Popular Porridges
Tag Archives: oatmeal enthusiasts
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Claudia!
I’m continuously amazed by the enthusiasm for oatmeal I find on Instagram. Are there really that many people like me who eat oatmeal every single day? Turns out, yes. Recently, I found another one. Her name is Claudia, and she knows how to cook some creative oats! I had to ask her to be this month’s Enthusiast immediately…and she did not disappoint! Claudia not only documented an entire seven days, but she had oatmeal multiple times a day! Hmm…could we be long-lost sisters?
Hello! I’m Claudia, I’m currently studying economics at university and I have an oatmeal addiction (as you can see from my Instagram page @professorclaude, or from the blog I recently started http://breakfastdramaqueen.wordpress.com/).
Despite celebrating Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, I’m actually from Sydney, Australia (I’ll take any excuse to make a dessert). My mother was born in Italy (but hates garlic!), my father was born in England, and I grew up watching nothing but American television – so my food inspiration comes from many places. My favourite foods include oatmeal, muesli, pumpkin, pasta, bagels, and peanut butter. I’ve also been a vegetarian for about six years.
I am super-excited about being this month’s Oatmeal Enthusiast. But first, here’s something you probably wouldn’t have guessed about this month’s Oatmeal Enthusiast: I never used to like breakfast. Growing up, I used to hate breakfast food (except for pancakes), and would eat leftover pasta – or worse, apple pie – for breakfast. I gradually became enamoured by breakfast during high school, and now I often wake up ridiculously early just because I’m so excited about my oats!
My love of breakfast began when I discovered muesli, and it wasn’t until last year (2013) that I discovered the joys of oatmeal. Why oatmeal? I wanted something warm and healthy for breakfast. Since I’m a vegetarian and can’t stand savoury food in the morning, the whole eggs and bacon thing wasn’t an option. My parents both ate oatmeal, so I thought I’d give it a try.
First, I tried some microwaveable oatmeal recipes – and it kept exploding! While I liked the taste, the oats kept turning into goo (which was undoubtedly due to my over-zealous microwaving). Then I came across the Oatmeal Artist, tried making oatmeal on the stove, and became hooked. I’ve tried tons of Lauren’s recipes, and recently started making a few of my own.
Since making my first stovetop oatmeal (Caramelized Banana Oatmeal from the Oatmeal Artist), I’ve become so enthusiastic about oatmeal that sometimes I have it for lunch or dinner. While I’m a huge fan of desserts, these days I’m more interested in turning my favourite desserts into oatmeal than I am in eating the “real” thing. Has that happened to anyone else? (From Lauren: me!!)
But enough about me, here’s the important part: the oatmeal. I decided to document my week from Wednesday to Tuesday, just because that was the day after Lauren asked me to be an Oatmeal Enthusiast (and I was feeling excited!)
Wednesday Morning: Oatmeal Suzette
I love having Crepes Suzette at restaurants, but there’s a ton of butter in it. So this is my healthier oatmeal version. I sautéed an orange in honey, orange juice, vanilla extract and brandy extract, and then mixed it into the oatmeal along with some orange zest. Crepes Suzette usually has a fair amount of Grand Marnier, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to get hammered before 9am.
Wednesday Lunchtime: Salted Caramel Macaron Oatmeal
I was eating a salted caramel macaron at a café, and thought, “There are just some things I can’t turn into oatmeal”. And then my brain responded with, “Well, not with that attitude!” So I made this oatmeal. Sure, it didn’t quite have the texture of a macaron, but this oatmeal definitely satisfied my salted caramel craving. The oatmeal had some caramel syrup (from Starbucks), a little cinnamon, almond meal, vanilla extract, two egg whites and, of course, a pinch of coarse salt.
Thursday Morning: Christmas Pudding Oatmeal
As I mentioned earlier, my Dad was born in England. And the English eat a lot of weird food, or at least food with odd names – there’s Toad in the Hole, Spotted Dick, and Bubble and Squeak, just to name a few (and whatever you do, don’t try the Blood Pudding!). One of the more “normal” traditional British foods is Christmas pudding, which is similar to fruit cake, but is much better. So that was the inspiration for this recipe, which included half a shredded Granny smith apple, orange zest, cinnamon, brandy extract and a ton of dried fruit. I also added some custard on the top.
Thursday Dinnertime: Italian Cheesecake Baked Oatmeal
Ok, I wasn’t originally going to have oatmeal for dinner on Thursday. But then I had all the ingredients for this Italian Cheesecake oatmeal that I’d thought of earlier. What makes a cheesecake “Italian”? Ricotta cheese. Italian cheesecakes use ricotta instead of cream cheese, or use a combination of ricotta and cream cheese. This makes the cheesecake much lighter, and in my opinion, much better (but I am biased). This baked oatmeal included low-fat ricotta cheese, orange zest, lemon zest, vanilla extract and sweetener. I also added raisins and half a crumbled digestive biscuit (it’s like a graham cracker) for a little cheesecake “crust”.
