Popular Porridges
Tag Archives: yogurt
Grapefruit Overnight Oatmeal
I’m still disappointed that my Grapefruit-Coconut Oatmeal recipe isn’t more popular. How many glittering reviews do I have to give it before people try it out? What I love about it most is that the oatmeal and coconut milk mellow out the bite of the grapefruit, leaving you with just the sweet, citrusy flavor of the grapefruit. No bitterness! The only thing I don’t like about it is the prep work; segmenting grapefruits is such a bother.
Well, here’s a way to save some time. You can do the prep work the night before, and you’ll be able to wake up to delicious grapefruit oatmeal in the morning without dirtying a knife!
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Black Forest Cake Overnight Oatmeal
You all said to me that you wanted more overnight oatmeal recipes, and this is one that will start your day right. I mean, what could be better than waking up to a BLACK FOREST CAKE!?
This recipe was a tough cookie to crack. Much to my disappointment, cherries are not the most flavorful ingredient, especially in its whole form. Their flavor is locked in within that fragile skin.
The first time I made it, I dropped the berries in whole. In the morning, the oatmeal was very flavorless and did not taste at all like a Black Forest Cake. Then, I tried something a little different: I blended the cherries first, so the oatmeal soaked up “cherry juice,” which gave it much more flavor.
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Black Forest Cake Oatmeal
This morning, a screeching fire alarm woke me up at 4:26 AM. I do not remember being woken up by it, nor do I remember my first thoughts. My first memory today was standing in the middle of my bedroom, thinking, “I should put pants on.”
This morning, I walked down fifteen flights of stairs in a creepy, side stairwell. I sat in the apartment lobby in my pajamas while waiting for the flashing firetruck to give us the okay. I had no idea what my hair looked like, until I spotted that frizzy lion’s mane in the reflection of a window I passed.
This morning, I stood in a crowd of tired, angry residents slouching and moping in front of the elevators, which were frantically shuffling everyone back up to their apartments. One minute passed. Two minutes passed. People started leaning against walls. Three minutes passed. People sat down. Four minutes passed. We lost hope. We took a deep breath. We took the stairs, each step reminding me that it was 5 AM and our lives officially sucked. (more…)
Single-Serving Muesli
Are you aware that muesli is just raw oats and a smorgasbord of random ingredients that could easily be assembled in thirty seconds? Are you aware that you could just grab whatever nuts, dried fruit, seeds, or what-have-yous and throw it in to your muesli? Are you aware that you need not purchase $6 boxes of mediocre muesli from the store?
I’m going to give you a moment; this revelation can be a little troubling. After all, if you’re like me, you may have been depriving yourself of this wondrous breakfast because “it’s too expensive” and it’s a “luxury item.” Now, you’ve realized you’ve been wrongfully missing out.
When I studied abroad in Ireland (thank you, world, for your kindness to me), I ate muesli for breakfast every single morning. The first morning, I chose porridge for obvious reasons. However, it was bland and runny and not my style. Then, I noticed that every place we stayed was serving Alpen Swiss Muesli. I had never heard of muesli before then, but I was immediately smitten. It was like a healthier version of granola, and it went beautifully with peaches and plain yogurt, which must be popular in Ireland because every single place we stayed at offered these items in their “buffet” lines.
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POSTED IN: 5 ingredients or less, almond, cherries, chocolate, coconut, dried fruit, muesli, not porridge, nuts, tropical, yogurt
POSTED IN: 5 ingredients or less, almond, cherries, chocolate, coconut, dried fruit, muesli, not porridge, nuts, tropical, yogurt
French Silk Pie Oatmeal
Sometimes, I toss my nose in the air at French Silk Pie. I think it’s because it’s my brother’s favorite kind of pie, and (more often than not) if my brother thinks something is good, it’s actually lame. He’s the pickiest eater in the world, and most of his food choices are safe and dull. Or maybe that’s just me being pretentious.
At the end of the day, how can you turn it down, though? It has a nostalgic appeal to it, probably because it’s just a fancy way to eat pudding…with fabulous curls of chocolate on top!
