Tag Archives: oatmeal enthusiasts

Hey, oatmeal lovers. I know, I’ve been absent a few weeks. As always, I blame it on lots of cloudy days and an inadequate camera. Thankfully, today I can introduce you to Cathy, whom you recognize thanks to her guest recipes, Cherry Chili Brownie Baked Oatmeal, Vegan Scrambled Eggs Oatmeal, and Cinnamon-Tahini Icing. I can’t believe she hasn’t been an Enthusiast yet, but that problem is solved today!

Hi!

My name is Cathy (well, it’s Kasia in reality but on the Internet I’m known as @cathyhope9).

Lauren has honored me with the title of Oatmeal Enthusiast of May 2017 and I’m proud to be included in such a noble group of oatmeal lovers!

I’m a 22-year-old Chemistry student from Poland. I discovered oatmeal about three years ago and I quickly got addicted to it! Now I need my cup of oats daily!

I never had oatmeal for breakfast until I started college. I got interested in working out, eating clean and being fit. I learned about overnight oats, and I made them only with Greek yoghurt and banana. My classes started early, so having ready-to-eat breakfast in the fridge was perfect solution. On weekends I made stove-top oatmeal with apples (and with water! I was vegetarian but I hated cow’s milk). I discovered that when I don’t eat yoghurt, my face is clearer so I cut down on dairy. I found out about veganism and made slow transition to plant-based lifestyle. (My mom threatened me that she will stop cooking for me if I ever go vegan, but she still cooks for me.) I’ve never had vegan overnight oats! (And I need to change that soon!)

My favourite type of oatmeal is definitely baked oatmeal. I can have it only when I’m at home (because we don’t have an oven in dorm) and it makes it very special breakfast I impatiently look forward to. I learned about baked oatmeal from Jasmin (@jasmin.clean.eat) whom I “met” on fitness app. She shared a recipe with me and I fell in love with baked oatmeal from the first bite 😉

I don’t remember how I found The Oatmeal Artist blog or how or who recommended me it but I’ve been a faithful reader since then. I learned so many useful tricks from Lauren, like segmenting orange, mixing PB2 with fork…. I read about soaking oats before cooking on the blog. Lauren’s imagination and creativity has no limits and I have never been disappointed in any of her recipes.

I eat oatmeal everyday, before classes, before working out, I ate oatmeal before running my first half marathon! When I can’t eat oatmeal, like when I don’t have access to kitchen, when I’m travelling, I start missing my oats very quickly.  Need proof that I’m an oatmeal lover? Some time ago I bought new shoes and a 2-kilogram bag of oats on sale and guess what made me more excited? Of course oats!

Day 1

It was Palm Sunday (that’s why I pictured my palm with my oatmeal) and for breakfast I had oatmeal with the best plant based milk I’ve ever had: rice-coconut milk (It was so delicious that I drank it straight from the carton and when I used it for oatmeal, I didn’t add any spices because I didn’t want to mask its flavour) and grapes.

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Happy April! Meet this month’s Enthusiast, Rachel. You may know her from Instagram as @rachelhoatmeal, but I know her as the person whom I secretly thought was my sister-in-law for several months due to the fact that they share a first name and last initial, and I’m stupid like that. ? I eventually convinced myself they were not the same person, and I’m happy to share Rachel’s story here today!

Hi fellow oatmeal lovers! My name is Rachel. I am 18 years old and a high school senior in Missouri. I am a very active person, involved in gymnastics, track, student council, yacht club and AP classes. A busy lifestyle like mine requires much energy, and I get a great deal of my energy from a hearty bowl of oatmeal each morning.

In elementary school, I always ate breakfast at school; then throughout middle school I usually had Pop-Tarts or chocolatey cereal for breakfast. Sometime around my transition from middle school to high school I decided to try making chocolate oatmeal with instant oatmeal packets I found in our pantry. Unfortunately, I was not too pleased with my first oatmeal concoction. Following my first oatmeal blunder, I began to put Nutella and/or chocolate protein powder in my oats and thus began my relationship with oatmeal. Pinterest helped me discover many more ways to spruce up the measly instant oatmeal packets, besides Nutella and protein powder, soon I started using oats out of the carton instead of the packets. I happened upon Lauren’s blog when I was googling recipes, and I hopped onto the oatmeal bandwagon.  

