Popular Porridges
Author Archives: Lauren Smith
Caramel Apple Oatmeal Parfait
For my readers who have been around since the beginning: can you tell I’m not as into apples as I used to be?
I used to love them so much. They were the first “health food” I hooked myself on when I started weaning myself off processed foods. I would honestly eat two or three apples a day to keep myself from eating crap like Doritos or ice cream. When I started buying organic food, apples and bananas were pretty much the only produce I could afford. When I fell in love with peanut butter, I would eat sliced apple with peanut butter every afternoon when I came home from my last class of the day during my junior and senior year in college.
You can see that obsession in my early recipes. So. Many. Apples. I’m not sure when it happened, but during my year in Newark, the love affair ended. I started having stomach issues (mainly bloating) after eating apples, and I found bananas and oranges to be less abrasive. The apple recipes faded away. (more…)
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Kira!
TOA: What drew me to Kira’s oatmeal posts on Instagram was how creative she was. She would take my recipes and add a personal touch that I always found appealing. I guess you could say she and I would make a great team!
Hello fellow oatmeal lovers,
I was over the moon when Lauren asked me to be the Oatmeal Enthusiast for October. Not only because I had been dreaming about being an oatmeal enthusiast, for any month, for months, but because I was secretly hoping it would be for October as I turn 18 this month. I was actually talking to my mother about it a week or two before Lauren asked, and when I told her it actually happened she was elated. Best 18th birthday present EVER!! (Cue painfully big smile, weird happy noises, and ecstatic bouncing up and down/irish dancing).
I hyperventilated on the spot, re-reading her message a bajillion times before I could fully understand it. No joke.
Now, let me introduce myself. My name is Kira, I’m seventeen, but not for much longer. I’m a proud Brit, currently doing my second year of A-levels in media, general studies and most important of all, film studies. I dream about being a part of the world of film production either as a screenwriter or director.
Just over a year ago I made a life changing decision to completely change up my diet and overall lifestyle. I started exercising more regularly and dived in at the deep end when it came to food. I quit cold turkey and cut out everything I was 100% sure was pure ca-ca. Bumping up my clean-eating regime with fruits and veggies and leaving the fast food behind me. Thinking it was going to be just that easy. I lost 25 pounds in just a few months.
Now I’m not going to lie, I have had my struggles with food and exercise. For months I fell into a dangerously additive downward spiral of restrictive dieting and over-excising. I won’t go into any detail but I will quickly bring this post back to a positive mood by saying I am steadily making my peace with food, not restricting and giving myself enough rest days a week to keep me balanced. Even starting an online nutrition course to properly educate myself. I no longer desire to be stick thin, but lean, strong and powerful. I wholly enjoy my ‘diet’. My, do I hate that word. On the clean lifestyle I follow now I feel fantastic, and have made amazing progress with my physical abilities i.e strength and endurance. I have fallen back in love with foods like bananas, a beloved stable on this blog, as well as discovered new ones like pomegranates, avocados, zucchinis, beetroot. I even eat brussel sprouts now. To the shock and awe of my family.
I still treat myself regularly though.
On to oatmeal. My mum actually winces whenever I call it that. “It’s porridge. You’re not American.” I pefer ‘oatmeal’ though. It sounds so much more appealing. The first time I tried it, I hated it. I loathed it even. Though looking back it was all down to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing when I first made it. But to 2012 me, oatmeal was disgusting, it was gloopy, tasteless, grey mush. I had to add FIVE TBSP’s of sugar and even then I only had two more spoonfuls before chucking it in the bin and making a bowl of cereal.
I left it a year before I tried it again. This was when I was just starting out trying to eat healthier. It still sucked. Thinking about it now I’m kind of ashamed. I had cooked it in the microwave, and it was an overcooked, stodgy mess. Even worse this time, I added Splenda. No offense to anyone who uses it. But artificial sweeteners…it makes me cringe to see people use them. When there are such better alternatives both for health AND taste; honey, maple syrup, stevia, FRUIT!