Friday: Black Forest Overnight Oatmeal
This was inspired by the Oatmeal Artist’s recipe, except I had to add in more chocolate! I also left out the coconut milk and used more cherries and yogurt. The topping is muesli with cocoa powder, maple syrup, chocolate chips, shredded coconut and cherry jam. I don’t mean to sound boastful, but Oh My God this was so delicious! It was like I died and went to heaven – or maybe some kind of fantastic hell?
Saturday: Zucchini Oatmeal
I’d originally planned to have a chocolaty oatmeal, but I actually didn’t feel like chocolate! Probably because of that overly decadent oatmeal yesterday. So instead I went with a nice, green oatmeal. This oatmeal had the usual zucchini accompaniments of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and maple syrup. As I didn’t want to use too much maple syrup, I added some apple juice for extra sweetness. I grated/shredded one large zucchini, threw in some chia seeds, and the result was a huge green mass of oats. I couldn’t have been happier!
Sunday: Baked and Flooded Banana Hot Chocolate Oatmeal
Firstly, sorry about the picture. I’m useless at removing things from ramekins. You’ll have to believe me that it tasted better than it looked.
This was the oatmeal I’d originally planned to have yesterday. I was really intrigued by the Oatmeal Artist’s flooded oatmeal, and I love hot chocolates, so I put the two together. It became a banana hot chocolate oatmeal when I noticed that I had a banana that was way overripe. The banana added a really fluffy texture, and extra sweetness. I had originally planned to flood my oatmeal in a hot chocolate (or just some warmed up chocolate milk), but then I noticed I had some leftover custard in the fridge (from Thursday’s Christmas pudding oatmeal) – so I figured, “Why not? I’ll throw it in.” So I added some hot chocolate powder to the custard and poured it over the oatmeal. Mmmm… so chocolaty!
Monday: Apple and Cherry Strudel Oatmeal
I used to live near a German bakery that made fabulous apple and cherry strudels, so I thought I’d try to recreate that dessert in this oatmeal. Firstly, I sautéed my chopped apple in apple juice, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Then I removed the apple from the saucepan, boiled the almond milk, and threw in the oats, sautéed apple, chopped cherries and raisins. And the piece of actual strudel next to the oatmeal was just to compare the taste. Not because I still like eating dessert for breakfast or anything J
Tuesday: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Overnight Oatmeal
Peanut Butter. Chocolate. Need I say more?
Not really, but I will anyway. I made two separate overnight oatmeal batters – one with peanut butter and a little cinnamon, the other with cocoa powder, hot chocolate powder and vanilla extract. Then (the next morning), I transferred the chocolate batter into a margarita glass, poured the peanut butter batter over the top, and tried my best to make some swirls. This was my favourite oatmeal this week, since I’m a sucker for peanut butter!
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my week of oatmeal, as I certainly enjoyed eating it. Some of the recipes are already on my blog, and I’ll post all of them soon.
So goodbye for now, from the future (Sydney is 16 hours in front of New York).
P.S. If you’re ever in Australia, whatever you do, don’t try Vegemite or Weet-bix – they’re both just awful. However, I can recommend Tim Tams.
[Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in becoming my next Oatmeal Enthusiast, be sure to show your enthusiasm by tagging your oatmeal pictures with #oatmealartist on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Thank you for all your love and support!]
**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!
Oatmeal Enthusiasis: Meet Mahrukh!
One aspect of my blog that brings me more joy than almost anything else is my international audience. How cool is it to appeal to such a variety of people with such different tastes! When I discovered Mahrukh through Facebook and Instagram, I never even realized she was from outside the United States. Interacting with readers like her has taught me that it doesn’t matter where we’re from and what our regional cuisine is; anyone can love porridge. And peanut butter. 😉
Greetings, Fellow Oatmeal Lovers! My name is Mahrukh and I am currently doing my M.B.A in Human Resource Management from NUST University, Pakistan. Yes, this might come as a shock to most of you. But I feel absolutely honored to have been contacted by the Oatmeal Artist to exhibit my love for oatmeal on her highly drool-worthy blog. Isn’t it simply wonderful how people living million miles away can connect on the basis of love? Thank you, Lauren, for providing me with the opportunity to bridge distances on a common ground. J
Oatmeal (or as many over at my side of the world like to call it, porridge) might be one of the simplest and minute things of life, but for me it means the whole world. I cannot imagine life without it. Over-exaggerating much? Heh. I mean it! It became part of my life 5 years back, and now I am totally hooked. Joining the gym and wanting to lead a healthier life is to be credited for this addiction. Initially, I was subjected to a lot of criticism from my family and friends as oatmeal in my country is normally a part of the older lot’s diet, but from simpler starts such as honey or banana, I have slowly mastered the art of dessert-like combinations and transformed the doubters into die-hard fans. And of course, until recently Lauren became one of my major inspiration.