My sophomore year of high school was when my oatmeal enchantment really took full swing. I was infatuated with all the different recipes to try on the Oatmeal Artist and many of the overnight oat recipes on Pinterest that I enjoyed after morning weightlifting for track. Most often I made oatmeal with ⅓ cup oats to ¾ cup almond milk and water because the instant oatmeal packets were a ⅓ cup. However, during this time I also began to develop an obsession with working out and eating healthy. This year was a great time for me in track because my height in pole vaulting increased two and a half feet, but my weight dropped into a low percentile. Eventually my mom took me to the doctor who instructed me to gain weight for my health. Following this ordeal, I began to make my oatmeal with a full serving of oats. This aided in my recovery, but I also learned to love my body for all it allows me to do.

[Note from TOA: Yes!! Instant oatmeal packets come in smaller portions so they can say it’s “100 calories” or “150 calories” on the front of the box. Ugh!]

At the beginning of this year, I showed my friends the wide variety of oats I had on my camera roll, and they suggested I make an Instagram account to display my oats. I was hesitant but gave in, and my friend Emily named the account Rachel Hoatmeal, as a play on my last name and the word oatmeal. I have constantly made Lauren’s recipes, but until the beginning of this year I had never shared them on social media. I do really enjoy sharing my oatmeal in the mornings and my Instagram has become like own little oatmeal collection.

Day 1: Dark Chocolate Dreams Overnight Oatmeal

This is a bit of a twist on Lauren’s Dark Chocolate Dreams Oatmeal, but I made it overnight oats because I had track weight lifting before school. To make this an overnight recipe I used equal amounts of oats, almond milk, and Greek yogurt, then put some strawberries and bananas into it along with chia seeds and mixed everything in a nearly empty peanut butter jar. I usually eat a banana and maybe drink some coffee before weights then eat my overnight oats afterwards because I don’t like to eat a whole lot before weights and because it’s quicker in the morning to just pack already made oats then eat them at school.

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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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I never planned on doing this myself. It was always intended to be for guest posts. But when my featured poster had to back out, I didn’t want to throw the assignment on anyone else last minute (it can be a somewhat extensive project to just take on out of nowhere). So here I am.

You can read all about me elsewhere on the site (and, like, on every post), so what else is there to say about me? 🙂 So here are five facts about me:

(1) I love hip hop. I may dress like a 50s housewife, but I can spit every word to a variety of J. Cole, Kendrick, and Drake songs.

(2) I am the youngest of three kids. My parents recently celebrated their 32nd anniversary.

(3) I hate garlic and onion. Obviously I still eat them because food tastes pretty flavorless without it, but I generally reduce the amount from the recipe to a fifth of what they call for. The concept of “40-cloves-of-garlic chicken” that I see on Pinterest all the time is abhorrent to me, and not just because of the chicken.

(4) I set an alarm for 5:30 am every day (even weekends) because I just love mornings.

(5) I was involved in just about everything in high school, which is common in small towns: volleyball, basketball (until 9th grade), softball (until 11th grade), wrestling cheerleading (until 11th grade), football cheerleading, theater, choir, band (alto saxophone), Business Professionals of America, knowledge bowl (9th grade only). I hated most of them except theater, choir, and BPA. 🙂

^^ baby high school Lauren

Now, here is what a week of oatmeal looks like for the Oatmeal Artist herself!

Wednesday: Banana Oatmeal with Almond Butter & Grape Jelly

It’s basically Banana PB&J Oatmeal, but with almond butter. My favorite is the salted crunchy AB from Trader Joe’s. This is a pretty standard choice for me, especially when I’m at my parents’ house (which I was for Christmas).

Thursday: Brownie Batter Oatmeal + toppings

Brownie Batter Oatmeal is another classic. (I would have loved to have Cardamom Fudge but my mom doesn’t have cardamom. 🙁 ) Blackberries were on sale! I also enjoyed the wide range of baking ingredients my mom has on hand, like the walnuts and coconut.

Friday: Banana Oatmeal with Almond Butter and Blackberries

Today I babysat my nephew, Graham, so I made us a simple Banana Oatmeal and topped his with blackberries and bananas (he loves berries), and I added almond butter to mine. I was afraid to give nut butter to a toddler. Nut allergies scare me. 😛

Saturday (Christmas Eve!) – Almond Joy Oatmeal

Since I have almond butter, the original Almond Joy Oatmeal seemed like a natural choice. Plus, my mom has sweetened shredded coconut. I definitely prefer the unsweetened kind (better texture, and it’s toastable), but it’s always a fun change to have it sweetened sometimes. Kind of like how regular Oreos are the best, but every now and then it’s fun to have a peanut butter Oreo. Stuff like that. 😉

Sunday (Christmas Day)

Despite my grand ideas for my Christmas Day oatmeal, I ended up being dreadfully sick and couldn’t even keep a single grape down (believe me, I tried). So no oatmeal was had. 🙁

Monday – Grape & Rosemary Oatmeal

This is a combination of Grape & Rosemary Oatmeal and Grape & Walnut Oatmeal, with a bonus of a little almond butter. I was still a little queasy Monday morning so that little teaspoon of richness was about all I could handle. I chose to make this because I rarely buy grapes (is it just me, or do they cost a billion dollars?), but my mom always has them on hand. We also had rosemary for our holiday baking, so I used the opportunity to make this recipe again.

