Popular Porridges
Author Archives: Lauren Smith
PB2 Oatcakes + 3 Easy PB2 Hacks
The affection I have for PB2 is real. I feel like I owe it something.
For many years, my life was a cycle of toomuchpeanutbutterinonesitting –> stomachachefordays –> that’sitI’mquittingpeanutbutterforever –> omgImissitsomuch –> Icanhavejustalittlebit –> nopeIwannaeatthewholejar –> repeat.
I tried many tricks to overcome this addiction. I would make CCK’s banana butter, or Happy Herbivore’s nutty spread, or Oh She Glows’ ABU (made with peanut butter), but ultimately, all of those tricks required me to buy peanut butter. None of the recipes require you to use a full jar of peanut butter at once, which meant I would have a half a jar of undiluted peanut butter calling my name.
The thing about PB2 is that the fat is taken out. Most people would say–and I would agree–that it is flawed thinking that PB2 is “healthier” because the fat is taken out. However, the fat in peanut butter is what makes it so good. So addicting. So easy to enjoy by the spoonful (after spoonful after spoonful after spoonful) until the jar is empty and you feel sick. The high concentration of fat caught me in The Pleasure Trap, and I couldn’t escape it. I had daily stomach aches from my inability to put down the spoon. Although I make light of my peanut butter addiction on this blog, in reality it brought me much grief and pain on a daily basis.
Not only does PB2 allow me to enjoy peanut butter flavor without igniting my pleasure-seeking desires, but I have to actually make it each time I want it. When I put PB2 in my oatmeal, I have to physically mix up a serving of it. I can’t just go back for another spoonful. I have to make more. It’s not that hard, and I’ve done it before, but there’s a huge difference between opening up the jar for another (and another, and another, and another, and another) spoonful of peanut butter, and stirring up one more serving of PB2 and realizing you don’t actually want/need any more than that.
Because I’m sure people will comment on it, I want to clarify that removing peanut butter from my diet required me to add fat and calories to other parts of my day. Although my peanut butter has been replaced with PB2, I still top my oatmeal with tons of nuts (now more than I used to). I still eat a ton of avocado. Et cetera.
Please do not use PB2 as a low-fat or low-calorie substitute if you have a healthy relationship with peanut butter. I didn’t; that’s why I needed a change. Eating food in its natural form is always the best option. (But I recommend trying PB2 either way since you can use it for cool tricks like on popcorn or in place of flour when baking.)
As a full-fledged PB2 lover, here are three hacks I’ve learned:
- Add extra liquid to make a PB2 sauce. It’s perfect for pancakes. Sometimes I even mix in maple syrup for a PB2 version of my Maple-Nut Sauce.
- Add a drop of almond extract for “AB2.” While we wait for the almond version of PB2, this is the best we can do. Is it a spot-on replica of almond butter? Obviously not. However, since I can’t be trusted with a jar of almond butter (Exhibit A), I found this pretty darn satisfying. Note that I said a drop. It does not take much.
- Mix in coconut butter. I found out–after purchasing a jar–that I do not enjoy store-bought coconut butter. It’s very greasy and unpleasant–more like oil instead of butter. Thus, I keep my jar of coconut butter in the fridge, where it hardens. When I make my PB2, I scrape out about a 1/8 tsp of coconut butter and mix it into my PB2. The result is fabulous–not only do you get a bit of the fat back, but you get some lovely coconut flavor, too. 🙂
Anyway. THESE PANCAKES. 🙂
PB2 Oatcakes
What you'll need:
- 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
- 1/2 cup rolled or quick oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
- 1/4 cup PB2
- 1/2 cup's worth of zucchini, preferably peeled
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- rounded 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
How to make it:
- Combine milk and vinegar in a small bowl or cup and let sit for ten minutes.
- Put all pancake ingredients (including milk-vinegar mixture) in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add extra liquid if necessary (just a tsp or so at a time). It should have the consistency of paint. 🙂
- Heat a griddle pan over medium low heat.
- When griddle pan is ready, spray with nonstick cooking spray (it only needs a little bit!), and use a large spoon or a small scoop to pour pancakes onto the griddle. I made small pancakes, so I used a large soup spoon, and it worked perfectly. Generally, don't go any bigger than 1/4 a cup, but I find that too big still.
- When bubbles have formed at the top of the pancake, flip over and cook for another minute. Repeat until all the batter has been used!
- Serve with syrup (I recommend fruity syrups) or fresh fruit. I used strawberry syrup and pomegranate arils.
Hummingbird Cake Batter Oatmeal
I knew I would love this recipe. Bananas + pineapple + cinnamon + pecans. I love all of those ingredients, and I keep them on hand consistently. So why didn’t I make it earlier?