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Snickers Salad Oatmeal
If you do not reign from the Midwest region of the United States, you will be baffled by the name of this oatmeal. You will be even more confused as you look at the ingredients. Of course, the recipe for Snickers Salad has recently popped up around Pinterest, but for the most part, this piece of classic Midwestern cuisine is foreign to everyone in the remaining 45 states.
Let me break this down for you: Snickers Salad consists of chopped apples, chopped Snickers bars, mini marshmallows, and Cool Whip. Yes, you read that correctly. Take a second; read it again. Yep.
That’s Snickers Salad.
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Tip: Going Dairy-Free
I started making oatmeal about the same time that I started using almond milk. Even when I was still drinking cow’s milk, I was making my oatmeal with just water. Because of this, I never really developed a need to use dairy in my oatmeal (as you can see from my recipes).
However, I can understand why some people might have an acquired taste for oatmeal made with dairy. Of course, I highly recommend using nondairy milks, as a personal preference, but here are some tips for mimicking the taste of dairy products in your nondairy porridge!
1. Add extra salt.
Because it happens so rarely, when I do have oatmeal made with cow’s milk, the first thing I notice is how salty it is. Adding a little extra salt to your nondairy oatmeal can give it a milky, buttery taste. Don’t go overboard, obviously; I wouldn’t go over 1/8 of a teaspoon per serving!
2. Use coconut oil.
Coconut oil adds a certain richness to your porridge. It’s not as flavorful as butter, for example, but it definitely adds a butter-like quality!
3. Stir in nondairy yogurt.
If you add a few spoonfuls of nondairy yogurt (I like almond or coconut-based yogurts), it will make your oatmeal extra creamy, but without the tang of actual yogurt, so it tastes as if you just stirred in heavy cream! I like the plain or vanilla varieties. Also, this is how I flavored my Coconut Cream Pie Oatmeal (below).
4. Earth Balance
Okay, this one is kind of cheating. It tastes exactly like butter. 🙂 But if you’re hooked on the taste of butter in your porridge, this might be your key to transitioning! I personally never got in the habit of “buttered oatmeal,” but I understand the appeal; I personally grew up on Cream of Wheat with butter, sugar, and cinnamon! Mmmm…nostalgia.
5. Opt for flavorful oatmeal recipes.
Your best bet might be to steer clear of the simpler recipes. For example, if you were comparing a basic bowl of oatmeal made with cow’s milk to a basic bowl with almond milk, you would absolutely notice the difference. On the other hand, if you were comparing two bowls of Almond Joy Oatmeal or Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal (shown below), would wouldn’t notice (or at least mind) the difference. The more seasoned or flavored the recipe is, the less of a role the dairy will play!
**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!
Strawberry Shortcake Oatmeal, Veganized!
Do you remember several months ago when I posted a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Oatmeal? At the time, I said I was unsatisfied with the nonvegan-ness of the recipe. 🙂 I made a pledge to veganize it. . . someday.Well, it may have taken a while, but. . . here it is!
I bet you thought I forgot about it, didn’t you?
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Tip: Responding to Oatmeal Emergencies!
I’ll be the first to describe oatmeal as foolproof. That doesn’t mean that you can’t make mistakes; instead, it means that it’s exceptionally easy to fix the mistakes! Overcooked? Easy fix. Soupy oatmeal (like the picture below)? Easy fix. Poor flavor? Easy fix.
Here are some common problems I’ve encountered, and the easy ways to respond to them:
1. You overcooked the oatmeal, and now it’s all dry and clumpy. This is absolutely my most common error, and it’s easy to make! Luckily, it’s also easy to fix. Remove from heat, add more liquid (OR yogurt), and stir. The oatmeal will probably not reach the perfect consistency you were originally going for, but it should regain most of its creamy charm!
2. For some reason unknown to man, your oatmeal looks more like soupy oats. You’ve let it simmer for way over five minutes, but the liquid just isn’t going anywhere, and the oats are starting to look overcooked. No worries; I’ve been there. Dozens of times. There are a few options. First of all, if there’s a LOT of liquid left, consider carefully removing some of the extra liquid using a spoon. Second, you could add a spoonful or two of oat flour, which you can either buy in a store or make yourself by grinding up your regular oats. This will thicken up your oatmeal without having to be cooked for a long time. The other option, and my personal favorite, is to simply remove the oatmeal from heat and let it sit for a few minutes. Amazingly, it just thickens up on its own.
