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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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