and routines down to an art form. Last year, I began my fitness regime in April simply because I suddenly had the time (and energy!) to make it work.
Chocolate Pecan Baked Oatmeal
Zucchinis have changed my life. Having pureed zucchini in my recipes has truly opened up another world. Is it just me, or have all of my recipes for the past month included zucchini? I apologize for that. Actually, no I don’t. Because they’re delightful.
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Rochelle!
Every month as I select the Oatmeal Enthusiast, I try to find variety. However, after searching on Instagram for the last year, I was only finding the ladies in their teens and 20s! (Thanks for using the hashtag, ladies! ^_^ ) I knew that wasn’t an accurate representation of my blog. I realized that if I wanted to find some diversity in my Enthusiasts, I was going to have to look at my other platforms–not just Instagram. That’s how I found Rochelle. She is a frequent poster on Facebook and a commenter on my blog posts. Hooray for change!
Hi! I’m Rochelle! I have two wonderful children, I work two jobs, I’m in school to get a degree in the medical field, and I dedicate any extra time to exercising and eating healthy. I love reading and learning new things. (Who takes an American Politics class for fun?! I DO!) I enjoy doing anything outside: swimming, basketball, biking, rollerblading, running, snowboarding, or sledding. I will be building some snowmen this weekend. (I’m from Chicago and we just got another 3 inches.) I might be brave and take on the Polar Plunge at Lake Michigan too! The family and I try to take advantage of the wonderful city we live in by heading to the Brookfield Zoo, Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier, and of course, the beach in the summer!
I didn’t always enjoy oatmeal as much as I do now. When I was younger I was told I had to eat breakfast and it mostly consisted of high sugar cereals. When my mother passed away 2 years ago, I was a heavy drinker and smoker. My dinner consisted of ramen noodles (yuck!) at 10 o’clock at night and some days I would only eat one meal a day. (I want to clarify that I did not smoke in my house or in my car and what I ate for dinner, didn’t mean my children ate that.) My kids knew I smoked and my son had been asking me for months to quit, but at that time in my life, my bad habits spiraled out of control.
Four months after my mother passed away, right after my 28th birthday, and a thousand nags from my son to quit smoking, I did. At the same time, I quit drinking. (I figured if I was going to do it, go big) I realized I had 2 amazing children that needed me… alive. I knew I had to change my lifestyle because I had heard so many times that people that quit smoking gain weight. This is when I decided to try yoga to help me relax and gain control of myself in times that I would get upset or stressed and usually had a cigarette. I fell in love with it. Then I started running and I could tell such a huge difference in my breathing.
People started noticing a change in my weight and this inspired me to change the way I ate. I have been a vegetarian for 20 years and kind of a crappy one at that. There are so many options out there for protein and I shoveled pasta, breads, and cheeses into my mouth. I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. (I hear my mother telling me every morning.) So I wanted to start with changing the first meal of the day.
When I discovered Pinterest from a friend, I couldn’t believe all of the recipes there were. I knew oatmeal was good for you, but I didn’t want the instant packets or plain boring oatmeal. I was searching for something exciting. This is when I stumbled across Lauren’s Oatmeal Artist page and I was in oatmeal heaven!! I couldn’t believe there were so many possibilities for oatmeal! My breakfast didn’t have to be boring, but adventurous and filling at the same time. Who knew zucchini would taste so good in oatmeal?!
There are times I have oatmeal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In place of ramen, I make oatmeal with paprika, garlic and onion powder, topped with shredded cheese and sliced scallions. For dinner, sometimes I make a vegetarian meatloaf with oatmeal or have an oatmeal burrito for lunch. I love how versatile oatmeal can be. There’s savory or sweet, old-fashion or steel cut, baked, overnight, and stove top.
I feel so much healthier now that I have changed my lifestyle and eating habits. I have yet to get my kids to eat oatmeal, but I won’t stop trying! I love when I eat oatmeal in the morning, I’m not hungry for hours later. If I eat something else, I’m hungry in less than an hour. I have lost 37 pounds since I started my journey and I couldn’t be happier. A huge thanks to Lauren for her oatmeal page that I turn to religiously every day. Thank you for letting me be a part of your blog and sharing my story.
Day 1
This is Lauren’s Berry Cream Cheese Baked Oatmeal. I used a mix of frozen cherries, blueberries, and strawberries. I did use a whipped cream cheese instead of a regular kind. This was my first time making this oatmeal and I’ve made it 2 more times since. The cream cheese and berries are perfect together. I like how baked oatmeal turns out, but the downfall is how time consuming it is.
Matcha Oatmeal
This may not be the best way to open this post, but I’m not completely “won over” by matcha. I’m not even exactly sure what it is. ^_^ It’s a green tea powder with a very unique taste. You can find it in lattes (green tea latte), in candy, and in ice cream. My favorite is the last one.
I decided to buy some to try for my oatmeal. As I did my research, I learned that quality matters. Matcha powder can be pretty pricey, but don’t settle for a cheap one. Read the reviews before you buy; some can have an off-putting flavor.
Snickers Oatmeal
IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!
After a week vacation (hooray for mid-winter break!), it’s a little painful to head back to work on my birthday, but at least it means I have plenty of people to celebrate the day with.
