Salted Plum Oatmeal

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Lauren Smith

Bubble tea (or “boba,” if you prefer) is the best. I sometimes feel like I judge people on whether or not they like bubble tea. Not in a “You don’t like boba = you suck at life” kind of way, but in a “You don’t like boba = I don’t understand you and we can’t be friends” kind of way. Like, I’m sure you’re a great person…but we just can’t be friends.

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My favorite bubble tea place—despite all the wonderful teas I’ve had in NYC—is the Tea Garden in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I’m serious. The best. You can actually taste the TEA, and it’s not just a sugar/juice-fest. They also have a ton of different flavors, and you can mix and match up to three flavors at one time. How is that NOT awesome?

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Choco-Cherry Cashew Oatmeal

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Lauren Smith

KIND bars cost too much. Let’s all agree on that. Certainly, they are a high-quality product and deserve to cost as much as they do. However, this girl will not be buying them on the regular. This girl receives a living stipend (not an actual salary) and spends too much money at Banana Republic.

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However, I splurge on one or two bars from time to time. In August, when I was technically homeless for a week, was massively in debt, and had no functioning kitchen to cook in, I survived on bananas, hummus, and whole wheat naan. To make my life seem less pathetic, I also treated myself to one single KIND bar.

I remember unwrapping it for a mid-morning snack during my staff training session. For a moment, my boss’s voice faded off as my attention focused on the brilliance happening in my mouth. Dark chocolate, sweet cherries, and salty cashews worked harmoniously and created a chewy, crunchy, decadent snack bar.
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Oatmeal Recipes for Autumn Lovers

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Lauren Smith
I can take a hint. When I asked for what ingredients you’d like to see more of in my recipes, the resounding opinion was simply everything autumn. I couldn’t agree more, which is why I’ve been pumping out all sorts of hearty, autumn goodness. Summer food is delicious, but when the temperature starts dropping slightly and everyone breaks out their best pair of boots, delving into a bowl of cozy porridge is truly perfection. This is the time of year when the “seasonal porridge lovers” join us crazies who eat it year-round. For once, everyone’s in agreement, and we can all share our love of hot, creamy, pumpkin-themed oatmeal. 🙂

Here are my favorite and/or most popular autumn-themed oatmeal recipes. Plus, since everyone lurrrrves my autumn recipes, I capped myself off at ten recipes instead of five. (And yes, there will be pumpkin.)

I didn’t know what to expect the first time I put sweet potato
in oatmeal, but this was my first experiment, and I’d say it turned out
pretty swell!

The stove-top version is pretty stellar, too, but there is something
about this baked style that really nails the comforting experience of eating
a slice of my grandma’s apple pie.

My pumpkin pie recipes are a reader-favorite. If steel-cut isn’t your
thing, try the baked, overnight, or stove-top version.

Apple Spice Oatcakes

Because some days are pancake days.

The first time I made this, I almost died. My taste buds
could barely handle the incredible blend of flavors. I would
recommend this to even the strongest hater of oatmeal.
I refuse to drink any sugary Starbucks or Dunkin’ version of this concoction,
but I’ll certainly enjoy the healthy oatmeal version!

Apples and sweet potatoes both blend well with the same earthy spices,
so why not combine them?
This baked bowl of glory may not be explicitly fall, but what is more
cozy and comforting than a baked oatmeal WITH PEANUT BUTTER?
Y’all know I had to get peanut butter in here somehow.

I highly, highly, highly recommend using homemade applesauce! It
doesn’t have to be a complicated process; I made mine in the microwave
in under five minutes!

Pepitas. Raisins. Apples. Pecans. Cranberries. Y’know, all those fall-ish things.
    **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!
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    Pumpkin Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal

    Posted on October 1, 2013 by Lauren Smith

    For over a year, I had to stomach the fact that my Salted Brownie Baked Oatmeal was my #1 most viewed recipe. I mean, that recipe was fine and dandy, but number one?? C’mon. Not even close. I could name thirty recipes that I’d pick over that one.Luckily for me, the most wonderful thing happened about a month ago. As always, August and September ushered in the yearly pumpkin craze, and my Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal received a great deal of love on Pinterest. Out of nowhere, this recipe vaulted into the #1 spot and surpassed the Salted Brownie by thousands of views. COOL. I feel like my Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal is a much better representative of my blog than the Salted Brownie.

