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Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Jade!
Happy December! I know I’ve been MIA for so long now but I’m ready to get back in the kitchen. Thank you for your patience. In the mean time, I am pleased to introduce you to Jade, who has consistently been a part of the #oatmealartist community on Instagram. I frequently see people come and go, so it is astonishing for me to see those of you who have been following my blog for actual years. Jade is one of those followers, and their story makes me a little emotional. 🙂
Hello everyone! My name is Jade and I am honored to be this month’s Oatmeal Enthusiast! I am a 20 year old college student on leave until January, so I’ve been using my time off to take advantage of the brand new kitchen in my parents’ house! I live in the Bay Area and am currently working for Whole Foods, and I’m very aware of how spoiled that makes me when it comes to produce. I go to college in Chicago, which is not exactly my favorite place for food, especially being vegetarian, so I’m very happy to be the Oatmeal Enthusiast while at home.
Do you want to hear how oatmeal saved my life? I used to eat oatmeal on occasion growing up, but always the same kind of thing – raisins, walnuts, brown sugar – not that it was bad, but it got boring. I rediscovered it when I found this blog in May of 2014, whilst sitting in the hospital bed I was confined to during my first eating disorder hospitalization. I must have read the entire blog while there – I’d never thought of making oatmeal the way Lauren made it! Cooking it on the stovetop? With milk? Absurd! The morning after I was discharged, I made Lauren’s Almond Joy Oatmeal, and I was entranced. Since then I’ve eaten oatmeal almost every single morning, and it’s remained my constant through the ups and downs of my eating disorder. Even on my worst days, oatmeal usually felt safe enough for me to eat, and I was able to give my body a small amount of food to survive on. But now that I’ve mostly recovered, I’m able to truly enjoy oatmeal and all of the creative ways to make it!
I talk a lot about my eating disorder on my instagram, but I’m just going to leave it at that for now because I want to move on to sharing my week’s oatmeal creations!
Sunday:
To start off the week, I made Lauren’s Fudgy Banana & Peanut Butter oatmeal, which I probably make at least once a week. [TOA: Same 😉 ] (more…)
Double Sunflower Seed Granola [Nut Free!]
The great thing about sunflower seed butter in granola is that it mostly imparts a rich, nutty, salty taste—which granola typically already has! It ends up just tasting like an ~enhanced~ granola.
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Lauren!
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…)
10 Recipes for National Apple Month!
October is National Apple Month! This makes sense, considering it’s the time of year that everyone suddenly develops an interest an apple-picking. You’re definitely going to need some recipes to use up the seven pounds of apples you brought home out of pure excitement. Maybe this list will help you out!
Apple Oatmeal with Chocolate Tahini & Coconut
This combination of ingredients would not appear to go together at first glance, but they truly do. Chocolate tahini is also a great way to test the waters if you’re new to tahiniland. (more…)
Weekend Musings: OSG Cookbook Part II
I am completing a challenge using the Oh She Glows cookbook (the first one). For this challenge, I am preparing 20 recipes from the book in one month’s time. To read Part I of this challenge and see the first ten recipes, click here.
Recipe 11: Immunity-Boosting Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms
I had a ton of baby bellas leftover from the Easy Mushroom Gravy, and they were screaming to be used ASAP. Considering I already had many of the remaining ingredients for this sauce in my fridge, cupboard, and spice rack, this seemed like the perfect recipe.
I used to make my own marinara sauce on the regular, so this reminded me of my hardcore #FoodRevolution days, before I calmed the heck down. I was anxious about having actual chunks of tomato in this sauce (as opposed to pureeing them), but the sauce is well-flavored and the tomato soaked it all up nicely.
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Weekend Musings: OSG Cookbook Part I
For those of you following me on Instagram, you will be well aware that I am completing a challenge right now using the Oh She Glows cookbook (the first one). For this challenge, I am preparing 20 recipes from the book in one month’s time–enough to build a sense of urgency, but not enough that I can’t skip a day or two.
I made this challenge up (it’s not a “thing,” haha), but I have found it’s a great way to force myself out of my comfort zone and to branch out from my usual routine. I love my Happy Herbivore mac and cheese, and I love avocado toast, but I know there are other recipes out there that I’m missing.