Anyway…
Fast forward a few months and I realised that its better straight from the hob (The stove for all you Americans). And with milk. Unsweetened almond milk being my liquid of choice. And most of all, laddened down with lots of fruits, jam/nut butters, nuts, chocolate chips etc, etc. Midway through this period of oatmeal adventureous..ness..ness (That’s not a word is it?), I came across one of the best discoveries I have made. Lauren…and her blog. I was overwhelmed with just how many different combinations she had created, and because of her I found other blogs (Oatgasm and the Cinnamon siliqouy) which gave me even more to try out and enjoy. Oatmeal has so many benefits, and because I can make it with gluten-free oats it doesn’t give me a tummy ache afterwards either, I suffer from IBS, irritated significantly by gluten, so this is a big selling point for me.
Now. Even more months after that I still follow them and others, checking everyday for new posts, and have even started up my own blog where I post my own creations. Writing this, I thank my lucky stars that I decided to choose a healthy lifestyle, and more over that I found Lauren and ‘The Oatmeal Artist’ because I have no idea where I would be now. Not enjoying a new, exciting, delicious AND nutritious breakfast every morning that’s for sure. And I do eat it every morning. Without fail. My day doesn’t start till I’ve had my oats. Which brings me to the end of the ‘get to know me’ segment of this post. (Sorry it was so long!)
If you’re still reading after that lot… Well done. I mean it. Now how about I get down to it and show you the main attraction of this post? My breakfasts for the week.
These were my oatmeal dishes from the 14th-21st of Septemeber. Hope they were worth it 😛
Monday
Molten Mexican Hot Chocolate Baked Oatmeal
Lauren and I had the same idea this week. A baked variation of Mexican hot chocolate oatmeal. I just added a chocolate centre. I found that this calmed some of the heat and made it extra indulgent. I had some yogurt on the side so it was like having a posh dessert for breakfast. (more…)
Top 15 Recipes for Autumn Lovers (Revisited)
Last year this month, I posted about the Top Recipes for Autumn Lovers, AKA oatmeal that uses ingredients like apples, pumpkin, sweet potato, and other fall produce.
Since I made so many autumn-themed recipes last year throughout the fall and winter months, I figured this would be a great time to update the list!
Autumn Muesli
It’s all in the name. What could be more “fall” than dried apples, raisins, and pepitas?
Plum Pineapple Rosemary Breakfast Cobbler
Let me tell you the history of Lauren and rosemary.
Herbs are not used in traditional Midwestern cuisine. Most dishes consist of copious amounts of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken and a solid pinch of salt. I didn’t have any concept of fresh herbs until my mom started growing her own chives and putting them on roasted sliced potatoes. (more…)
Pumpkin Maple Overnight Oatmeal Parfait
I’m growing pretty tired of the term basic and its association with pumpkin. I could rant about the word basic as a yet another derogatory label for women, but I don’t think that has a place on my blog, so I’ll just stick to the pumpkin part.
Guess what? I like the taste of pumpkin. Many people like the taste of pumpkin. Many men like the taste of pumpkin. Pumpkin tastes great with coffee (as do many things). I’ll stop complaining about the word basic once people come up with a rude label for people who never STFU about bacon. (more…)
Excuse the appearance…
Welcome to my new blog! Unfortunately, it’s a hot mess right now. While I’m experimenting and fixing things up, please excuse the chaos. I know things look pretty dreadful at the moment, but rest assured that I have a solid knack for aesthetics and things will eventually look better.
Similarly, links around the site are pretty broken. You’ll have to be super patient about that one, unfortunately! It may take months for me to fix all of that.
Double-Chocolate Mango Oatmeal with Toasted Coconut
What kind of recipe-creator would I be if I didn’t take some risks? Chocolate and mango are not often paired together, but it has been done. For example, there’s chocolate-covered mango, this chocolate-mango loaf cake, this coconut mango cashew chocolate bark, or Oatgasm’s Chocolate Chili Mango Baked Oatmeal.
I was in the mood for peanut butter when I made this, so I found a way to include that as well. I actually made Happy Herbivore’s Nutty Spread, but instead of adding cinnamon, I added cocoa powder. I love Nutty Spread because it gives me less of a tummy ache than pure peanut butter, and it can be supped in for peanut butter in most situations. (more…)
Tiramisu Oatcakes for One
You know my oatcakes always feature some sort of fruit or veggie, whether it’s mashed banana, pureed peaches, apple butter, or pureed beets.Can you guess the produce packed into this one?