Tuesday – Mocha Berry Blackout Oatmeal

It’s basically Berry Blackout Oatmeal with a Mocha Brownie Batter base. I used coffee extract instead of coffee granules for the first time, and I must say, I’m not a fan. It tastes a bit like a bad cold brew. I shall stick to the instant granules! The oatmeal is topped with dried cranberries, the last of my blackberries, and some chopped unsweetened baking chocolate (like the 100% cacao stuff). My mom will not be thrilled when she opens up that package and sees that sliver missing. ?

The next day, I had Rosemary Brownie Batter Oatmeal. I wish I could have taken a photo but I got up really early (to get back on my usual sleep schedule) and it was still pitch black out.

Would you like to be an Oatmeal Enthusiast in 2017?

Head to my Contact page and shoot me an email. I’d love to feature you!

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…)

If you’re a regular on Instagram and my #oatmealartist feed, you probably know Dana as the one with the mountain of toppings on her porridge. And I don’t simply mean “mountain” as “a lot.” I mean her toppings–like graham cracker ‘crumble’ or granola or yogurt–form a perfectly shaped mountain atop her oats. Now she is October’s Oatmeal Enthusiast! 

Before I get started, I wanted to take a moment to thank Lauren for contacting me and offering me an opportunity to share my oats with the world! My name is Dana, I live in New York City, and although my entire academic career has been strictly dedicated to literature and analysis, I have always – ever since I was a child – had a flair for all things creative. My artistic interests include everything from music and drawing to cooking and baking. I became a foodie in my first year or two of college and if anyone else reading this happens to be an NYC native, I’m sure you’ll agree that it can offer a plethora of eclectic culinary inspirations.

Although I love working with all different kinds of food, breakfast has always been my favorite meal of the day. In my opinion, it offers a wide range of creative liberty, from baked goods to skillet dishes, from sweet to savory, breakfast is just all around fun.

This brings me to my love of oatmeal. Now where do I begin? There are so many reasons to love oats, they are a delicious, easy to make and good for you but one of my favorite aspects of oats is that they are a canvas. You really can do almost anything with them. From warm and comforting to cool and creamy, oats have it all! Few foods provide the opportunity to  bring such a dessert-like decadence to meals that are healthy and nourishing for your body. Finally, and this certainly won’t be a surprise, because oatmeal is such a natural canvas, it is the perfect food to use to create seasonally inspired dishes, which is something that I think everyone will notice I tried to focus on for the month of October. I hope everyone enjoys the bowls I’ve prepared for this week!

MONDAY: APPLE CRUMB BOWL

Cinnamon spiced oats, topped with caramelized apples and finished with a soft baked crumble and warm maple syrup. (more…)

Happy Labor Day, Americans! To everyone else, I hope your September is off to a great start. To anyone going back to school this month, I wish you well on your year. I start my last year of graduate school this week as well. 

This month’s Oatmeal Enthusiast is actually two Enthusiasts. They share a joint account on Instagram and post some gorgeous food shots regularly–check them out!

The first thing you should know about us is that we come as a pair. We are pretty much joined at the hip and we do everything together. Even when we started University we were just known as ‘Kirsty and Roxy’, with no one being able to distinguish who was who. The interesting thing is that we are actually polar opposites. I, Roxy, am short, loud, erratic and a dark, dark brunette. Kirsty, however, is tall, graceful, quiet and a dark blonde. We went through school, college and university together, even surviving a year in the jungle together. Kristy keeps me grounded and I like to think I make her laugh, although probably in exasperation over something stupid I have done.

Powerlifting and fitness is our latest joint venture. We have always cooked together and we have been working out together since we were in school but powerlifting was introduced to us by Kirsty’s boyfriend in university. It has lead us to kitchens that look like bomb-sites, questionable-tasting food, spicy-as-hell food and, on the most part, absolutely delicious food. We may slave away in the kitchen for hours but it is worth it for a plate of nutritious and glorious food. Contrary to what was said earlier, there is one thing that we do separately and that is breakfast. I am inherently lazy whereas Kirsty likes to sing with the dawn chorus. She rises early, I rise late, in time for brunch rather than breakfast.