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    I love my pumpkin pie recipes. Certainly, they’re not my MOST favorite, but they’re in my Top Ten. You might think that I’d be satisfied with a stove-top, baked, and overnight version, but no, I’m not finished. Now that I’ve fallen in love with steel-cut oats, it just made sense to add another variation to my pumpkin pie family.

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    Autumn Muesli

    Posted on September 28, 2013 by Lauren Smith

    I don’t know what it is about muesli lately, but I am all about it. I think it’s because I’ve been setting my electric blanket too high at night, and when I wake up in the morning, all I want is cold muesli.

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    This muesli essentially just celebrates autumn. Okay, so maybe pumpkin didn’t make it in (don’t worry, that’s coming!), BUT there are pepitas, which are pumpkin seeds, so . . . I guess that counts! I also used dried apples, raisins, golden raisins, dried cranberries, and pecan pieces. DIVINE.

    My first bites were certainly pleasant, but I felt that something was missing. It was almost too light and bright and sunshiny. It needed more autumn. I took a risk and added a dash of cinnamon, and wow, it made all the difference!
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    Raspberry Plum Oatmeal

    Posted on September 26, 2013 by Lauren Smith

    I love plums. I didn’t realize it until fairly recently. They’re such a pleasant size, easy to eat, not messy, and silky-soft on the inside. They are like a beautiful marriage between peaches and apples.

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    Unfortunately, I haven’t had great luck with them in oatmeal. In my experience, they just don’t give off much flavor. Pairing them with raspberries was quite successful, though! The raspberries provided the much-needed pow of flavor, and the cubes of soft plums could simply add a little variety to each spoonful.
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    Mexican Hot Chocolate Oatmeal

    Posted on September 24, 2013 by Lauren Smith

    To all of you who turn your noses up every time I stir bananas into my recipes where they don’t belong, you are in luck! With great self-control, I resisted the mashed banana. I did it for YOU.

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    Obviously, regular hot chocolate is brilliant. I never realized how much I loved hot chocolate until I moved to the East Coast and experienced the brilliance of L.A. Burdick’s and City Bakery. These places serve up rich, thick, chocolate goodness that just coats your throat with luxury. What makes Mexican hot chocolate unique is the addition of cinnamon (and occasionally other spices). I included an optional pinch of cayenne, for I never turn down an opportunity for a little fire!
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    Gingerbread Steel-Cut Oatmeal

    Posted on September 21, 2013 by Lauren Smith

    I’ve made Gingerbread Oatmeal before. You might remember it. It was one of my trials. One of my struggles. One of my white flags.I gave up and just borrowed a recipe from Vegan Yack .

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    This recipe is mine. Well, I can’t take all the credit, of course. VYA’s recipe did influence me a lot. However, I made sure to include some bananas in my version because I’m stubborn like that. I’m grateful I did because this was one spicy [insert colorful language here]. The banana helped mellow out all those cloves.
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    Pomegranate Apple Oatmeal

    Posted on September 19, 2013 by Lauren Smith

    I’m in love. No, not with a boy. No, not with oatmeal (I mean, I am in love with oatmeal, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now.

    I’m in love with New York City. This shares no relevance with this recipe, except maybe for the fact that I bought the groceries for, cooked, and photographed this recipe in New York City.

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    I never imagined myself in NYC. Denver, sure. Minneapolis, sure. Maybe even Chicago, if I felt particularly adventurous. Yet here I am, smack-dab in an authentic New York City experience—slumming it in a scummy Brooklyn neighborhood, surviving a 35-minute commute to work at 5:30 am, eating more bagels than necessary, fighting off the smells of Chinatown much too frequently for my liking, and spending way too much money at phenomenal eateries.
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    Spiced Apple and Peach Steel-Cut Oatmeal

    Posted on September 17, 2013 by Lauren Smith

    Peach season has technically closed. Let’s be honest—it closed a while ago. However, I’m miserable at goodbyes, so I’m still throwing them in my porridge mid-September. Bite me.

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    If, like me, you’re still stuck in summer, this porridge will help you transition to autumn. It combines summer’s peach with autumn’s apple, and I spiced it with an earthy blend of cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.

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