One Recipe, Three Ways! Protein Quick Bread.

Recap: In honor of the release of The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book we’re talking about breakfast this week!

The next major section of the book is called “Smart Carbs.” Many folks are afraid of carbs, in general. With all the publicity about them, it’s no wonder. So before you get this book and freak out, I suggest you read my primer, “Carb Confusion” to brush up on what carbs really are (I find many people really do have the wrong idea) and why they are actually a good part of an overall healthy eating plan.

Now that we’re all on the same page, I should say in the book I mainly tackle one type of carb: starches. Yes, starches can be made in ways that are weight-loss surgery friendly and beneficial to your body and overall health. You just have to be smart about it, hence the chapter name.

In my estimation the easiest type of starch to make weight-loss surgery friendly are quick breads. For those who don’t speak “food-ese” a quick-bread, generally speaking, is just what it sounds like, a bread that can be made quickly by nixing the yeast (and the multiple rises/wait times it requires) and using more “cakey” ingredients. Examples of quick breads include banana and pumpkin bread, both of which already have recipes here on the blog (click the links on the words to get to them).

This quick bread started out with my over-abundance of roasted pear butter. I made a lot of that stuff and didn’t want to waste any of it. The divas liked it (my oldest daughter, who hates pears, loved it…score!). One thing I know about pear/apple butter is that it can be used to replace some of the oil/butter in baking to yield a moist result. That information in hand, I set out with a very specific goal: to make a protein quick bread recipe that contains no protein powder.

My other recipes do but variety is good, right?

In the book, I share the recipe to a very easy, make-ahead baking mix you can make and store to streamline this process even further!

As promised I’m giving you the recipe but also THREE ways you can prepare it.

Pear Spice Protein Quick Bread

Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients:

• 1.5 c. pear butter/sauce (or natural apple sauce)
• ½ c. no-calorie sweetener (if you are using natural apple sauce, also add ½ tsp. apple pie spice)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 large eggs (or equivalent amount of liquid egg substitute)
• Up to 2/3 c. milk (I used unsweetened almond milk) 

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 c. oat flour (don’t freak out, I’m going to tell you how to make this!)
• 1 c. soy flour (if you don’t like soy flour use another type of non-white flour replacement such as almond meal or garbanzo bean flour)
• ½ c. flax meal (NOT flax seed)
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

How to make oat flour: Place 1 c. quick cooking oats (I don’t recommend traditional oats for this) in a food processor (I used my Magic Bullet knock-off) and whiz until it has been completely pulverized into flour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together pear or apple sauce, spices and vanilla in a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix together all the dry ingredients and whisk to thoroughly combine them.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet stirring. The result will be thick. Add enough milk to loosen the batter to the consistency of a thick bowl of oatmeal (Note: no matter what don’t use more than 2/3 c. milk but feel free to use less if it doesn’t take that much).

Give the batter a taste. It should taste like really good (although maybe a tad too sweet) apple/cinnamon oatmeal. If not, adjust spices accordingly! Don’t worry that it tastes too sweet in the batter form. The oven will do its magic and it will all even out.

Now…here’s where you can get creative.

Make loaves: This works well as either a traditional loaf or in mini-loaf pans. The mini-loaf pans are great for making things ahead so that you can wrap and freeze. These loaves freeze well when properly wrapped. To eat, you’d simply set the loaf out in room temperature and allow it to thaw. You can nuke it if you want warm bread. What you see at the top of this post are two “short loaves” (meaning I divided the batter between two loaf pans so that it wouldn’t be so tall). For me, the short loaves are easier to handle AND gave me the opportunity to test out idea #3 below.

Directions: If doing a full loaf, spray your loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray made for baking (they sell it at the grocery store). Fill the pan with batter (it will almost completely fill the loaf pan). For short loaves, use two pans. For mini loaves, spray the mini-loaf slots and divide the mixture evenly. This makes about 6-8 loaves, depending on how much batter you use.

Bake time for full/short loaves: 25-30 minutes

Bake time for mini-loaves: 20-25 minutes

Make mini-muffins: This makes about 24 mini-muffins, give or take a few. These too freeze well and are great for grab & go. Just make sure you’re using a good non-stick mini-muffin tin!

Directions: Distribute batter evenly into mini-muffin tin slots. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Make (protein) biscotti! Well…sorta. Technically biscotti is a twice baked cookie but my loaf turned out so wonderfully moist I just knew I could pull it off so I tried and it worked! To make it into biscotti, make a “short loaves” (simply meaning divide the batter between two loaf pans). Allow them to cool after coming out of the oven then slice them into sections about a half inch thick. Spray down a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and bake them for an additional 7-10 minutes on each side. Both sides should brown. Your result will be firm but not quite as rock hard as a traditional biscotti.

India's Chunky Monkey Baked Protein Oatmeal

Now that we're all settled with week two of the Bariatric Foodie Pledge, I thought we might talk about some...oh I dunno...food?

Protein baked oatmeal! I like it. You guys seem to like it. But I LOVE it when a Foodie sends me their recipe!

Here's what India sent me. And bonus points for shouting out BF in her pictures!