I came across her blog a few months back and I am absolutely in awe with all the recipes. My only wish is to at least try making more than half of them, but I am time-constrained or I simply lack the essential ingredients required to make a delicious bowl of oatmeal. Can you imagine we don’t have blueberries, raspberries, cranberries or pumpkins over here? Sad, I know. Even then I try my best to come up with as many combinations while incorporating ideas from her blog as well.
Oatmeal is love. Literally. But my love for oats just does not stop there. I love using oats for making pancakes, as well as mug cakes. These two are also a huge part of my everyday routine and I absolutely love experimenting with different flavors and combinations. This love for oats has now developed as a healthy addiction and even if I have an exam one day (as I did the last week), I cannot fathom going a day without an absolutely gorgeous meal. Many of my friends call it an obsession, and I wouldn’t disagree. But then most of them also suggest that I should take this love to the next level and start my own small healthy food deli. Who knows? I just might!
Coming back to this post, I decided to stick with oatmeal for most of the days. In case you guys are curious about the other items, feel free to hop over to my Instragram for daily updates; my id is: mahrukh_23.
Monday: Popeye Pancake
I hadn’t yet received a confirmation e-mail from Lauren until now, so I had my Popeye Pancake. Why Popeye? The reason being simple, it is made out of his favorite thing in the whole wide world; spinach. I topped it off with peanut butter/banana sauce and crushed nuts (i.e. walnuts, pistachios, almonds and cashews).
Tuesday: Fudgy PB & Banana Oatmeal
This is one of my ‘favoritest’ combination! I absolutely love chocolate, banana and peanut butter and when these three mesh together? It is eternal bliss! Now as far as the presentation goes, I love turning oatmeal into parfaits. It simply adds a bit more drama to it.
Wednesday: PB&J Oatmeal
I have always been fascinated by this combination, but never actually took the risk of trying it. I know it’s quite popular in the US but at my side of the world, peanut butter itself is uncommon which makes PB&J a myth. Anyhoo, for the sake of this post I decided to finally take the plunge and I absolutely fell in love with this combination. I used Sugar-Free Kiwi Jam for this purpose and since I had recently bought Kiwi from the market, I decided to incorporate it as well. It was absolutely delicious! I cannot wait to try a PB&J toast someday. Though I have a feeling it might not triumph over this lovely oatmeal parfait.
Thursday: Fruit Chaat Oatmeal
Took inspiration from the Oatmeal Artist, but I added my Asian twist to it or as we like to call it, the desi touch. Fruit Chaat aka. Fruit Salad is highly common in my part of the world, especially during the month of Ramadan. Hence, for this oatmeal, I took as many fruits as I could get my hands on (i.e. apple, banana, pomegranate, red and green grapes) and added them to my oatmeal. Then I added the secret ingredient to it which is ½ tsp of Shaan’s Chaat Masala (i.e. Salad Spice). It simply adds so much zest to the oatmeal! Tried this for the first time and absolutely regret not doing it any sooner.
Friday: Applesauce Oatmeal
I recently bought baby food applesauce from the grocery store and bumped into this recipe on her blog and decided to give it a shot. I garnished it with pomegranate arils, diced apples, cinnamon and raisins. It was scrumptious and delicious!
Saturday: Mug cake with Choco-banana Sauce
This sauce, and in fact all her sauces, are to DIE for! I find myself using them quite frequently, be it as a topping on my pancake, mug cake or just drizzling it on top of my oatmeal.
In the end, I’d just like to conclude by thanking Lauren yet again for providing me with this lovely opportunity. It has been an incredible experience–one I am bound to cherish for years to come. It feels great to connect with people on the basis of similar interests and the love for food, good food, being the finest of them all. As they say, ‘people who love to eat are always the best people’. I’d like to add just an itsy bitsy to it; ‘people who love to eat good are always the best people’. Goodness being oats!
With love, from Pakistan!
[Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in becoming my next Oatmeal Enthusiast, be sure to show your enthusiasm by tagging your oatmeal pictures with #oatmealartist on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Thank you for all your love and support!]
**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!
Oatmeal Enthusiast: Meet Stephanie!
Like many of my Enthusiasts, I discovered Stephanie on Instagram. Day after day after day, she posted and tagged oatmeal photos. I actually had to comment on four of her pictures over the course of several weeks before I finally got her attention! 🙂 But alas, I finally snagged her and persuaded her to join the Enthusiasts club. Can I also acknowledge that she’s the first Enthusiast to make multiple recipes a day?? Snaps for savory!
Hello, everyone! My name is Stephanie or in the lovely world of Instagram oatmeal, mazzy1221. I have to admit I am super ecstatic about being selected as an oatmeal enthusiast for The Oatmeal Artist. So much so, that I endeavored to exercise some bragging rights on my colleagues shortly after being contacted by Lauren. Most attempts received an immediate quizzical look followed by “Huh?” Then upon further explanation, “Who gets excited about oatmeal?”
I do… I do! ME!! … and it’s nice to find I’m not the only one.