If, however, you have made refrigerator oatmeal, and the porridge that greets you in the morning is essentially a lake of liquid, this is also an easy fix. Pour the oatmeal into a bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes. It will have to suck up the extra liquid as it cooks! I intentionally add extra liquid when I make refrigerator oatmeal because I know it will be the perfect consistency after being microwaved.
3. You poured your heart into making a baked oatmeal recipe, waited twenty minutes, and taken your first bite, only to discover that it has the flavor profile of a rice cake. The easy thing about stove-top oatmeal is that you can taste-and-go, constantly adjusting the flavors until it’s perfect. With baked oatmeal, you have to put faith into your judgment and hope it turns out alright. Most of the time, it does. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t. If you find yourself with a bland baked oatmeal, don’t despair; just dress it up with toppings. If you didn’t season the batter enough, sprinkle on some cinnamon or nutmeg as a topping! If it didn’t turn out as sweet as you would have liked, drizzle on some maple syrup or honey. If it’s just plain dull, smear on some peanut butter or throw some chocolate chips on top. Another great option is to add fruit, which packs a huge flavor punch, particularly strawberries and bananas.
4. You accidentally dumped half a container of cinnamon into the saucepan instead of the suggested 1/4 teaspoon. Ah yes, you had great intentions. You’ve become a confident master of the oats, and you freely toss in the ingredients without measuring them. But then, with your preferred curse words, you mistakenly dump an entire mountain of cinnamon into your cooking oats. Rest easy, fellow porridge lovers, you’re not alone! I’ve been there. There are two options. First of all, you can immediately spoon out the load of undesired spices. You probably won’t be able to salvage it, unfortunately, but at least you can save your oatmeal from being tragically overspiced! Second (and this may just create a bigger mess), you could attempt to double (or triple) the rest of the recipe by adding more liquid and oats so that the heavy dose of cinnamon is proportionate to the rest of the recipe. You could then either share your oatmeal or store the leftovers in the fridge for another day.
5. You started boiling the liquid, and you measure out the oats, only to discover that you don’t have enough to create a full serving. Oops! Before you panic, check your pantry. You may have other grains–like rice, quinoa, buckwheat, or millet–that you could use. The cooking times will probably be different, but it won’t be too hard to adjust. As you can see from my Oat-Quinoa Porridge, mixing grains can create a very desirable breakfast! If you don’t have any of those on hand, try removing a bit of the liquid (set it aside for later so you don’t have to waste it; you could use it as a topping if you like adding milk at the end). Then, compensate for the smaller serving by adding lots of mix-ins, like bananas, yogurt, peanut butter, granola, dried fruit, etc. For more ideas, check out my Loaded Banana Oatmeal post.
There’s one flub that I cannot fix, unfortunately. If you dump cumin into your Apple Pie Oatmeal instead of nutmeg…well…just throw it away. It’s a lost cause. Ahem, not that that’s ever happened to me or anything…
Grapefruit Mint Oatmeal
Happy fifth day of Christmas! 🙂 Oddly enough, this recipe feels a little more summery than a typical December post, but the weather here has been unseasonably warm, so it seems fitting. I even wore a skirt yesterday! What’s the weather like in your area?
This oatmeal reminded me of a grapefruit mojito I had back in August. In all honesty, anything with fresh mint is delightful, and anything with grapefruit is magical, so the combination is perfect. This is actually a really simple recipe that you can throw together with less than five ingredients; however, I’d also recommend adding nondairy yogurt. That gives it the wonderfully creamy texture that most porridges offer.
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POSTED IN: 5 ingredients or less, citrus, cocktail lovers, grapefruit, herbs, mint, tropical, yogurt
POSTED IN: 5 ingredients or less, citrus, cocktail lovers, grapefruit, herbs, mint, tropical, yogurt
