I know what you’re thinking, yet another post about breakfast. What can I say, I love it. My favorite breakfast to make at home is a fluffy bowl of oats. The options are endless and they’re extremely budget friendly.
When making my oats, the first thing I have to decide is if I want to go the sweet or savory route. To do this, I stand I’m the kitchen and scan my arm back and forth between different toppings. Sway, sway, sway until my arm gets stuck. That’s my body telling me what I’m in the mood for.
…just kidding.
In all honesty, I usually choose what I want based on what I have lying around. That seems a little less crazy cat lady and a little more logical, semi-adult right? While I’m a huge fan of listening to your body, using your arm as a sensor is taking it a little too far. Even for me.
Let’s get back on track. First step, decide if I want sweet or savory. Next step, scan my cabinets for ingredients I want to throw in my oats for the day. Then it’s time to get cooking.
The key to fluffy oats is cooking time. The longer you are able to let them simmer, expand, and absorb the liquid, the fluffier they will become. To do this, I put the oats in my pan, then cover them with almond milk. There should be enough milk so that the oats are floating. Once I’m satisfied with the liquid-to-oat ratio I turn the burner on high and bring the oats to a boil. As soon as they are boiling, turn them down to simmer. Watch closely! I’ve made plenty of messes and had to scrub oat water off my stove way too many times.
Now that they are simmering, I add in whatever fruit I want to use that day. Maybe that’s frozen strawberries or an overripe mashed banana. If I’m using flax or chia seeds, I’ll also add them at this point.
While I’m letting the oats simmer and transform into the best breakfast ever, I dance around the kitchen with Trout and drink some coffee.
Okay, that liquid is starting to disappear, time to add the protein. I like to use egg whites for savory oats or protein powder for sweet oats. Usually I go the sweet route because that helps me reduce cravings for other sweet treats the rest of the day. If you use protein powder, you may need to add more almond milk, or just add the powder into the oats earlier in the cooking. I prefer waiting though, because fluffiness is of utmost importance to me.
Once your protein is added, take the oats off the heat and transfer them to a bowl. Add your toppings and get everything ready to take a picture to post on Instagram. Or just to eat. But let’s be honest, most of us take pictures of our food at this point and that heart you just made out of strawberries is too pretty not to share.
While I don’t have exact measurements of each of the ingredients for you today, here are some general guidelines and ideas for your oats.
1/2 c old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 c almond milk (just cover them so they’re floating, I never measure.)
1 serving protein powder (I like Orgain Chocolate Fudge)
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons nut butter
coconut flakes
chia seeds
ground flax seeds (they’re easier for you body to absorb the nutrients this way)
honey
maple syrup
fruit (mashed banana makes the fluffiest oats)
spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper)
There you have it! Let me know what you create in the comments below.