I will admit all food excites me. I love to cook. It gives the opportunity to experiment, to create. Recipes can be seen as scientific formulas or ingredients as an artist’s pallet of never-ending color choices. With the right combinations you may discover a cure for an unwanted belly ache or a much needed comfort food during a battle with a seasonal cold. It may also become that awe-inspiring photographic masterpiece that visually stimulates one into a state of drool. My favorite kind!
The problem I stumble upon most in my cooking routine is that with so many possibilities there hardly is a dish found to repeat itself in my home. There are so many recipes out there to overwhelm me that 3 meals, 7 days a week doesn’t allow for me to fit them all in. If only I had more time…..
On the flip side, meals bring people together, and in my home that is time to be treasured. Whether it’s sitting down for an evening dinner or a Sunday morning breakfast, I cherish these moments with my family. These meals aren’t made of just ingredients meant to hold it together and satisfy the taste buds alone. I put love into this. My heart goes into this and I see it as a gift or offering to the people I hold most dear, my husband and son.
..so in my quest of never ending ideas, I happened upon The Oatmeal Artist.
I love oatmeal. Oatmeal and I, we go way back. My grandmother would make oatmeal for me in the mornings before heading off to school. This gives it that special place in my heart. She always made it on the stove and her rule…. “DON’T STIR IT!” She felt this would break the oats and make them mushy. Although I don’t STIR my oats I must admit to giving them a quick swirl around the pot with a spoon, careful not to hurt them. : ) Beyond the privilege of receiving a hot breakfast that most kids did not, the toppings never changed and I must confess are a bit boring. Butter, milk, sugar. For a child these are the best. “More sugar, please!” But as we age, so should our eating mature and evolve.
…and here we are.
I wish I could remember the exact combination of ingredients I had Googled that day, obviously one being oatmeal. But it brought me here. I was instantly taken in by the pictures for they are beautiful, as food goes. Delectable. I was instantly hooked. As a creature of habit I was already eating my oats every morning, changing them slightly by adding some berries or drizzling some honey, but that day my world got bigger and my mornings more exciting. Mind blown… Now, every morning is a new adventure and my oatmeal escapades, even bleed over, into lunch and dinner at times. Savory oats? WHAT…?!
..but enough about me. Let’s get on with this week’s menu.
MONDAY: My weekday mornings always start early. Up before the rooster crows as they say and even though I had taken this Monday off from work I got up at my usual time of 4:15 to cook my oatmeal and hit the 5am fitness class at the gym. I chose a nectarine and blackberries for my 1st day on the job as Oatmeal Enthusiast, mixed in a bit of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon and topped it off with some additional pieces of fruit and chopped walnuts.
Monday was a double-the-fun day for me as I also whipped up a savory baked oats dish for dinner. I browned some hot Italian turkey sausage with a red bell pepper and onion, seasoned it with some garlic powder and rubbed sage, and then mixed it with 2 cups of oats, 2.5 cups almond milk, an egg, 1 tsp baking powder, and 3/4 cup shredded Colby cheese. Poured it into a prepped 11×15 casserole dish and baked at 350 for 35min. PERFECT!
TUESDAY: Tuesday morning it was back to work. To save myself time in the morning I try to do any prepping I can the night before, especially if there are difficult fruits that need to be dealt with. On this morning there was no such need. I took inspiration from the Oatmeal Artist’s Elvis recipe and added one additional ingredient: bacon bits! I went with turkey because I don’t eat pork or beef. This was super easy and delicious. I cooked ½ of the banana with the oats, ½ tsp vanilla extract, and 3 tbsp of PB2. Then I topped it with the remaining banana, a TBSP bacon bits, and a TBSP of honey.
WEDNESDAY: The muse for my oatmeal on this morning was a recipe I had seen for a salad. I had all of the ingredients so why not? I cooked ¾ of a red pear with my oats along with a dash of cinnamon and a TBSP of maple syrup. I finished it off with the remaining pear, a TBSP of dried cranberries, a TBSP of chopped pecans, and a TBSP of blue cheese. WOW!
THURSDAY: Up to this point in my oatmeal adventures I had yet to try the PBJ & banana on Lauren’s list of favorites. I have added PB to some and use bananas all the time but the jelly hadn’t made it to my bowl. I have eyed it on numerous occasions but always have so much fresh produce on hand that I hate to see wasted therefore the opportunity never arose for me to give it a go until now. For this morning I cooked ½ a banana with my oats, added 3 TBSP of PB2, and tossed in ½ cup black grapes (saving some for garnish). My jelly of choice was baobab jelly. My only regret – that I didn’t use the whole banana.
For dinner I had another savory baked oatmeal recipe I wanted to give a try – Amish baked oats. 2 cups oats, 1 medium onion, 1 medium Jonagold apple, 8 slices Applegate Farms turkey bacon (the BEST), ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, 2 eggs, ½ cup shredded Colby, ¾ cup almond milk, 1.5 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp ground sage. I sautéed the onion and turkey bacon along with the sage and black pepper. Meanwhile I prepped and mixed the remaining ingredients. I combined everything and pressed it into an 8×8 baking dish then baked at 350 for 35. The only fault I found with this dish was that there wasn’t any left for a 2nd bowl. It was that good!
