The Oatmeal Artist

Once again, I apologize for being so absent. It pains me to see how few recipes I shared in February, but I guess if it’s a symptom of me achieving other great things, then it’s not such a terrible thing, right? For the start of March, I’d like you to meet Michael, whom you may know from her Instagram, @finding_clareity.  She has been a long-time participant in the #oatmealartist hashtag, and I’m so excited to finally feature her here!

Hello there my oat lovin’ friends!

My name is Michael Clare. Some of you may know me as Clare (finding_clareity) on Instagram. I am a 20-year-old Journalism student at Saint Bonaventure University in Western New York.

Honestly, I had to pinch myself when the Oat Queen herself asked me to be the Oatmeal Enthusiast for March. When I first began following her in tenth grade (five years ago!) I never thought I would get to be featured on her blog!

Isn’t it beautiful that Lauren has brought us together through our love of oats? I think so!

In fact – the Oatmeal Artist Blog was a real “grain-changer” for me. Like many folks, the first time I tried oatmeal, I was appalled. I made a sachet of apple spice oats in the microwave and thought, “How do people eat this!?!”

Being an avid baker, my senses told me that I couldn’t trust the microwave version of anything.  

A Google search led me to Lauren’s recipage and after a few weeks of using her amazing recipes, my own creative juices started to flow.

Oats became more for me than just a breakfast, though.

Between my senior year of high school and sophomore year of college I struggled with a  eating disorder. Luckily I had wonderful doctors, friends, family, and teachers to give me the support I needed to recover. Still, it was incredibly challenging and complicated. Eating in recovery was anything but fun. It was a scary, daunting, struggle. Oatmeal changed all that.

Each morning, I looked at my oat bowl as a work of art and myself as an artist. I didn’t think about the calories, macros, ingredients, or amounts I used. Oatmeal helped me see food as being fun! Nourishment for the soul and body.

From a practical standpoint, oatmeal also allowed me to easily up my calorie intake. I started to make a new oat base: ½ cup oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, ½ scoop plant protein, and 1/3 cup liquid egg whites. This allowed me to keep my same familiar bowl of oatmeal for breakfast that I was used to having but with some added fuel. Oats are amazing because they can be customized for a multitude of dietary needs!

These days, my favorite way to eat my stovetop oats is cold. I usually cook the base the night before and add fruit and toppings in the morning. It saves me lots of time for my busy college schedule! Also – I always add a bit of cereal for CRUNCH ☺.

Monday: Chocolate Banana Berry Oats topped with Rice Krispies.

Chocolate is always a good idea for breakfast, but it is a MUST on a Monday!

Tuesday: Chocolate Sweet Potato Berry Oats topped with Cinnamon Chex

When I have sweet potato oats, it means I had some left over from dinner the night before ☺. I love how it pairs with berries and chocolate, too.

Wednesday: PB&J Oats – grapes, strawberries, powdered PB mixed in, topped with Trader Joe’s Valencia PB and multigrain Puffins after the photo

Peanut Butter and Jelly is CLASSIC. You just can’t go wrong. I used to think grape oatmeal was too weird, but grapes quickly became a favorite add-in for me.

Thursday: Chocolate Covered Pineapple Raspberry Oats topped with Van’s Cocoa Sensation cereal

Pineapple can be a hassle to cut, honestly… but it is so worth it! I usually just spend a little extra and buy some pre-cut.

Friday: Strawberry Kiwi Oats topped with Trader Joe’s sunflower butter and Vanilla Chex

This was actually my first time using kiwi in my oats and I LOVED it! Also, shout out to my fav nut/seed butter.

Saturday: Pumpkin Blueberry Oats topped with Peanut Butter & Co. Pumpkin Spice PB and Trader Joe’s Pumpkin O’s

Okay, call me basic but I am going to be real – Pumpkin spice oats are my fav year-round. I love the flavor of real pumpkin combined with cinnamon and ginger. Frozen blueberries add a nice hint of sweetness.

Sunday: Mixed Berry Oats topped with sun butter and Very Berry Cheerios

I had to buy the Very Berry Cheerios as soon as they came out and, obviously, they had to go on top of mixed berry oats as well.

Note: For all “chocolate” oats, I mixed in Trader Joe’s dark chocolate chips while cooking. I also always use frozen raspberries and blueberries in the winter time — plus I like how it freezes the oats 😉 .

That’s it, my week in oats! Thanks for reading and many thanks to Lauren for making my wildest oat-dreams come true. <3

Hello fellow oatmeal lovers! My name is Sarah and I am a 22-year-old graduate student in the Midwest studying for a Ph.D. in math. I’m so excited to be sharing my week’s worth of oatmeal with you as February’s Oatmeal Enthusiast!

Growing up, I always liked oatmeal but never loved it. I would go through phases of eating oatmeal for breakfast, starting with dinosaur egg oatmeal as a kid, rotating through the different flavors of Quaker instant oatmeal in my early teens, and settling on plain oatmeal with a bit of brown sugar towards the end of high school. These were always just phases that lasted a few weeks before I moved onto eggs or Cheerios.

It was during my freshman year of college that my love for oatmeal really blossomed. I had recently discovered healthy living blogs, but being on a full dining plan, had limited use for their recipes. Up until then, I had virtually zero interest in cooking, but I came home for winter break that year eager to try it out. The very first recipe I made was Peanut Butter Fingers’ classic overnight oats. I loved the unique taste and texture of the oatmeal and yogurt mixed together. I also loved the process of actually cooking my own breakfast, following a recipe, and evaluating the finished result. In other words, I was hooked!

Thus began my foray into oatmeal experimentation. Some time during the summer after my freshman year of college, I discovered The Oatmeal Artist. I loved her perspective on oatmeal and life and really appreciated that her recipes were easy to make, used mostly ingredients I had on hand, were customizable, and most importantly, always turned out to be delicious! I also found several other oatmeal recipe blogs to explore through Lauren’s blog.

Now four years later, I prefer hot oats to overnight and enjoy baked oatmeal regularly. I cook my oats on the stovetop over the weekend but in the microwave during the week to save time. My oatmeal is now plant-based and you will never find my bowl without some sort of nut butter on top. I have tried anything and everything in my oatmeal, from chickpeas to spinach to watermelon. However, my favorites tend to be on the simpler side. I still try new recipes whenever I get the chance, but classics like Lauren’s peanut butter oatmeal will always have my heart.

And now without further ado, here’s my week of oatmeal, 2017-style!

Monday:

I started the week off with the Real Life RD’s carrot cake oatmeal . I added zucchini and topped with maple mixed nut butter, so there was no need for maple syrup.

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