I always envisioned it as a baked oatmeal recipe. As my regular readers already know, I much prefer stovetop oatmeal. That kept me from making this sooner. Finally, last weekend I decided to do things my way and enjoy this recipe in the form I would prefer. Therefore, I give you cake batter. Cake batter is trendy now anyway, isn’t it? 😉
Blueberry Oatcakes
Now that I know that zucchini is the trick to making neutral-flavored oatcakes, THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES! First up on my list: blueberry pancakes.
Roasted Apricot Oatmeal
You know how I don’t like pears because they remind me of a sad, flavorless, soggy apple? That’s kind of how I feel about apricots. 😛 They remind me of a hard, off-tasting peach. And YOU KNOW how much I love my peaches. I often grab apricot-flavored jelly or pancake syrup, thinking, “Ohhhh, this will be like peaches!!” But the whole time I’m eating it, all I can notice is that apricot taste, and how it’s not peaches.
Apricots are like decaf coffee. It’s almost what you want, but it’s mostly a disappointment.
However, when I saw the clamshell of apricots at Trader Joe’s this week (TJ’s loves its clamshells…), I felt inspired. Apricots are so cute! That golden hue with sporadic shades of blush just spoke to me. 🙂
What It’s Like to Fall in Love with Oatmeal
The first time you try to make oatmeal from scratch (with no help from instant flavored packets) and being unimpressed and not finishing it.
The moment you start to hate yourself for giving up instant flavored packets because the homemade version just doesn’t compete.
But then comes…the first time you make an oatmeal recipe that makes you say, “….Oh, wait…this is actually pretty good!”
And then the first time you make an oatmeal recipe that makes you realize your one true love in life.
The first time you use your favorite oatmeal recipe for emotional support.
The time you return to your favorite instant flavored packet for a bit of nostalgia…only to realize that you now think it tastes like chemicals and glue.
The first time you start actually enjoying waking up and getting out of bed…because it means it’s time for oatmeal.
…And then the first time that you start waking up at ridiculous hours, wondering if it’s too early to get up and eat oatmeal.
…And then the first time you cheat and have oatmeal for dinner because you can’t even wait until breakfast.
The first time you try your oatmeal with almond butter.
The first time you actually feel offended when someone else insults your breakfast of choice.
And finally, the first day you realize that you maybe, possibly, definitely ate oatmeal for all three meals.
Almond Joy Oatmeal #2
Yep, I already have an Almond Joy Oatmeal. I KNOW. This isn’t an “improved” recipe, either. The other one was already perfect. I just came up with a different way to make it.
(To be honest, I just wanted to eat more chocolate PB2.)
Blueberry PB2 Overnight Oatmeal
When it comes to peanut butter and PB2, there are two camps: those of us who like to stir it into our oatmeal, and those of us who like to keep it in a glob at the top of our oatmeal. I happen to belong to the latter group.
However, I know not everyone does. I have often told myself that I need to include recipes for the Stirrers, but I always resisted. Today is the big day that I put others’ needs before my own. 😀
Using PB2 is an easy way to add peanut butter flavor to your entire porridge. And since it’s less decadent that actual peanut butter, you could always add a glob of PB2 at the top, too. Which is exactly what I did. ^_^ #notsorry
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Abby!
Happy 2015, oatmeal lovers. I searched long and hard for the first Enthusiast for the new year, and I am pleased to introduce you to Abby. She’s an avid oatmealer (obviously) and a fellow fruit and veggie lover. Yay!
Hello Everybody!!!
I’m Abby, a oatmeal-lover with a passion for theatre and an obsession with running! You can find me on Instagram @bananas.plus.oats, or over at my new blog http://misssweetiepotato.
I adore living a healthy, plant-based lifestyle that keeps me energized, strong, healthy, and happy. Oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, and peanut butter are my favorite foods in the entire world- I eat at least three out of those four things daily (Anybody else have skin a slightly orange tint?)! I am thinking about one day pursuing nutrition as a career, and spend a lot of time learning about what really is healthy- and not what people trying to sell you a quick fix say is healthy (grrrr I hate the diet industry).
Theatre is my other half, getting on stage, analyzing scripts, and making unbreakable bonds with amazing people is something I also want to do for the rest of my life! But, lets go back to the reason why everybody is reading this post: Oatmeal!!
My first oatmeal experience?
Well, it involved disgust. I can easily say the thought of oatmeal, for the longest time, was not an attractive one to me. It conjured images of soupy flavorless mush; an unappetizing and “less fun” cousin of jello.
I first tried those instant packets, but little 5-year-old me didn’t understand the directions, and just added water thinking it would magically cook in one minute. It didn’t, surprise surprise! It reminded me of vomit- it was just chunks of stuff in murky water ew ew ew. So, oatmeal was rapidly replaced with Fruit Loops. How nutritious.