And furthermore, how many of you buy cookbooks and then let them collect dust on your shelf??? This is a struggle of mine. Everyone was going crazy for the OSG cookbook when it first released, so I gave in to peer pressure and bought it myself. However, after flipping through the pages and admiring the pretty pictures, I never got around to making any of the recipes. Why? Because avocado toast is so much easier. 😉
Knowing well that I was missing out on some fantastic recipes–and also thinking about the $25 I spent on the book–I decided enough was enough. Having previously done a similar challenge using the Happy Herbivore cookbook, I knew this would be the kick in the pants I needed.
Recipe 1: Walnut, Pear, & Avocado Salad
Confession: that’s not even a pear. It’s a golden delicious apple. My neighborhood produce shop didn’t have any pears that day, so I decided a golden delicious apple was the next best thing (and as you all know, I don’t even like pears, so I wasn’t even upset about it). The recipe is meant to be served as a full meal, but I reduced the portion and ate it as a side with some avocado toast because I’m me and I wasn’t quite ready to abandon my old habits. ^_^
I chose this recipe first because I love salad and find them easy to prepare (and it was also 90 degrees out). However, this still forced me to experience a different type of salad since I wouldn’t normally go through the effort of marinated and cooking mushrooms, especially for a salad. This was delicious!! Probably because of the golden delicious apple. 😉 (more…)
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Kat!
Happy June, oatmealers! This month’s Enthusiast, Kat, came to me through my “This Week in Oatmeal” series. This weekly tradition brings me joy every week because the designated themes allow me to see how many of you actually read my blog on a regular basis. I actually imagine people visiting TOA by accident after finding me on Pinterest or Google, and then never coming back. However, when I set weekly themes like “unique toppings,” and suddenly I find dozens of you throwing animal crackers on your morning porridge, it hits me that some of you actually read this thing.
Anyway, Kat is one of the many Instagrammers who regularly participates in my fun but arbitrary themes. I am so pleased to present her as the Oatmeal Enthusiast for June 2016!
I sat silent on the stage as a few hundred strangers tried to give me a nickname. They asked me my favorite food, most embarrassing moment, favorite color, and most memorable family vacation.
Suddenly, a boy jumped onto his chair and shouted, “I’ve got a name! Answer me this: what is her favorite food?”
Everyone yelled, “oatmeal!”
“That’s right!” The boy said, “Rolled oats. And what does she sometimes put on her oatmeal? Thai spices, so I say that we name her ‘Let the Good Thai’mes Roll!” The crowd erupted into applause, and the name stuck. For the rest of the summer, I was referred to as “Good Thai’mes” in honor of my love of oatmeal with Thai spices.
When I affirm that oatmeal is my favorite food, people stare at me in disbelief. They glance at the cafeteria serving line with its lumpy porridge and decide that the cafeteria staff must be slipping a little something extra into my oats. They aren’t—I truly love oatmeal that much. My friends just don’t realize that the cafeteria’s plain oatmeal is my canvas every morning. I paint it with yogurt, adorn it with bananas, and sprinkle it with nuts. Making oatmeal is truly an art.
I have not always been so fond of porridge. Before college, I rarely ate cereal at all—hot or cold. My breakfasts usually consisted of a few iced oatmeal cookies and a glass of chocolate milk. But one morning at the beginning of freshman year, I heard my mouth ask the cafeteria worker for oatmeal. I took a bite…and I was not impressed. Plain oats were a letdown to my ubiquitous sweet tooth. A few weeks later, I asked for a bowl of oats again, and I added some jelly to the steaming cereal. Slowly, I realized that oatmeal is made to be decorated. Later that year, I found The Oatmeal Artist’s blog, and I started creating my own works of art whenever I was home. Below you will find a week’s worth of breakfast creations; to see more, check out my blog.
Sunday: Cinnamon Microwave Oats with Strawberries and Peanut Butter
When I first started making oatmeal, I meticulously measured everything, and my bowl would overflow every time I tried to make microwave oats. Now I just eyeball the amount of water that I add to a scoop of oatmeal and microwave for one minute; it’s delicious every time! (more…)
The Cookie Collection
Considering how frequently oats appear in cookie recipes these days, it’s no surprise that cookie-inspired recipes turn out so satisfyingly perfect! They are a wonderful complement to each other. If you’ve made my Peanut Butter Cookie Baked Oatmeal, you understand just what I mean: it tastes (and smells) exactly like the real cookie!
