How to Make Protein Oatmeal



Oatmeal! One of my favorite foods. Not the easiest to reconcile in a low carb diet, no matter how hearth healthy it is. For some reason, for a time the balance of our existences hangs in that damn pie chart on our online food journals staying predominantly protein. Because all carbs. Are. EVIL!!! Right?

Wrong. And you all know that. If not, read this and then re-join us...we'll wait...

Now then, back to oatmeal. Even though oatmeal is, by no stretch of the imagination, a bad food choice (especially when you make it from scratch), we can bump the protein up a good bit.

So without further adieu, here's how you make protein oatmeal.

So basically this oatmeal starts off like any other oatmeal. This is about 1/2 c. of oats. Please note this portion is actually for La Petite Diva. For newbies especially, you might want to start this process with 1/4 c. of oatmeal. I will say, however, that this reheats just fine so if you want to make a big portion of it and section it out across a few days, that's fine too. Anyhoo...



Next, we want to add our protein powder. Now I added a full scoop since I used a full serving of oatmeal. For folks wanting to make a smaller portion, for every 1 oz. of oatmeal you use, add a 1/4 scoop of protein powder (and yes, I know scoops vary in sizes. No matter what size your scoop, a 1/4 scoop will per ounce will do fine...I promise you).

Just like with hot protein drinks, you have to "temper" the protein before adding boiling liquid. This can be achieved by simply adding enough room temperature water to coat all the oats and protein until it becomes a very thick paste, like so.

Awww sookie now! We're getting to the good part. Now you SLOWLYadd your hot water to the oatmeal. I find adding the hot water to the room temperature water yields a better result than simply adding water and microwaving. But you are certainly welcome to try that if you wish. Let me know how that goes for you. :) Now AFTER you add your hot waterand stir, you can do one of two things:

1. You can cover your bowl with a plate and walk away for about three minutes.
2. You can nuke it for a minute or so (and yes, nuking it at this point is ok).

Either way, what you should end up with looks like this:





Now don't freak out about the film around the edge! Give it a quick stir and it will be but a distant memory. Plus, now comes the fun part. Flavoring!

La Petite Diva loves any iteration of her mama's oatmeal. Some days she likes the Fruity Maple Oatmeal, some days she wants Cinnamon Bun protein oatmeal. Today, however, I had a new flavor in mind.

Nik's Peanut Brittle Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 c. quick oats

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

a pinch of salt

2 tablespoons PB2

1 tablespoon (or to taste) no-calorie sweetener

2 tablespoons (2 pumps) Torani Sugar-Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon syrup



After you've prepped your oatmeal, add your salt, PB2, sweetener and syrup. Stir and...yummy!