We both appreciate the importance of a substantial and tasty breakfast. Especially with our training, it is vital to kick start the day with something that will keep the engines burning well into lunch time. And the holy grail answer to that question comes in the form of tiny, golden flakes of deliciousness. Oats. So versatile and filling. Now don’t judge, but it took a while for me to get on the bandwagon with oats. Kirsty is the porridge queen and never fails to make a perfect breakfast. Her signature is ‘zoats’ and will most definitely be featured later on. I, on the other hand, have to come from a different angle, jazzing things up so that I don’t miss out on the powerhouse that is oatmeal. Lauren’s recipes are the perfect kind of recipes for jazzed up oatmeal. We will definitely be trying the Mojito Overnight Oatmeal. Yummy.

We are ‘Kirsty and Roxy’ and we are honoured to be this month’s Oatmeal Enthusiasts. We hope we can share and inspire you to create some delicious recipes of your own.

Monday: Classic ‘Zoats’

At first I was very hesitant to add courgette/zucchini to my oatmeal… But after my first try I was hooked! ‘Zoats’ are a great way to get in one of your five a day, and it also adds lots of volume and fibre to your breakfast. It is such a versatile recipe and any toppings would suit! This morning I went for frozen blackberries and raspberries, banana, mixed seeds, milled linseed and lotus biscoff spread. (more…)

I’m pretty gosh darn excited to introduce August’s Oatmeal Enthusiast. I’ve admired @tylaaeats and her oatmeal for quite some time, but a few months ago, she took her bowls to the next level. First, there were pocky bowls. Then there were Oreos. Even donuts. Whaaaaat? And that gorgeous blue background. I just couldn’t get enough! Thankfully, she agreed to be the next Oatmeal Enthusiast and tell us her story.

For most of my life I’ve been overweight. Every doctor’s visit was the same: “Tyler, you’re at serious health risk. You need to start thinking about losing some weight…” Just like any 17 year old at the time, it went in one ear and out the other. I continued to eat whatever I wanted with no regards for the doctor’s warning. I was living a lifestyle with dangerous consequences. Looking at my life before the big change, I’ve realized the main reason I never showed signs of changing was being in a constant state of denial, lack of motivation and drive. At one point in my life my uncle graciously tried to help me lose a decent amount of weight by enrolling me in the YMCA tennis camp in Bethesda, MD. He even showed me what to eat and gave me good nutritional advice. But it still wasn’t enough for me to change. As soon as camp was over I reverted back to my old ways and gained all the hard work and effort back.  

Now fast-forward to my first year in community college. I was still eating like I was at 17 years old. Still in denial, I assumed since I could fit in my clothing I wasn’t gaining that much weight. After the first semester I truly hit rock bottom. I was placed on academic probation because I was solely focused on my new job and had my priorities all mixed up. My whole world was shattered. I never felt so low in my life. I just wanted to crawl in a corner and cry. This was the wakeup call I needed to change my life and get my priorities in line. I started to change all aspects of my life, including my eating habits. I began making small changes like omitting sugary drinks and soda, focusing on drinking more water. Also I started setting alarms so I was able to eat breakfast in the morning. It was during this time I came across Lauren’s website. I was completely astounded by oatmeal possibilities. The first oatmeal I ever made from her website was the Thin Mints Oatmeal. Then the rest was history.

Now let me properly introduce myself. My name is Tyler Campbell and I’m majoring in microbiology at Virginia Tech. I love oatmeal because it’s so versatile. It could be savory or–my favorite–sweet. But my favorite part is the toppings because it allows me to be whimsical and creative. I generally choose my toppings according to my oatmeal flavor. For example if I’m feeling in a birthday cake mood I’d generally top it with bananas or strawberries, a funfetti cookie or two, nutella or any chocolate spread I have on hand, sprinkles and my favorite soy chips. Now if going a more savory route my go-to savory oats is a play off of shrimp ‘n grits.

Sunday: Cookies & Cream

The key to great tasting oatmeal isn’t the oatmeal base or whether you used coconut milk instead of water. It’s the toppings. Today I’m enjoying a luscious cookies and cream themed oatmeal bowl. The base is made by either using a cookies ‘n cream protein powder (my favorite is the one by @questnutrition) or simply crushing up a few Oreos and adding a hint of vanilla and stevia. For aesthetic reason every oat base I make sits on top of 2 tbs of chia seeds. Mostly because chia seeds look like little bugs. Since the theme is cookies ‘n cream I chose to use banana slices, a Hershey spread, toasted cookies ‘n cream protein bites and fudge strip cookies. (more…)