Here I have assembled all of my cookie-themed recipes, including some overnight “cookie dough” porridges. And FYI, you can always check out all the cookie recipes by scrolling through the “Cookie Lovers” tag.
Oh, and for each oatmeal recipe, I paired it with a vegan cookie recipe if you want to skip breakfast and go right for dessert! 😉
Peanut Butter Cookie Baked Oatmeal
Check out this mini peanut butter cookie recipe by Kathy Patalsky.
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Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Whitney!
Whitney may have joined Instagram fairly recently, but her photos instantly caught my eye. Her bowls of oatmeal always seem to include a pop of colorful berries and melty peanut butter and puddles of berry sauces. Combined with her trademark white rug and glass bowl, her oatmeal is a treat for the eyes!
Hello, everyone! It is my great honour to be your host today for May’s Oatmeal Enthusiast installment. 😉 A big thank you to Lauren for allowing me to put this piece together for you guys! Her blog is beautiful and her recipes never disappoint, so I only hope that I can do the Oatmeal Artist site the justice it deserves.
My name is Whitney, and I am a 19 year old biology student residing in the hopelessly dazzling Pacific Northwest region of Canada. Spring here has finally sprung, and I can’t help but feel at peace among the rows of emerald-leaved trees and glowing flowers. I love to spend my evenings down at the beach on campus, watching the waves roll in as the sun sets behind the endless mountains. I am always blown away by the sheer beauty of my home when the rain starts to fade and blue skies roll in.
I am very new to oatmeal – in fact, I had my first bowl since early childhood less than 6 months ago, and I’ve only been experimenting with it since late February! You can see some of my progression on my Instagram, @wholewhit. Nowadays, I look forward to the next morning’s oat-y creation nearly every night. I guess you could call me a real dev-oat-ee. (sorry [not really])
My later meals are typically filled to the brim with veggies and healthy proteins, but as a self-professed lover of dessert as well as my entire friend circle’s one-woman bakery, I can’t go a day without eating something sinfully sweet and indulgent. These days, I turn to oatmeal for a healthier version of my favourite treats. I love how filling it is; I am never hungry before lunch. It’s also full of good nutrients, especially when loaded up with fruits and cooked in vanilla cashew milk, my liquid of choice.
For my 15 minutes of fame, I decided to share with you my most favourite creations. From these, you may draw a few things; 1) I love fruit; 2) I have a nut butter problem; and 3) damn, that girl can really put away a lot of chocolate.
SUNDAY
I decided to kick things off with my most favourite flavour of all – dark chocolate raspberry. I cooked this baby down with lots of cocoa powder & frozen raspberries, as well as my usual salt, vanilla, and mashed banana. I topped it off with hot raspberry “sauce” and fresh raspberries (plus chocolate and PB, of course). Those little guys sure are expensive, but as soon as I get home and crack open the container, I never regret my decision. (more…)
Oatmeal Enthusiast: Meet Sandra!
It’s April! My favorite month of the year. Today I’m happy to introduce you to Sandra, whom I “met” last fall when I did the comment contest. Sandra was one of my top commenters, leaving a response on every post. She continues to be a regular visitor to the blog and leaves the most enthusiastic comments! I could not wait to invite her to be April’s Enthusiast.
Hello Oatmeal Connoisseurs!! Sandra here. I’m a 21-year-old college student. Besides school, my life revolves around cooking, nail art, fashion, leisurely walks, celebrity obsessions, scientific curiosity, writing, photography, Cappuccino, my cat/mountain lion, friends, and family.
In the past, I neither loved nor hated oatmeal. It was just there, for it was either blandly healthy or chemically enhanced. I lacked the time and appetite for hearty breakfasts on early school mornings, yet I’d long for weekend brunches prepared by my parents or at my favorite restaurants. Daily nourishing breakfasts are pretty new to me because of how my life evolved. (more…)
