Although I have discovered many previous Enthusiasts on Instagram, Cassie was a special case. I love seeing my recipes duplicated on Instagram, but another thing I love is receiving comments on my posts. Cassie was consistently posting enthusiastic responses to my new recipes, and it didn’t take long for me to notice and start to recognize her name. I couldn’t wait to invite her to be August’s Oatmeal Enthusiast, and I’m so happy she accepted.
Wow, I cannot even begin how exciting it is to be the Oatmeal Enthusiast of August! I was beyond ecstatic since I comment on Lauren’s posts regularly and cannot get enough of her amazing concoctions. I tend to put the most effort into breakfast since it is my favorite meal of the day as well!
My name is Cassie, otherwise @superfitbabe on Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr, and I am an 18 year-old health and fitness blogger, foodie and traveler who loves trying new things. Oatmeal tends to be an exception since I frequently go back to making it, but I always discover creative recipes—including my favorite banana PB&J oatmeal and banana chocolate chip oatcakes from Lauren’s blog!
Growing up, my mother usually made my oatmeal for me. My first favorite oatmeal was the “Magicolor Cinnamon Crunch” Quaker instant oatmeal I had every day for breakfast before I would leave for preschool. I slowly grew out of rainbow sprinkles and grew to love cold cereal, especially the most popular kid brands such as Frosted Flakes and Lucky Charms.* It stayed that way for a long time until eighth grade when I saw I needed to make healthier choices and switched to whole wheat bran flakes and fruity granola. The problem with cold cereal was that I was never full after one serving and would end up eating more than seven bowls in one sitting!
*TOA: I can’t help but interject that these were my favorites, too!
Eventually I researched that oatmeal was the main alternative to cold cereal and asked my mother to buy me my first large canister of rolled oats—yes, none of that pre-packaged instant oatmeal stuff! Later as I became more expertise in making oatmeal, I found amazing recipes and add-ins that thicken and volumize my oats—my favorites became egg whites, coconut flour and vegan protein powder!
I’ve been hooked on oatmeal ever since developing a healthy lifestyle and relationship with food—it’s so hard to get bored! If you don’t believe me, hopefully you’ll find so otherwise when you take a look at my week of oatmeal eats below!
Sunday: Salted Caramel-Glazed Oatmeal
I decided to use one and a half spoonfuls of coconut flour as my main oatmeal thickener. After sprinkling some cinnamon on the oats, I topped it with a golden plum, a strawberry, raspberry, some Evoke Healthy Foods Athletic Fuel muesli (with pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, cashews, almonds, and raisins), Nature’s Path Qi’a chia cranberry buckwheat cereal, and a healthy salted caramel glaze topping I made by stirring some Quest Salted Caramel protein powder with a few splashes of water. I loved the sweetness of the glaze and the fluffiness of the oats—it was basically eating a giant cinnamon bun with a bunch of my favorite toppings! Continue reading →
I found two answers to this question. One: use coconut milk. Coconut milk (from the can) is so thick and creamy that it would compensate for watermelon’s . . . well, watery-ness. The other answer came from my partner-in-crime (well . . . sort of. She hasn’t agreed to this title, haha): Meghan from Oatgasm. Continue reading 
