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Peppermint Fudge PB2
Shout out to my bulk-sized cocoa powder and PB2! The sad part is that I can finish both in less than a month. I buy the cocoa through the subscription program on Amazon, and it’s delivered to me monthly. I often have to supplement with a small Trader Joe’s container of cocoa powder by the end of the month. See also: my hot chocolate addiction.
I’m such a sucker for mint chocolate flavors. There’s a reason Thin Mints were always my favorite Girl Scout cookie. (Coincidentally, they are also the only vegan version. Hizzah!) If you like Thin Mints, or Andes mints, or any sort of chocolate-mint concoction, you will love this Peppermint Fudge PB2 (as well as my Thin Mints Oatmeal or Peppermint Brownie Baked Oatmeal)!
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Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Kelsey!
Does Kelsey really need an introduction? ? You may know her from her two guest posts, Cookies N Cream Overnight Oatmeal and Spiced Parsnip Oatmeal, or perhaps from her frequent appearances in the “This Week in Oatmeal” series. I have collaborated with her so often that I just assumed I had already featured her as an Oatmeal Enthusiast–turns out I hadn’t! Thus, it is my great pleasure to pass the keyboard to Kelsey and let her tell her story.
Hi there!
My name is Kelsey, but you might know me as @fortheloveof_pb on Instagram. I’m beyond thrilled to be your Oatmeal Enthusiast for February!
At 23, I’ve finally gotten to the point in my life where I’ve made health and fitness a priority. I exercise daily (swimming with a masters’ group, Blogilates videos, and hot yoga are current favorites), and I eat an incredibly “clean” diet: vegan, unprocessed foods with minimal added sugar and oil.
It wasn’t always that way. My favorite food used to be boxed mac and cheese, and for the first two years of college my fridge was regularly filled with frozen mozzarella sticks, cookie dough, and chocolate frosting. And you know I wasn’t baking those cookies.
Right after I turned 21, I contracted an H. Pylori infection, but I wouldn’t know that for almost four months. It was like, overnight, my digestive system just turned on me. I was battling constant heartburn and nausea that kept me up every night. It took four months to figure out what was wrong, but even after the infection was eradicated, I spent another year dealing with the lingering symptoms from this infection.
I realized, in order to combat these lingering symptoms, I needed to overhaul my diet.
Over a couple months, I cut out most processed foods and started eating more fiber. One of the first swaps I made was eating oatmeal for breakfast in place of frozen waffles. I can’t tell you how many bowls of strawberry and peanut butter oatmeal I ate my senior year of college because it was about the only thing that never made me feel ill.
This past May, I decided I was tired of taking medication to manage my symptoms. I had heard stories about people with digestive issues that were cleared up by a vegan diet, so I decided to try it. And it worked. I no longer take any medication and have been symptom-free since July.
Throughout my recovery, oatmeal was a constant in my diet because it was one of my “safest” foods; no indigestion or nausea here, ever. Over time I began to expand my oatmeal repertoire and discovered Lauren’s blog. From there I got inspired. There was so much more you could do with oatmeal than just add strawberries. It was something you could put vegetables in!
And I do – every day. Oatmeal is actually where I get a lot of the veggies into my diet. I love that oatmeal offers the opportunity to “sneak” more fruits and veggies into my diet in delicious ways. Sometimes I think about how ridiculous it is that I’m having, say, chocolate carrot cake oatmeal for breakfast. It tastes like dessert, but its really just fruit, veggies, whole grains, and of course some peanut butter.
The funny thing is, even though I eat more adventurously than I ever have, I still eat oatmeal more than anything else. Although, let’s be honest, my oatmeal is often pretty adventurous too. It’s easily my favorite food, and I’m so excited that I get to share it with my family (my Dad posts about my oatmeal on Facebook every time I come home to visit), my friends, on Instagram, and with you all this week! With that in mind, I tried to line up a week of oatmeal that highlights everything I’ve ever considered to be a favorite. I hope you enjoy it and get inspired to try out a new oatmeal flavor!
Saturday: Strawberry PB Oatmeal with Parsnips
I figured I would start the week off with my first oatmeal love, strawberries and peanut butter. Back in the day I would have made this with instant oats and frozen strawberries in the microwave, but today I stepped up my game. I still made instant oats, but I added some shredded parsnips to add some volume and cooked everything on the stovetop. And, because I’m excessive, I made some PB2 to stir into the oats and then topped them with my all time favorite peanut butter from Trader Joe’s. Side note: look how beautiful those berries are! I mean, its January, how did this even happen?! (more…)
Community Round-Up: Favorite Nut Butters!
It is no secret that I love nut butters, and you all seem to agree with me. (Did you know there are people on this very planet who claim they “don’t like” peanut butter? Is that some sort of medical syndrome? Is it genetic? Is it contagious? I don’t understand.)
I tend to stick to plain peanut butter and just flavor it myself using the spices and extracts in my pantry because it’s cheaper, but I always have major envy of the flavors I see my readers playing with. Thus, I asked all of YOU what your favorites are.