It’s zucchini! Now, I have experimented with using zucchini in the past, but it has often failed to serve the purpose I needed it for. I usually want it to be a “tasteless filler” in an otherwise “nutrition-less” recipe (see: any cookie recipe). However, it never worked as nicely as I would have liked. Just recently, I used it to make a brilliant recipe (you will just have to wait until I “nail it” to see what it is!), but I could taste the zucchini. As low in flavor as it is, it does leave some sort of flavor, particularly when paired with cinnamon, as it was in that recipe. (more…)
20 Ways to Take Your Porridge to the Next Level
Oatmeal has a tendency to seem pretty humble. It’s traditionally a peasant food, after all. If you really want to impress your breakfast guests, here are some tricks you can stun them with!
2. Toast your coconut just before topping your oatmeal.
3. No nuts? Try puffed rice.
5. Add a spoonful of coconut oil to make your porridge extra rich.
6. Top your oatmeal with a scoop of banana soft serve.
7. Swap in almond (or another nut) butter for peanut butter.
8. Top with pomegranate arils. It automatically makes it seem luxurious!
9. Serve your oatmeal in a scooped out fruit, like a watermelon bowl, half a grapefruit, or mango.
10. Mix your oats with another grain, like rice or quinoa.
11. Take your baked oatmeal out of the bowl it cooked in and “frost” it like a cake with your favorite nut butter.
12. Blend your oatmeal.
13. Use a flavored nut, such as honey roasted peanuts or candied walnuts.
15. Layer two (or more) different oatmeal recipes together!
16. Turn your baked oatmeal into a parfait.
17. SALT IT.
18. Use homemade coconut butter instead of shredded coconut.
19. Drizzle on some fancy balsamic reduction, if you’re into that kind of thing.
20. Caramelize, roast, or grill your fruit before adding it to your oatmeal.
1. Use vanilla bean paste (or even a fresh vanilla bean) instead of vanilla extract.
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| [Strawberry Vanilla Bean Oatmeal] |
2. Toast your coconut just before topping your oatmeal.
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| [Tropical Oatmeal] |
3. No nuts? Try puffed rice.
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| [Mango-Coconut Overnight Oatmeal with Puffed Wild Rice] |
4. Sub a chopped-up high-quality chocolate bar for plain ol’ chocolate chips.
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| [Orange Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal] |
5. Add a spoonful of coconut oil to make your porridge extra rich.
6. Top your oatmeal with a scoop of banana soft serve.
7. Swap in almond (or another nut) butter for peanut butter.
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| [Peach Almond Butter Oatmeal] |
8. Top with pomegranate arils. It automatically makes it seem luxurious!
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| [Banana Pomegranate Oatmeal] |
9. Serve your oatmeal in a scooped out fruit, like a watermelon bowl, half a grapefruit, or mango.
10. Mix your oats with another grain, like rice or quinoa.
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| [Banana Oat-Quinoa Porridge] |
11. Take your baked oatmeal out of the bowl it cooked in and “frost” it like a cake with your favorite nut butter.
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| [Apple Baked Oatmeal with Espresso Almond Butter Frosting] |
12. Blend your oatmeal.
13. Use a flavored nut, such as honey roasted peanuts or candied walnuts.
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| [Banana Chai Latte Oatmeal] |
15. Layer two (or more) different oatmeal recipes together!
16. Turn your baked oatmeal into a parfait.
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| [Brownie Baked Oatmeal Parfait] |
17. SALT IT.
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| [Salted Mango Coconut Oatmeal] |
18. Use homemade coconut butter instead of shredded coconut.
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| [Sweet Potato Coconut Oatmeal] |
19. Drizzle on some fancy balsamic reduction, if you’re into that kind of thing.
20. Caramelize, roast, or grill your fruit before adding it to your oatmeal.
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| [Grilled Peach Steel-Cut Oatmeal] |
**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account! You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!
Spiced Brownie Baked Oatmeal
It may look like a calm, traditional brownie (or at least the baked oatmeal version of one), but this brownie is feisty. He’s maybe even a little vicious.
Of course, you have control over his viciousness. You could just give him a little bit of bite. OR you could be like me and drop three generous pinches of cayenne pepper into the batter. It’s up to you.
(more…)
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POSTED IN: baked oatmeal, chocolate, dessert lovers, hidden banana, spicy, sweet potato, veggies
POSTED IN: baked oatmeal, chocolate, dessert lovers, hidden banana, spicy, sweet potato, veggies
