Oatmeal: A How To

Good morning and happy friday everyone!  I am super lucky today because we had a pretty big ice storm last night and it was enough to close school today!!  Where I live, that usually never happens, so I was in a great mood, even before my cup of coffee.  Of course, I started my morning off with my oats :)

This morning, I made this: 

Ill call this Strawberry/Pear/Raisin Oats

real creative, right? Im sure you can guess the ingredients

HOWEVER, there is a secret ingredient that you probably will not guess and that is...EGG WHITES. Yes, egg whites.  Do not hate until you have tried it people, adding egg whites to your oats not only adds protein (an 100% essential part of a complete breakfast), but I find it actually changes the texture of the oats and makes them much more fluffy and pretty looking :)

So here's how I make my oats almost every morning.  I promise you, if you aren't the biggest fan of oatmeal, this will change you.  And if not, well hey at least you tried it!  Who knows, maybe after a while you will end up liking it.  You can always experiment with different versions too by making little swaps of ingredients here and there.

Olivia's Fluffy Egg White Oatmeal:

- 1/2 cup of Quaker Whole Grain Rolled Oats (sometimes I use 1/3 cup on lower carb days)

- 1/2 scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Vanilla Whey)

- 1/2 tbs chia seeds

- 1/2 whole flax seeds

- 2/3 cup water

- 3-5 tbs egg whites

Since I'm a student and usually pressed for time in the morning, I just cook my oats in the microwave because its fast and easy.  However, you can cook oats on the stovetop if you have more time.  I just find it turns out pretty much the same in the microwave and its every bit as good.

Add oats, protein powder, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and water in a microwave safe bowl.  Give it a little stir just to make sure the protein powder isn't clumpy.  Pop it in the microwave for about 1:30, just enough that most of the liquid is absorbed up by the oats.  Then add in 3-5 tbs egg whites and stir those in really well.  Pop it back into the microwave for about another 30-45 seconds.  Keep stirring so that the egg whites dont all cook and the top.  You want to make sure the cook in WITH the oats.  This gives them the fluffy-ness.  Just make sure you stick to 30 second intervals because if you over cook the egg whites you get a kind of cake-like texture, rather then a creamy texture.  

Thats it!  These are delicious and a perfect balance of carbohydrates and protein and fat.  I usually top my oats with some kind of berry (strawberry, blueberries, blackberries, etc.), 1/3 of a banana, a splash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and Walden Farms Calorie Free Pancake Syrup.  If im feeling extra fancy ill add 1 tbs peanut butter or almond butter or coconut flakes.  It's all up to you!  Dressing up your morning oats is the fun part so get creative!  Enjoy!