The never-ending oat combos!

Hi friends!
Here's a question for you:
Firstly, I'm going to make a generalisation (*gasp*) about the majority of my readers being either blog writers themselves, healthy living blog writers, avid blog readers and probably avid healthy living blog readers. If not- you have surprised me- well done ;)

I'm also going to make the generalisation that the majority of you have or even regularly cook oats and share my love for them (if not, that's cool, I'm sure there's another healthy living blogger stereotype you fit :)

Anywho, my question!
Before you guys found your love of creating delicious bowls of oats with all kinds of add-ins and flavours, did you ever think oatmeal was just plain boring old sachets of mush that you had to either cover in sugar or honey? I know I did.

I had no idea about rolled oats and steel cut oats and oat bran and cooking them on a stove tops and adding berries/ bananas/ apples/ pumpkin/ chocolate/ vanilla etc. I would simply pour in a measly serving size sachet (yes! Alliteration :)) add some milk, cook it in the microwave (more often than not causing a messy microwave explosion) and top with honey.

Then I began reading blogs.
The world changed forever!
At first it was adding a sliced banana to the oats after cooking.
Then it was mashing a banana in a bowl and microwaving it after I microwaved the oats and then mixing them together.
Then microwaving together.
Then- magic! Stove top oats and all the never-ending possibilities!

Some early oat bowls:

Yep.

I was scrolling through my pictures from the previous week and was astounded at the vast array of flavours in my oats I enjoy over a week- how the times have changed!

First of all I made some overnight pumpkin oats in an almost-empty-jar of mixed nut butter- which was awesome! (with a side of berry fro-yo - forzen berries + greek yoghurt, whazzed)

Into the jar went 1/2 cup rolled oats + 1/2 cup steamed, mashed and cooled pumpkin + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + dash of nut meg + sprinkle of chia seeds + 1 cup almond milk, all stirred up together and left in the fridge overnight:

Up next I was feeling something warmer, comforting and CHOCOLATE!

Enter chocolate protein steel cut oats!

Into a saucepan went 1/2-3/4 cup steel cut oats + 1 scoop choc protein powder (I use this one) + a few big dashes of cinnamon + 1 sliced banana + 1 cup almond milk + 1 cup water- heated on medium heat for 20 mins and let to sit for another 10 mins to cool.

With some cashew butter hidden on the bottom, half the oats poured in, a little more PB in the middle, rest of the oats and topped with a tad more peanut butter- so good!

Then I was feeling something a little fresher, a little fruity, a little tangy!

Some mixed berry cheesecake oats!

This was 1 cup rolled oats + 1 sliced banana + 1 handful mixed frozen berries + 1 cup almond milk + 1/2 cup water, heated on medium heat for around 10 mins until all the liquid was absorbed and then let sit to cool for another 10 mins before stirring in a couple of scoops of greek yoghurt.

Into a bowl (you know there was some extra nut butter hidden throughout it) and topped with some mixed nut butter

That was just from one week of breakfasts!

I love experimenting with my oats and the possibilities really are never-ending (I haven't quite become brave enough to try savoury oats, or to add egg whites to my oats- apparently it makes the texture better) and I can't wait to experiment further and enjoy some awesome bowls (or mugs, or cups) of oats!

Your turn:
Did you ever have quick oat sachets?
What did your first bowls of oats look like? Mine were not photo-worthy that's for sure!

Current favourite flavour combo in your oats?

That's it from me today folks! Anyone else got a sudden hankering for oats? Just me? Ahh well there's a cure for that one! ;) Have a fabulous day and I'll be back tomorrow! Bye friends! :D

A craving...

Hello friendly friends!
You know, I had almost forgotten what a craving felt like. It has probably been a good few months (maybe more?) since I have genuinely needed something to keep my body from crying out.

I mean, I still had certain moods for what food I wanted but not a full-throttle craving.

Then I woke up Wednesday morning and my body told me it needed something!

 This guy!
Well this guy in particular:

 I was craving oats. C.R.A.V.I.N.G!

 So I whipped up a big mug full of banana steel cut oats and generously blobbed peanut butter throughout.

 Craving satisfied! Or so I thought...
Then I woke up Thursday morning...

 Chocolate steel cut oats!

 With a delicious blueberry and green grape fro-yo to balance out that awesome chocolatey-coconuty richness. :)

 Frozen blueberries + frozen grapes + 3 big scoops greek yoghurt whazzed.

 This was a good breakfast!

 Better together:

 Craving satisfied?!?
Guess again!
Come Friday morning...

 OIAJ! Banana, cinnamon steel cut oats in an almost empty (you know there was quite a bit of PB left ;) jar of peanut butter with a side of mango fro-yo.