What are your fave kinds of nut butters, & w what oatmeal? e.g. I <3 PB & Co’s Cinnamon-Raisin on Apple PB&J Oatmeal https://t.co/J2qENV5lSA
— Lauren Smith Ⓥ (@lauren_015) January 13, 2016
Your responses had me drooling!
Like me, most of you stick to plain creamy or crunchy peanut and almond butter.
- @hisworkmanship.e210 [Instagram] Peanut Delight makes a natural peanut butter that is good with pears. Basically, peanut butter makes everything peanut better 🙂
- Christina [Facebook] For baked and stovetop oatmeal, my favorites are Smart Balance creamy peanut butter and Justin’s almond butter. I like to use natural nut butters with healthy fats, but do not like that layer of oil that occurs in most kinds. Smart Balance and Justin’s do not have that puddle of oil, plus you don’t need to store them in the refrigerator.
- @healthyhappyeats_ [Instagram] I love the natural peanut butter from Costco and I eat it mostly everyday with baked banana oatmeal!!
- Tiffany [Facebook] My local health food shop makes their own peanut butter – they literally grind it up for you then and there. It’s so fresh and delicious and has no oil, salt or sugar added. Heaven! My go-to oatmeal is Peanut Butter Banana Porridge with fresh berries.
>>Try my Nutty Nana Berry Oatmeal! 
- Anna [Facebook] I love gingerbread&cinnamon oatmeal (+egg whites and sometimes chia seeds) topped with almond butter (Biona) and banana. Also raw cacao oatmeal with PB&banana is awesome!
Best of 2015
See also: Best of 2012 / Best of 2013 / Best of 2014
In the “Best of 2014,” I said that it had been “definitely the most difficult year of my life.” That’s because I hadn’t met 2015 yet. Happily, I escaped the soul-sucking nightmare that is teaching and have spent the last several months focusing on my mental health and progressing my professional career in grad school. One of my favorite parts of this major life change is that I’ve been able to return to blogging with purpose and enthusiasm after struggling to keep the blog afloat during my teaching years. With that dedication, my blog has flourished and progressed in ways I never imagined. First and foremost, 2015 was absolutely the year of zucchini!
Without further ado, here are some of the top recipes from the year!
1. Fan Favorite Recipe
Spiced Pumpkin Oatmeal with Java PB2! I wasn’t sure how you would receive this new spin on my Pumpkin Spice Latte Oatmeal, but it turns out, you loved it! The only page you visited more than this recipe in 2015 was the Recipe List. ?
10 Oatmeal Recipes to Celebrate Your Holiday Weekend
While I completely support eating any oatmeal at any time of the year (Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal in July? Yep, I’ve done it), it can be satisfying to enjoy seasonal recipes, especially during the holidays.
For me, and I’m assuming many other people, holidays like Christmas become a weekend (or week-long!) event. Here are ten recipes to start every morning with a festive bowl of oats.
Gingerbread Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Not only is this sweetened by bananas, but it makes more than a single serving. Hizzah! (more…)
Oatmeal Enthusiasts: Meet Christina (again)!
Hello again! My name is Christina (I post under the name Christine). As winner of the comment contest, I am thrilled to be back as Oatmeal Enthusiast. I was also Oatmeal Enthusiast for May 2015. That was not long ago, but my oatmeal style has evolved since then. The recipes that I featured in May were all quick oats made in the microwave. I have since ‘branched out’ to old fashioned (rolled) oats, overnight oatmeal, baked oatmeal, and other breakfast foods made with oats. I’ve been experimenting a lot over the past several months. One reason: I joined Pinterest in July. It serves as an unlimited source of inspiration. Another reason: the comment contest. I like feeling goal-oriented. I knew that every time I tried a new recipe, it would give me something substantive to comment on. In the end, I posted about 200 comments.
Being named Oatmeal Enthusiast for December excited me because it’s the best month for food. You can still get away with fall flavors (pumpkin, apple, pear, etc.), plus there are holiday flavors to choose from – gingerbread, peppermint, egg nog, hot chocolate. My inclination was to do all seasonal recipes based on Christmas cookies and Starbucks drinks. But when I was officially announced as Oatmeal Enthusiast, Thanksgiving was over a week away and I wasn’t quite in the mood for Christmas yet. Instead of doing all seasonal recipes, I decided to channel the holiday spirit of giving back. As much as I love the Oatmeal Artist’s recipes, I wanted to introduce readers to favorite recipes from other sources. I also wanted to share cooking tips and tricks.
First, I couldn’t help but notice the absence of carob recipes on the Oatmeal Artist blog. Carob seems like a natural fit for a blog focused on heathy eating. After leaving a comment to that effect, the Oatmeal Artist replied that she does not like carob. I wanted to fill the void with a post on carob for those who do like it or are interested in trying it.
On Carob
There was a food co-op on campus where I went to college. That was before stores such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods became mainstream. One day, I picked up a bag of carob peanuts. At the time, I’d never heard of carob. The clerk at the food co-op explained that it’s a chocolate alternative that does not have caffeine. I bought the bag of carob peanuts and a box of carob-chip granola bars out of curiosity. The carob tasted smooth and sweet. I told myself it tasted like mild chocolate.