FRIDAY: To close my week out as honorary Oatmeal Enthusiast (an honor it is) I was drawn in by another recipe from The Oatmeal Artist – Pineapple & Jalapeno. I cooked my oats in almond milk as usual, added 1 cup pineapple chunks (saving a few pieces for garnish). I chose to go with WHH Ranch Cowgirl Candy in place of the Jalapeno. It’s a sweet hot relish made with jalapenos, cherries, and pineapple. Once my oats were done I topped them with a TBSP of relish and 2 TBSP of raw pistachios. It was yummy and it was HOT! Glad I had the self-control to use only 1 TBSP as I had contemplated more. Water was on hand as I broke a sweat.
…and that would be a wrap for me! This newly treaded ground in my oatmeal endeavors has been a blast. I am so greatly appreciative of Lauren for asking me to do this. I look forward to trying out the endless ideas she can envision and creating some of my own. *Stephanie*
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last,
“what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.
– The Tao of Pooh
[Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in becoming my next Oatmeal Enthusiast, be sure to show your enthusiasm by tagging your oatmeal pictures with #oatmealartist on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Thank you for all your love and support!]
**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!
**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!
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Dewi!
I met Dewi, this month’s Oatmeal Enthusiast, in the wonderful world of Twitter. A supporter of my blog, he also has his own blog, The Boy Can Cook, where he shares some of his own oatmeal recipes. He’s an avid fan of overnight oats, and I’ve been so appreciative of his endless raving toward my overnight recipes on Twitter!
Hello! I’m Dewi, I’m a law student from Wales and creator of The Boy Can Cook (boycancook.wordpress.com). I’m a huge lover of food and cooking, and more recently, a certified oatmeal enthusiast. Made official this week by Lauren here on The Oatmeal Artist.
I’ve always liked porridge (we call it porridge over on this side of the pond) and the very first piece I wrote for my (still relatively new) blog was my guide to making perfect porridge. I love how such a modest, cheap ingredient makes such a delicious breakfast. When I started cooking oats my mother actually told me the method that her grandfather used when making porridge for her. So that’s the way I make them now and how I’ll always make them, I imagine. My recent mini-renaissance with oats has got my family eating them more often, too, so it’s good to know that they are starting their day with lovely, wholesome porridge.
Although a lover of oats, I don’t think, until recently anyway, that I could have legitimately been called an enthusiast, as such. I enjoyed the staple breakfast ingredient immensely, but I wasn’t what you would call adventurous or imaginative with my oats. I enjoyed the traditional porridge, seasoned with salt and topped with honey, milk and maybe even some jam, if I was feeling particularly wild. That was until I stumbled across The Oatmeal Artist. Not only was I introduced to interesting and delicious flavour combinations to use in porridge (chocolate and peanut butter oats? *drools*) but also exciting ways of preparing oats – deviating from the usual on-the-hob method – such as baked oatmeal and (my favourite method) overnight refrigerator oats.
Since discovering all of the different recipes here on Lauren’s blog, I’ve been having oatmeal far more often than before. I eat porridge (in some form) pretty much every morning. But this isn’t at all tedious as I’ve been experimenting with my own flavours and I’ve even brought oats to the fore of my own blog. It’s great to have such a delicious breakfast, made even more enjoyable knowing just how healthy these little oats are. I run and use the gym a few times a week, and find that porridge is a great pre or post workout meal.
When Lauren asked if I would like to be featured as this month’s oatmeal enthusiast I was more than happy to get involved! So last week, I photographed my porridge each morning, from Monday to Friday.
This is what I chose to make:
Monday: Chocolate and banana overnight oats with bittersweet chocolate chips
This is one of Lauren’s recipes and it’s my absolute favourite. I tend to add a teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter to the mix too, just because I love the stuff. I had these oats because, being a Monday morning, I wanted to have a delicious and effortless breakfast. I’m telling you, knowing that there’s a delicious jar of chocolatey porridge waiting for me in the fridge really takes the sting out of an early wake-up at the start of a new week.
Tuesday: Banana, vanilla, blueberry and honey overnight oats
With this one, I like to add a handful of blueberries to the jar the night before, and another handful in the morning. The ones that have been in the jar overnight soften as their natural sweetness flavours the porridge, and this contrasts wonderfully with the fresh crunchy berries. And how beautiful does this little bowl of goodness look?
Wednesday: Apple and cinnamon porridge
Warming, cosy and delicious. I adore this combination. I grated in most of the apple, used a generous amount of cinnamon, and sliced the remaining fruit for a fresh, crunchy topping.