 Mango fro-yo; you will always be my one and only!

 Again- such a good brekky! Warm, gooey, MANGO-Y!

 Perfect.

 Ok, so you would think by now- after 3 breakfasts in a row involving oats- that my cravings would have been satisfied?
Woke up this morning, ran a glorious 20km, came home and....

Steamed some pumpkin:

 Why?
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE OATS!!

 After steaming and mashing about 1/2 cup pumpkin I added 3/4 cup rolled oats to a pot with 1 thinly sliced banana, 1 heaped teaspoon of cinnamon, a dash of nut meg and around a cup of almond milk- heated until absorbed.

 Then steamed pumpkin stirred through along with 1/2 heaped cup greek yoghurt (optional) for the cheesecake flavour.

 Half poured into my bowl, sneakily dolloped in some cashew butter, added the other half, topped with more cashew butter- et voila!

 Another glorious bowl of oats!

 I wonder what's on the menu tomorrow? ;)

What about you?
Do you ever go through phases of loving the same thing over and over? I think I've been in that phase with white sweet potatoes for quite a while now!
Favourite bowl of oats? I've gotta say, I'm getting a new obsession with chocolate oats!
Oats hot or cold? I like both, but hot- warm and gooey- will always have my heart. As well as sticking to my ribs :)

Have a fabulous Easter weekend- enjoy the chocolate, don't fear it! Have fun! Bye friends! :D

WIAW #35

Hidy Ho friendly friends! (Wow. Just wow, Steph)
How are feeling today on this fine Wednesday? Happy? Jolly? Christmas-y? I know I am!

In the glorious mood I'm in- I think I should talk about a glorious topic- FOOD! In particular- the food I have been nom-ing on. WIAW (on Tuesday) style! Thanks Peas and Crayons for this awesome link-up every week, where I always seem to find a fabulous new blog that I never knew existed!

Now onto the eats!
Tuesday was a day when the stomach wanted food. And a lot of it too. Hey- I'm only here to please!
So, bright and easrly, I skipped into the kitchen and nom-ed on a delicious medjool date and dried fig before lacing up my running shoes and going for a lovely run! Upon return, breakfast was created and bubbling away and lunch was being prepared too. Boy life's busy!
Breakfast:
On the breakfast scene was a big bowl of chocolate steel cut oats topped with mixed nut butter:

There was probably 1/2 cup steel cut oats with a scoop of choc protein powder, 1 teaspoon raw cacao powder, a few big dashes of cinnamon, sprinkle of chia seeds and 1/2 a banana with 1 cup of almond milk and 1 cup of water stirred in and then bubbled away on low heat for about 20 mins (left to cool for another 10 mins)

But that's not all. These weren't just chocolate steel cut oats, these were chocolate cheesecake steel cut oats!

Once they were done cooking I stirred in 2 spoons of greek yoghurt and let that sit for a few mins= deliciousness! It also makes it a bit more filling too :)

Can you believe I was still a bit hungry after this? Well I was! So I had a handful of green grapes  as well :)

Snack:
For my snacky snack at school I had a small pot of frozen peas. Yum. :) :)

 Lunch:
I sure was hungry when lunch rolled round as Tuesday happened to be our year day and we went ice skating. So after already running and then ice skating on top of that- feeding was required!

 This is a recycled pic because I was sort of in a rush but it's basically the same thing. A huuuuuge veggie sandwich with home made spelt bread, hommus, spinach, a veggie patty, grated carrot and beetroot, sliced tomato, capsicum, more spinach and top of bread. Yep.

Snack:
After school my snack of choice was a small fuji apple with some apricot and a glass of soy milk:

This apple was sooo crisp, sweet and delicious and the apricot was pretty good too!

Soy milk always tastes the same. Very, very scrumptious!

Dinner:
Dinner was another huuuge plate of food, (told you I was hungry) mainly veggies:

On top of a bed of spinach there was 2 scrambled eggs with garlic, pepper and garlic tofu, beside that was some steamed veg (pumpkin, swede, potato, parnsip and sweet potato and next to that was some roasted brussels sprouts and brocoli- so good!

Even after this mammoth of a dinner I still had a small handful of nuts because I was still a teensy bit hungry... (can you believe it!?!) you know what they say- growing boy girl! I'm lying- I think I've finished growing. Unfortunately I think I will remain this short.

What did you eat Wednesday? (or Tuesday, if you're like me)
Do you sometimes eat a lot on days you run/ work out/ do a lot of activities?
Do you like frozen peas?

Like snooping out what others are eating? Head on over to Peas and Crayons for even more eats!

Bye for now folks! :D