Unfortunately, there’s not a food co-op or even a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods convenient to where I live. In the intervening years, I’d sometimes linger in the natural foods section of the grocery store, hoping to find carob-flavored something. I never did. This fall, I decided to get some carob. I found a website that sold it, and was going to place an order except for one night when I happened to stop by a Whole Foods. Carob! I bought a canister of carob powder and a bag of carob chips.
I purposely let myself run out of cocoa powder so that I could start using the carob. When I opened the canister of powder, it smelled like a shoe. I didn’t remember it smelling like that. I went ahead and used carob powder in lieu of cocoa powder in a recipe. Do not try that. Carob tastes nothing like chocolate. I understood why some people do not like carob.
Meanwhile, I had an entire can of carob powder and an unopened bag of chips to use. I wanted to like carob. A search of Pinterest yielded two overnight recipes and one baked oatmeal using carob.
Here’s the link to the first recipe I tried – Carob Banana Chia Overnight Oats by Oh-She-Glows.
I was skeptical when assembling the recipe: I couldn’t get over the smell of the carob. When I took the lid off the oatmeal the next morning, the carob still smelled funny. The taste was a different story. Carob powder is not as bitter as cocoa powder; I liked how the chopped banana provided bursts of sweetness between bites.
Oh-She-Glows’ recipe calls for more chia seeds and fewer oats than I normally use in overnight oatmeal. It’s more of an overnight oats/chia pudding hybrid. Her recipe inspired me to create an overnight recipe more along the lines of the Oatmeal Artist’s.
Carob Banana Overnight Oatmeal:
½ cup old fashioned (rolled) oats
½ cup milk
Dash salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon water or milk
1 tablespoon carob powder
1 overripe banana
Carob chips to taste (optional)
Put all ingredients except banana and carob chips in a container with a lid. Contrary to what you see on Pinterest, you do not need a mason jar to make overnight oats. Any container with a tight-fitting lid will work. I used Tupperware, but have made overnight oats in empty peanut butter jars. A 1:1 ratio of liquid to oats generally works best. I learned from the Oatmeal Artist that for every teaspoon of chia seeds you use, you need an additional tablespoon of liquid for the oats to reach their proper consistency. Chia seeds soak up liquid and make the oatmeal fluffy.
As for the banana, you can either mash it all, chop it all into small bits, or mash half chop half. I chose the latter.
Add the banana to the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. You do not necessarily need to shake the container. Stirring with a spoon works.
Put the oatmeal in the refrigerator overnight. Top with optional carob chips. Tip: If you heat the oats in the microwave, add the carob chips after you heat the oatmeal to prevent melting.
Wednesday, November 18th: Carob Banana Overnight Oatmeal
I debated whether to heat the oatmeal or eat it cold. Since I liked Oh-She-Glows’ recipe cold, I decided to have mine that way too. Tips: If you heat your overnight oats, make sure you do so in a microwave-safe container. You may need to add a little water before you put them in the microwave.
This recipe tasted great! It was more like oatmeal and less like a chia pudding. Another thing I appreciated was that it was a simple recipe made with few ingredients. As much as I enjoy the fancier (i.e. more tedious) recipes, I don’t have time for them on weekday mornings.
I would recommend this recipe to anyone who has never tried carob or who thinks they do not like carob. Tip: Carob is best enjoyed in its own right. Don’t expect carob to taste the same as chocolate. Carob is a chocolate alternative, not a chocolate substitute. (more…)
Cowboy Cookie Baked Oatmeal
I get unreasonably excited every time I put out a new cookie oatmeal. This is one I have wanted to make for quite a while. Actually, I first wanted to make a monster cookie baked oatmeal, but that would require the use of M&Ms, and then I would have to splurge on vegan M&Ms, and I just wasn’t ready to spend my money on that. Just as I feel about vegan marshmallows. Maybe someday.
As much as I imagined myself making this, I wasn’t 100 percent sure what actually goes into a cowboy cookie. Truthfully, I’m not sure if I’ve ever even had one. All I knew is that there were nuts and chocolate involved.
To guide my recipe, I did what I always do: What Would Martha Stewart Do? (more…)
Cheesecake Baked Oatmeal
I gave up on this recipe ages ago. As I mentioned in my Berry Cream Cheese Baked Oatmeal, I have been trying to master a cheesecake oatmeal since 2013! Now that I like the taste of Tofutti, and I’ve discovered the trick of adding zucchini, I figured it was time to try it again.
I think one thing hindering my progress was that my mom makes amazing cheesecake. Even though I haven’t had it since my vegetarian days, I still recall the creamy, tangy, sweet, rich flavor of those perfect cakes. Mommy, I miss your cheesecake!!! (more…)
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POSTED IN: baked oatmeal, berries, cherries, cream cheese, dessert lovers, toppings, veggies, zucchini
POSTED IN: baked oatmeal, berries, cherries, cream cheese, dessert lovers, toppings, veggies, zucchini
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…)