Thursday: Banana bread porridge
Another recipe lifted from The Oatmeal Artist. I have this combination often. Vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg make these oats feel like a sweet desert. I mashed up about two thirds of a banana and sliced the rest as a topping, and i drizzled over some lovely maple syrup. What a brilliant way to start the day! Amazing with a pot of fresh coffee.
Friday: Baked PB&J porridge
I wanted to end the week with a breakfast which felt more indulgent, so I made baked oatmeal with peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam! I don’t have baked oatmeal very often, but I had the time to make it on Friday morning. And, man, did I enjoy it. Warm from the oven, crisp on the top and gooey in the middle. Of course, everyone knows PB & J is a classic flavour combination, and it’s at it’s best in this baked oatmeal. A great way to end the week.
So, thanks to The Oatmeal Artist for featuring me as this month’s oatmeal enthusiast and for inspiring me to get creative with my porridge, the pauper’s breakfast which is fit for a king.
You can read more about me, my love of food and see my recipes (may contain oats) at boycancook.wordpress.com.
If you’re interested in becoming my next Oatmeal Enthusiast, be sure to show your enthusiasm by tagging your oatmeal pictures with #oatmealartist on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Thank you for all your love and support!
**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!
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Sophie!
I’m pleased to introduce you to the feature of the second installment of Oatmeal Enthusiasts, Sophie. Her connection to oatmeal and the stories she has to tell about her food journey are extraordinarily similar to mine, and I have truly enjoyed following her on Instagram (@thehealthybunny) for those reasons. Here’s her story!
Hey fellow oatmeal lovers!
I’m thrilled to be the second Oatmeal Enthusiast on here, and, in all honesty, honoured to write a guest post for The Oatmeal Artist blog. I’ve been following this blog religiously for over a year now, checking everyday or almost to see if there was a new recipe, talking to many friends about it and getting excited over so many recipes that I wanted – and still want – to try. I’ve set myself an oatmeal-related goal; try out every recipe on Lauren’s wonderful blog, but also try out to create more recipes on my own.
I’m Sophie, I’m 19 years old and I’m entering university in September in translation (French-English). It’s a scary transition, but I’m thrilled to see how university will be like! I live in Quebec in Canada, so my first language is French, but I’m wishing to really master English. I got in touch with Lauren on Instagram after I saw Brittany’s post on the blog and started to tag my pictures featuring her recipes with #oatmealartist. I was so excited to realise I could get in touch with the author behind the blog I loved so much, it was just silly haha! A few days after, she contacted me to ask me if I would be willing to write the second Oatmeal Enthusiast and that’s how I’m here now!
I basically developed my love for oatmeal when I decided I wanted to lose weight and watch my calorie intake more, and eat healthier. Probably like the majority of us here, I started with the sugar-loaded, rather unhealthy –yet low-calorie– cheap Quaker packets. The more oatmeal I ate, the more it grew on me, and the more I slowly started to experiment. At first, it was only fresh fruits added on top of my oatmeal, but as time went by, I started to try different things, such as mixing more spices with it, or topping it with a fried egg to keep me full longer. At that point, I was beginning to fall in love with cooking, which led me to wonder how to cook oatmeal on the stove with rolled oats, which, if I remember well, led me somehow to The Oatmeal Artist. I was thrilled to find such a huge variety of oatmeal, and there started the long journey on my way to try as much recipes as I could haha!
I’ve been a long way since the time I was eating oatmeal packets every morning, popping them in the microwave (and always making a mess somehow :P!). Even though it’s only been a year or so, it seems so far away! I am so hooked on oatmeal now I wake up an hour earlier on school days just to take my time to cook and enjoy it properly. I’ve pretty much had oatmeal every single morning since last November, except for a few mornings when I’ve run out of oatmeal or when I decide to do a fancy breakfast for my boyfriend (which very often includes oats anyway, but just not in a porridge form haha!). Oatmeal gets me up in the morning and I’m more than often really excited about it, planning it the night before and thinking of how tasty it will be :p! Cooking it on the stove has become something I do almost mindlessly in the morning now, half awake and starving.
With my growing passion for cooking came a strong interest for health concerns and nutrition. I slowly made the transition to vegetarianism and I haven’t eaten meat in about 5 months now. At the moment, I consider myself to be “almost vegan” as 90% of my meals are vegan, except for the occasional Greek yogurt or cheese I have once in a while. I recently read The China Study by Dr T. Colin Campbell and that, on top of various documentaries I watched, made me certain that I did not want to go back to animal-based food. I know so much more about the food I eat and the nutrients I put inside me, and it has become such a big part of my life. Eating a plant-based diet makes me feel glowing inside, and so good about myself! To come back on the subject a bit more, I think I’ve crossed the point where I can say that oatmeal has become a part of my life and I’m determined to have it every morning as much as I can! It gives me so many health benefits, makes me feel full longer and offers me so much variety. It gives me an opportunity to eat more fruit as well!