A few years later, I gave oatmeal another go; my mother made it for me one chilly morning before school. I love my mother, but she could not make oatmeal to save her life. Needless to say, I was thoroughly disappointed; I gave up oatmeal altogether, sticking instead to the more classic American choices of toaster waffles and Yoplait yogurt. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as Fruit Loops, but it was certainly not healthy.
So what changed? Well, I rediscovered myself, I discovered of a magical little blog that I am featured on right now (excuse the informality but OMGGGG), and I felt the powerful desire to change.
I won’t go into too much detail, but almost a year and a half ago, I drastically changed my lifestyle and became obsessed with an idea of “healthy” and “thin”. Don’t get me wrong here: being healthy is wonderful. Exercise is wonderful. Dodging social events, crying over excess calories, and going from overweight to underweight in a minimal amount of time is not wonderful. To say the absolute least.
However, as cheesy as it sounds, food saved me again. And it started with oatmeal. Strange, I know, but I eat oatmeal in some form every single day, and have throughout my recovery. It gives me something to look forward to, something to create. It allows me to try new things, to achieve new flavors, to experiment. It began healing me, bowl by bowl. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s how I feel about oatmeal! I love it so much, sometimes I will eat it for dinner or lunch as well as breakfast. Now that is dedication!
I started checking food blogs daily, and really challenged myself to try new things. I started liking food again- and started cursing the disease that made me scared of things I should enjoy. It limited me socially and personally, and was utterly exhausting. So, I started to recover. It didn’t happen overnight, but it slowly got better and better for me. My doctors and family were overjoyed, as you can imagine. And I was thrilled to be living a life again. To be alive is one thing, but to live is another.
I consider myself fully recovered from my eating disorder at this point in time, but those who suffer know that the thoughts still creep in. So, I regularly challenge myself to kick those nasty voices down! And I usually do so by sneaking fears into my oatmeal. Somehow oatmeal makes things less scary for me.
Wow that was cheesy. I need to marry oatmeal ASAP, apparently.
Some of my oatmeal experiments from this week are as follows:
Day 1
Oh excuse the lighting- my 6 AM wakeup call for school does not allow for natural lighting. But, I can assure you, the oatmeal was still quite wonderful. Friday brought me a wonderful bowl of strawberry vanilla oatmeal, topped with sliced pear, a banana, pomegranate arils, and walnuts. There should be some PB on that baby, but I was all out. Trust me, the sadness was real.
(more…)
Product Review: Dip & Scoop Argan Oil
Happy New Year!
I was not-that-recently approached by Dip&Scoop to try their culinary Argan oil. Not to be confused with Argon--a chemical element with 18 electrons–or Angora–wool made from a rabbit–Argan oil is extracted from the Argan trees in Morocco. It’s most commonly known for being a beauty product, as many people use it in their hair. It turns out it’s good for noshing, too! If you’ve ever tried walnut oil, you will find this quite similar in flavor.
Dip&Scoop was kind enough to send me a bottle of their Argan oil to sample. They actually shipped it to me back in October, and I failed them so hard. First the bottle sat at work (where I had them ship it to) because I was too lazy to carry the box home. Finally, I brought the bottle home and set it in my bedroom.
That ended up being a huge mistake because then I kept forgetting I had it. Every day when I wake up, I head straight to the kitchen and start cooking. My oatmeal consumes all my focus. Then later I go to my room and see the Argan oil and think, “Blerg, I was supposed to use that this morning!” This cycle continued for two months. I suppose the average person would have moved the oil to their kitchen at some point, but that just didn’t occur to me. I kept thinking, “Tomorrow! I’ll remember to do it tomorrow!”
Then, I was just consumed with guilt. This company was generous enough to share their product with me, and I just let it sit in my bedroom for two months. Well, I finally followed through, and I’m pleased to have my first post of 2015 wrap up some unfinished business from 2014. 🙂 (more…)
Banana PB and J Oatcakes
File this one under “things I should have made two years ago.”
I knew I wanted to make oatcakes for my last recipe of 2014, but I wasn’t sure which one. I have plenty of ideas for oatcake recipes, but none of them could be made at my parents’ house (missing some ingredients). Plus, I wanted banana. And peanut butter.
I actually had to go back and check my recipe list to make sure that I had never made this before. Seriously, how did I not make this earlier?
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POSTED IN: bananas, jams and jellies, not porridge, pancakes and waffles, PB and J, peanut butter, toppings
POSTED IN: bananas, jams and jellies, not porridge, pancakes and waffles, PB and J, peanut butter, toppings
