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Oatmeal Packet Pancakes [Guest Post]
In case you missed it, I am taking a mini-break to get my life together. Major love to Christina (and Kelsey) for volunteering to share some recipes with everyone this week.
❤️ ? ? ?
Hello again! For those of you who don’t ‘know’ me (at least virtually), my name is Christina and I was the Oatmeal Enthusiast in May and December 2015. Lauren’s blog has brought me so much joy and inspiration that when I saw she would be taking a break, I wanted to pay it forward with guest recipes.
Like many of you, my first experience with oatmeal was with the Quaker Instant Oatmeal packets. After I started making my own oatmeal, I gradually – but not entirely – stopped buying those packets. Whenever I see a new and interesting flavor, I can’t help but buy a box. (more…)
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POSTED IN: 5 ingredients or less, bananas, guest post, not porridge, pancakes and waffles, tips and tricks
POSTED IN: 5 ingredients or less, bananas, guest post, not porridge, pancakes and waffles, tips and tricks
Hacking the Instant Oatmeal Packet, Part II
Read Part I here.
Hi friends!
Recently, I was traveling home for my brother’s wedding. The hotel did not offer a free continental breakfast (what is that nonsense??), so I decided to pack some oatmeal. I knew I would have minimal resources at my disposal, and I didn’t want to eat flavorless porridge, so I packed my Matcha Marketplace oatmeal packets (the blueberry coconut flavor).
It was the perfect solution. Cooked with nothing but water, it created a delicious oatmeal and I didn’t feel like I was “settling.” This ignited an unusual interest in flavored oatmeal packets, and I started thinking about ways to enhance the typical packet experience.
Here’s my first: Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal + Pumpkin puree. That’s it!
I have added banana before, but I think pumpkin works even better because the banana adds sweetness to an already sweet oatmeal. Pumpkin solves this problem because it is bitter and earthy, and it needs the sweetness from the oatmeal packet.
Prepare the oatmeal as directed, and stir in 1/3 cup pumpkin puree. I topped mine with PB&Co Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter, coconut, and pecans. ?
More ideas for Maple & Brown Sugar:
- Stir in mashed sweet potato
- Stir in unsweetened applesauce (it takes on a kind of apple pie taste)
- Stir in unsweetened chestnut puree
- Add instant coffee granules
- Cook 1-2 servings of quinoa porridge and add the Maple & Brown Sugar packet in the last five minutes (it will create a multigrain porridge, with a more mild maple & brown sugar flavor)
Do you have any oatmeal packet hacks? Or do you have ideas for more hacks I can try?
Weekend Musings: Soaking Oats
Remember, I am not a nutritionist. Everything I’m about to write came from my own experiences and from independent researching. If you haven’t yet read my musing about being a nutrition skeptic, I highly recommend it!
For a long time, I’ve noticed that my stomach is happier after eating overnight oats compared to stovetop oats. I had no idea why. Even when I made a larger portion of overnight oats (they are typically smaller in volume than the same measurement of dry oats on the stove), it would still leave me with a happier gut.
When Giselle submitted her guest post for the Spiced Plantain Brownie Baked Oatmeal, she included an instruction to soak the oats in an acidic liquid overnight. Curious, I emailed back to ask why. She responded, “Soaking the oatmeal (or any other whole grain) in acidic liquid is supposed to break down the phytic acid to make them more nutritious and digestible. Rinsing them removes most of the lemon flavor.”
Normally, hearing something like “break down the phytic acid” would set off my BS radar. ? I take being a nutrition skeptic very seriously, and I think there is a lot of nonsense being thrown around. But considering the very real, noticeable difference in my digestion after eating overnight oats vs. stovetop oats, I was intrigued. (more…)
Weekend Musings: Food Waste
I will readily admit that I’m not an easy roommate. Ask my roommates from my year in Newark, and they will tell you that the thing I was most meddlesome about was food waste. I can recall one moment when a roommate was going to throw something away that was a bit past its prime, and as she carried it toward the garbage, I sharply inhaled and stared in horror. I quickly became the food waste police (which I do not recommend as it will not make you very likable ?).
5 Ways to Meal Prep Oatmeal for Easy Breakfast Every Morning
Weekend meal prep has solidified itself as an important ritual in many people’s tight schedules in the past year. It boasts many perks: prevents you from needlessly eating out or ordering delivery, saves money by avoiding “convenience” items (e.g. precooked rice or prediced onions), saves you time during busy weekdays, and encourages you to stick with healthy choices—even after an exhausting day at work or school.
Meal prep is often discussed in regards to lunch and dinner, but preparing breakfast ahead of time is just as useful, if not more. I’m willing to bet most of us are sleepy and desperate for every minute in the mornings. Even if you insist on cooking your oats on the stove every morning, there are some tricks to save yourself a few minutes or allow you to experiment with recipes you otherwise wouldn’t have time for. (more…)
Apple Oatmeal with Chocolate Tahini and Coconut
Friends, I have two important hacks to show you today.