Now, here’s my oatmeal for the week! I actually decided to document my breakfast Friday to Thursday as I always do the groceries on Thursday night, when the new sales for the week begin. I thought it would be a more accurate picture of my breakfasts as that was when I’d have the most fruit. I mostly use recipes from here, but I do sometimes come up with my own, and I especially did so during the week, so I wouldn’t feel too bad about only using Lauren’s recipes :P!
Friday: Cinnamon Apricot-Plum oatmeal topped with honey pan-fried apricot and plum. I used one apricot and one plum, one half of each inside the oatmeal, diced and warm and the other halves on top of the oatmeal, pan-fried and melty. Apricot ended up being quite bland when cooked in the oatmeal, but the flavour totally stood out pan-fried.
Saturday: Apple Pie Oatmeal. This is my favourite apple-oatmeal recipe for sure! It’s so simple, yet so good! This particular morning, I decided to grate part of my apple to add inside and as a topping. It was really nice that way!
Sunday: Strawberry & Cream Oatmeal. This one was deliciously creamy and tasty. I cooked 1/2 cup oats normally and added vanilla essence, one tablespoon organic cane sugar and ¼ cup Greek yogurt at the end of the cooking process!
Monday: Lemon Kiwi Oatmeal. It was my first time trying both lemon and kiwi in oatmeal, and I’m so glad I finally tried it out! Organic kiwis were in sale at my grocery store that week, so I was really excited to finally be able to try it. It was refreshing, a perfect summer recipe.
Tuesday: Blueberry Jam Oatmeal. I cooked my oatmeal in overnight-steeped Organic Blueberry Jam tea from my favourite tea shop, David’s tea. I folded in the blueberries at the end, but most importantly, I topped my oatmeal with a blueberry chia jam. It was yummy!
Wednesday: PB&J Baked Oatmeal. This is one heavenly, decadent, baked oatmeal recipe! I think it was the first time I ever allowed myself to have two tablespoons of peanut butter in one breakfast, but boy this was one nice treat!
Thursday: Kiwi Mint “Green Monster” oatmeal. This is one of my most complex creations. I was really excited about this one, and it turned out GREAT! Refreshing, but most importantly, packed with nutrients and pretty ♥ I love green food, it makes me feel better about myself for some reason hahaha! I blended one banana, one cup liquid (1/2 cup soy milk and 1/2 cup water), one sprig of mint, 2 tbsp lime juice and a huge handful of spinach together. I then poured the mixture into my sauce pan and added 1/2 cup oats. I suspect it might be because of the banana, but as I expected it started to gurgle right away..Next time I will try with only half a banana! I mixed one diced kiwi at the very end and topped it with another kiwi.
Whenever I claim my passionate love for oatmeal to my friends, I more than often receive frowns and comments about how bland and disgusting it is. I don’t understand why many people seem to have a bad opinion of such a wonderful breakfast! It offers SO much variety that can be adapted to your taste and what’s available in your kitchen. Even the poorest student can manage to make awesome, tasty and nutritious oatmeal! To be honest, as long as you have bananas and peanut butter, there are already so many possibilities! One day, I stayed over at a friend`s house, a non-oatmeal-believer, and I convinced him to try some of my oatmeal the next morning. I cooked him Apple Pie Oatmeal, and believe it or not, he now loves oatmeal! I think it’s only a matter of knowing there are not only the bland Quaker packets, but hundreds of possibilities if you are willing to spend 10 minutes over the stove.
Lauren asked me to say what would be my favourite oatmeal recipe but honestly, this is one of the hardest questions someone’s asked me! In autumn, I’m pretty hooked on Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal..In summer, like right now, I love to take the opportunity to enjoy summer fruits and I love Nutty ‘Nana Berry Oatmeal!
**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!
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Brittany!
In addition to other guest posts, I am going to start an “Oatmeal Enthusiasts” series to exhibit the passion of all of YOU! Our first Enthusiast is Brittany, whom I discovered on Instagram of all places. I was so impressed with her creations, and I was delighted to see her taking my recipes and putting her own spin on them. She proves that oatmeal has endless possibilities and variations. I put her up to a challenge: document your breakfast every day for a week. Here’s what she came up with!
Hey Oatmeal Fans,
If you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing you had oatmeal for breakfast this morning. And if you didn’t, you totally should have! Lauren asked me to do a guest post on The Oatmeal Artist blog, so here I am, thrilled to be sharing my oatmeal love with anyone reading.
My name is Brittany, and I am currently a graduate student in the state of Pennsylvania. Come December 2013, I’ll have a M.S in Economics, and actually become a real adult in the working world. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.
