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Author Archives: Lauren Smith
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Lauren!
No, not me. Another Lauren. 🙂 Although we do have much in common: we’re both 26, love oatmeal, and studied English and literature in college! Read her story below, and follow her on Instagram!
Hello everyone!
First of all, I would like to say thank you to my namesake Lauren for allowing me to share my oatmeal creations on her website. I have followed her website for years now and she keeps amazing me with her wonderful and original oatmeal recipes.
As I mentioned, my name is Lauren. I am 26 years old and I live together with my boyfriend in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a wonderful city! If you ever go there let me know and I will give you some great recommendations. 😉
I studied English in combination with Theater, Film and Literature Studies at the University of Antwerp. Now I am working as an Operational Assistant for an Italian company, which repairs ships. Furthermore, I like spinning, walking, having fun with my girlfriends and my cutie pie beagle Billy. I have an Instagram account with many oatmeal recipes, but also delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes. Feel free to check it out!
My oatmeal journey started in my second year of University, when I decided to start a healthier life style. I had tried oatmeal before, without any toppings or additions at a hotel, and I thought it tasted bland. Years later, after reading so many great things, I decided that I had to try it again. I discovered that you can make your oatmeal taste like a delicious treat.
For a couple of years, I almost always had the same bowl of quick oats with almond or soy milk, a bit of cacao powder, and berries. Later, I discovered Lauren’s website and found so much inspiration. I can really look forward to my bowl of oatmeal the evening before.
I have been a vegetarian (by my own choice) since I was 6 years old, and all of my oatmeal recipes are vegan. I always use plant-based milk and yogurt, because I have a slight allergy to milk products. [TOA: Oh, look, another thing the Laurens have in common!]
Now let’s take a look at my weekly overview of oatmeal. Please note that I make all of my oatmeal in the microwave or in the form of overnight oats, because I do not have the patience and/or time in the morning to cook my oatmeal on the stovetop. I use the fruit that I have at hand at that moment, but feel free to use different types of fruit as your topping when trying one of my recipes. Enjoy!
Monday – Golden Latte Oatmeal
This is my favorite creation, because I love turmeric. I try to use it as much as possible. I make these oats in the microwave with almond milk, turmeric powder, cinnamon and a dash of ground ginger. You can use agave or honey as a sweetener. I added half an apple on top. (more…)
Maple, Kabocha, and Rosemary Steel Cut Oatmeal
Regular readers already know my passion for this pine-flavored herb. I will combine it with just about anything when it comes to oatmeal: grapes, pineapple, peaches, and even chocolate. Combining it with squash probably makes the most sense out of all these, considering rosemary and squash are both classic fall flavors!
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POSTED IN: big batch, herbs, maple, steel cut, sweetened by dates, veggies, winter squash
POSTED IN: big batch, herbs, maple, steel cut, sweetened by dates, veggies, winter squash
Kabocha-Pomegranate Steel Cut Oatmeal with Pecans and Tahini
In the past year, I have reserved steel cut oats for savory recipes (it’s like a risotto!), but here I went all sweet. I’m pretty darn pleased with the result, too.
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POSTED IN: big batch, nut butter, nuts, pomegranate, steel cut, sweetened by dates, tahini, veggies, winter squash
POSTED IN: big batch, nut butter, nuts, pomegranate, steel cut, sweetened by dates, tahini, veggies, winter squash
Sesame-Date Oatmeal Bites
These little snacks are perfect for tahini lovers! The no-bake beauties pack a big smack of tahini flavor, only slightly tempered by the sweetness of the dates and maple syrup. Shout out to all my fellow bitter-loving tahini readers!!
Cran-Strawberry Oatmeal
This year, I have become increasingly interested in oatmeal with strawberries cooked in. In the past, I have always preferred using strawberries as a topping only; I loved their cool, sweet freshness. However, I may be starting to prefer them cooked in.
Red Bean Paste and Matcha Overnight Oatmeal Parfait
I bought a huge can of red bean paste, so of course I have multiple red bean paste recipes for you now! If you’re unfamiliar with this ingredient native to Japan, I recommend reading this post for more info.
Unlike the linked recipe above, which blends the red bean paste into the oats, this recipe layers the paste into a parfait with Matcha Yogurt Overnight Zoats. This combination seemed obvious, given how often these two flavors (matcha + red bean paste) are combined in various desserts. (more…)
Persimmon and Red Bean Paste Oatmeal
Beans?! In oats?!?!
While it may seem trippy to put beans in a dessert, red bean paste is really just a sweet paste, but it does (intentionally) retain its ~bean~ flavor. (Scroll down to learn about what red bean paste is.)
Persimmon Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal
I had other plans for this week’s recipes, but when I walked into my produce market and spotted the newly stocked persimmon, I scrapped all those ideas immediately.
Persimmon! It’s been so long! Why must you hide for 80 percent of the year?