The first involves my never-ending search for apple perfection.
I have written before on the perfect way to cook apples in oatmeal to get a creamy porridge and not a chunky and disjointed one. Now, I have a new method.
At the end of the day, you can add your apple however you damn well please. However, here’s my new favorite: cut the apple into halves or quarters. GRATE at least half the apple (I grate three quarters), and dice the rest.* The grated apple works on two levels: 1) It is easier to digest for poor souls like me with incompetent intestines, and 2) It creates a smooth and consistently flavorful porridge. You could technically grate the entire fruit, but reserving some of the apple for dicing provides a bit of texture for extra pops of apple now and then.
*I use small apples, so I use the entire thing, but if you’re using a large apple, you may want to only use a portion of the apple and save the rest for later. Use your judgment.
10 Tips to Come Up with Your Own Oatmeal Recipes
Many people comment, “I cannot believe all the things you can do with oatmeal!” or “And I thought I was being inventive by putting peanut butter on my oatmeal!”
The thing is, we can all be oatmeal artists (as cliché as it sounds). I became more innovative the more I played around with oatmeal. I may have an absurd amount of recipes here, but we all have our own personal tastes, so it’s worth taking the risk and trying your own artistry, even if that means just tweaking my recipes (or another blogger’s).
So if you need help developing your inner artist, here are some tips for getting started: (more…)
Here’s How to Microwave Oatmeal that Still Tastes Really Damn Good
Let me be the first to openly proclaim my dislike of microwaved oats. Maybe I just don’t have the skillzzz, but my attempts at microwaved oatmeal have always resulted in a gummy or dry mess that resists all attempts of flavoring. Or worse, it results in an overflowing bowl and a mushy, messy puddle in the microwave.
Stove-top oatmeal for LIFE.
However, I’ve recently learned that a huge chunk of my readers DO make my recipes in the microwave, and another chunk of my readers are curious about how to do it. Since I clearly haven’t mastered this skill, I turned to the real masters: my readers. Special thanks to all of you that helped me out with all the great advice!
PSSST. . . you’ll notice that some readers’ tips contradict each other. That’s fine! It’s called “personal preference.” 😉 It just goes to show you that there is always more than one way to accomplish something!
Do You *Need* to Cook Oatmeal in Milk?
Yes, I’m a strictly dairy-free herbivore. However, I chose to make my blog as welcoming to all diets and lifestyles as possible. Thus, this post includes information on cow’s milk as well as plant-based milks.
Let’s talk milk.
And I promise to be as objective as possible because I’m a loving and tolerant vegan.
You see, when I first started The Oatmeal Artist, I was a vegetarian. A lactose intolerant vegetarian, but a vegetarian nevertheless. I drank almond milk (occasionally soy) at home, but wasn’t against using cow’s milk when I cooked at my parents’ home.
As a college student, I found almond milk expensive. It “appeared” similar to the cost of cow’s milk, except it comes in a 1/2 gallon size, thus making it deceptively pricier. This was in 2011 and in rural South Dakota, when (and where) the demand for nondairy milk was still low. To save money, I never made oatmeal entirely with milk. My method was always 1/2 almond milk, 1/2 water. Because of this, I had the benefit of creamy almond milk, but my 1/2 gallon carton lasted twice as long. This is why every recipe details that I mixed milk and water.
Since those days, I have learned several important points about milk vs. water. *Note: when I say “milk,” I mean any type of milk: plant-based or not.* (more…)
Weekend Musings: Back to School! Oatmeal for Kids
Consider this the “Weekend Musings: Back to School Edition.”
I reached out to various readers with children (including my own sister) for how they feed their kids with oats. I asked for anything: stories, tips, recipes. This is what I have for you. 🙂
– Creamy Oatmeal Base:
2 cups milk (I almost always use almond milk, but have used coconut milk and very rarely, I use cow milk.), 3/4 cup of quick oats. This serves 3 people. For every additional person at the table I add 1/4 cup oats and a 1/2 cup of milk. I use quick oats because I have a toddler who wakes up hungrier than a raptor and I just can’t wait more than 5 minutes to give him breakfast! I put the oats and milk into a pot, crank it to boil, and stir. When it’s boiled for 3-5 minutes, I remove from stove. This is when you can stir in any flavourings or toppings! Enjoy!
-An Oatmeal Bar. . .
. . .works really well for guests or picky eaters. Make a base oatmeal and set out “toppings” and sweetener. I make a creamy oatmeal base and then set out honey, maple syrup, and brown sugar for the sweetener. Then for toppings I put graham crumbs, peanut butter, cocoa powder, coconut, Oreo crumbles, bananas, peaches, cherries, raspberries, and blueberries (mostly whatever fruit is in season, or frozen/thawed fruit in winter).