So, why did Lauren ask me to write a guest post? Well, where to start…I’ll keep it very brief. I’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast (at least 4 times a week) ever since I got my first apartment in college. I ate the same general combo all the time: bananas and berries, apples and raisins, or some slight variation of those two. Around March of this year, I was looking for a way to finally mix up my morning meal, and I stumbled upon Lauren’s Pinterest, which led me to this blog. Needless to say, I was in awe of the recipes, and the site in and of itself. I’m sure most of you know what I’m talking about. That feeling you get when you discover someone with a similar oatmeal addiction. I started trying a bunch of her recipes and taking pictures of the final results. I was already in the habit of snapping shots of several of my meals because of my recently purchased HTC X One smart phone. I love to cook all kinds of things, so this was the perfect tool to capture my culinary creations. Fast forward to about a month ago, I finally started an Instagram. Of course I posted photos of my delicious breakfasts, and tagged most of them as #oatmealartist [Editor’s note: If you upload pictures of any of my recipes, please do this! I love to look at your creations!]. The recipes I use are usually straight from this website, but I like to add my own aesthetic spin. Long story short, Lauren found my posts on Instagram and asked me to share some with you guys.
Before getting to the pictures, here’s my mini “ode” to oatmeal. Basically, I’ve balled up my love for oatmeal into one word: CHEAP. I’m a relatively frugal person, so food expenses are important to me. But besides the economical aspect, I love oatmeal because it’s:
Comforting: There’s nothing like a warm bowl of oats in the morning, before I step out into the craziness beyond my apartment walls
Healthy and Hearty: I’m a fitness fanatic, so I enjoy eating nutritious meals that will keep me going for hours
Easy: Being a college student with morning classes, or an adult with a “9 to 5”, oatmeal (cold or hot) is not that time consuming or complex
Adaptable: Oatmeal is what chefs would call “a blank canvas.” Dress it up, dump in w/e you have, and it’ll be delicious (or at least edible) 99 times out of 100
Pleasing: It’s just so tasty! How could you not love it?
Now, here’s my oatmeal menu from this past week. As I mentioned, I get a lot of my recipes from here, but this blog has awakened my typically silent artistic side (there’s not much artistry in economics L). I get inspired to “draw” on my oatmeal and make someone double-take and say, “No way! That’s oatmeal? I don’t even like oatmeal, but I’d eat that!”
Monday: Grapefruit Blueberry Oatmeal. If you haven’t tried this one, do it! I was skeptical about the flavor combination, but it was really delicious. Plus, my fruit happened to be really sweet that day.
Tuesday: Banana Grapenut Oatmeal. So, I was trying to figure out a way to make this appealing. And the dark versus light color contrast sparked the Ying and Yang design.
Wednesday: Mango Raspberry Oatmeal . I have to admit, this is not my favorite picture, but of course it tasted great. Actually, the color of the raspberry puree has given me an awesome idea for an oatmeal design in the very near future.
Thursday: Blueberry Pie Oatmeal. No idea where this one came from. I eat this flavor combo a lot, but I wanted to make it different somehow. When the idea of pie popped into my head, I immediately searched for a picture of blueberry pie and thought, “I got this!” Btw, I don’t even like blueberry pie.
Friday: “Sunflower” Oatmeal. I am on a mission to make a realistic looking flower out of fruit that can successfully lie on top of oatmeal (strange obsession that came out of nowhere). This is my second attempt, and I think my third try will be perfection. I’ve already thought up the new layout.
Saturday: I don’t know about you, but I always think kiwi slices look kind of like freaky cat eyes. I definitely got a bit ambitious on this one, and created an abstract-ish pic of a human eye. The actual recipe is based on Lauren’s Lemon and Kiwi Oatmeal.
Sunday: Pineapple Cashew Oatmeal. This recipe is exactly the same as on this blog. It really did remind me of Thai food (read Lauren’s post). Since it was Sunday, I figured I’d celebrate the sun with a nice, simple oatmeal topping. Plus, I was super tired from Saturday and wanted to do minimal meal prep.
So, if anyone ever says to you, “oatmeal is boring,” prove them wrong! With so much access to great recipes, and blogs like this one, it’s easy to eat a different and delicious breakfast every day by starting with one simple base: oatmeal! Get inspired to be creative with your bowl of oats by adding your own special touch or even concocting a new flavor combination. By the way, my favorite flavor from this past week was Grapefruit Blueberry. The taste, and different textures, took me completely by surprise. It’s so simple yet so satisfying. And in case you’re wondering what my all time favorite oatmeal recipe is, it would have to be Apple Cinnamon! Which could actually be considered Apple Pie flavor. It’s one of the first oatmeal recipes I made when I started eating oats for breakfast regularly. I use cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, raisins, a whole diced apple, and ground flaxseed, all topped with a drizzle of honey and sometimes walnuts or pecans. I don’t eat it as often as I used to, but it’s my go-to recipe whenever I have limited ingredients. When I stay at my parents’ house for a weekend, take a 6 hour bus ride to visit my sister for a few days, or have limited fruit options in the winter, I can always rely on this recipe. It’s made with common household ingredients and never fails to be delicious.
—
Think you could be the next Oatmeal Enthusiast? Make sure you tag any photos of my recipes you upload on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #oatmealartist so I can see your creations!
**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!
Think you could be the next Oatmeal Enthusiast? Make sure you tag any photos of my recipes you upload on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #oatmealartist so I can see your creations!
**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!