India's Chunky Monkey Protein Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of oatmeal
• 3 scoops of chocolate protein
• 2 pinches of salt
• 4 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (Nik Note: 4 tbsp also = 1/4 c.)
• 1/3 cup of Splenda
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 cups of milk
• 1/4 cup of PB2
• 1/4 cup of peanut butter (Nik Note: If you have PB2 handy that works well and cuts a LOT of the calories!)
• 1/4 cup of sugar-free Kaluha or sugar-free chocolate syrup (Torani/Davinci-style syrup, not Hershey's)
• 2  very ripe bananas sliced (Nik Note: If you can't or don't want to do bananas, try doing 2 tbsp sugar-free banana pudding)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together oatmeal, protein, salt, cocoa powder and Splenda (if you're subbing PB2 for peanut butter and/or banana pudding for bananas you can also add that in at this point).

In another bowl, mix together milk, eggs, syrups and peanut butter if you're using it.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir thoroughly. Add in banana slices after mixture is stirred.

Transfer to a casserole dish (Nik uses 8x8 but your choice. Just remember the larger the dish, the thinner the oatmeal slices will be).

Bake for about 25 minutes for baked oatmeal, 30 minutes for oatmeal bars. Cool completely before cutting or serving. Your squares should look something like this:

Here's more protein baked oatmeal recipes to play with:

• Malia's Peaches 'n Cream
• Cinnamon Raisin 
• Nutty Apple
• Fall Harvest

Salted Butter Toffee Protein Oatmeal

It's been all about oatmeal around here, hasn't it?

We've had high-protein baked oatmeal, scrambled oatmeal...well this morning I just wanted a plain bowl of oatmeal. But for me it has to have protein. Why? Because in my old bariatric age (just turned 5 years post-op), I seem to be developing blood sugar control problems (I refuse to call it hypoglycemia yet) and so starch has to be accompanied by protein!

S'anyway. I have a good bit of leftover sugar-free Torani English Toffee syrup from the Protein Shake Sample Kits so I decided to see how that would work in my protein oatmeal.

Nik's Salted Butter Toffee Protein Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. quick oats (That's what's in the above. I realize that might be WAY too much for some of you, so if need be, cut down to 1/4 c. I'll give modification directions with the other ingredients.)
• 1/4 c. Torani sugar-free English Toffee syrup (or use 1 tbsp. for every ounce of oatmeal)
• 1 scoop of your favorite protein (I used Any Whey unflavored. If you are using less than the 1/2 c. serving, use a 1/4 scoop of protein per ounce of oatmeal. So 1/4 c. would be half a scoop of protein).
• 1 c. skim milk (use twice the amount of milk than oatmeal)
• A small pat of butter or low-calorie butter substitute
• A generous pinch of salt (this works especially well if you have large-crystal salt)

Directions:

In a bowl combine your oats, protein powder and syrup until thoroughly mixed. 

Then add syrup until a coarse, thick paste forms.

Add your milk and stir it in thoroughly.

Pop it in the microwave for about three minutes but stop half-way through to stir.

It is done when the oats have absorbed all the liquids. You'll need to stir again to incorporate the protein all the way.

Top with your pat of butter and your pinch of salt and...

NOM!!!! I think I found a new favorite oatmeal flavor!

Brandi's Oatmeal & Egg White Scramble

I love it when a Foodie starts their message to me about their recipe with, "I know this may sound strange but..."

Isn't that a condition of post-op eating? I mean, we do eat pretty weird stuff, at least according to the non-op world. I personally eat REALLY weird stuff (for instance, my favorite dinner is simply cottage cheese with...you guessed it...peanut butter!). 

I know I'll get comments from folks who are hopelessly normal. But you know what? That's fine too. My point: Bariatric Foodies do it THEIR way. So whatever your "thang" is, I always love to know about it! 

Here's the recipe Brandi sent me.

Brandi's Oatmeal & Egg White Scramble

Ingredients:

• A 500g carton of egg whites (or about a dozen eggs worth of egg whites)
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats 
• 2 tbsp. vanilla extract (or she likes to use Davinci's sugar-free cookie dough syrup)

Nik Notes: Brandi didn't specify if she uses any additional sweetener. I probably would. Between 1/4 -1/3 c. for the entire recipe (remember, when you heat things with sweetener you up the sweet factor. When you chill things with sweetener you dull it). And I'd also put in a "splick" of salt (again, don't ask me how much a splick is...it's a splick!). Salt and sweetness work well together in oatmeal (as in most places, actually). 

Let all ingredients sit together in a bowl for 30 minutes.

Scramble together in a non stick frying pan until cooked. Usually takes about five minutes, sometimes less.

Each batch makes 6 servings of 1/2 cup with 160 calories and 12 g of protein (See? Brandi is even nice enough to give you stats!). She adds one tablespoon sugar-free blueberry jam and one tablespoon sugar-free breakfast syrup as well (she said this is included in the 160 calories).

Her verdict? I'll let her tell you:

"I find it super filling. I nuke my portion in the microwave for 90 seconds in the morning. It's easy to grab especially on the mornings I run before I go to work. I know it sounds and looks odd but I swear by it!"

Considering I got away with inventing something called an "Eggchilada" I think you're good, Brandi. Thank you for sharing your kitchen inspiration with the Foodie Nation!

Do you have a great recipe to share? Email it to bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com.

Malia's Peaches and Cream Protein Baked Oatmeal

But first...a public service announcement.

Yes, I will sound like a broken record but the 2013 Bariatric Foodie Pledge is coming! I want you guys to be up on what it is so you can all participate. The exciting thing about this year is that there is more than one grand prize! As a reminder, the grand prize is drawn from people who pledge goals and check-in on those goals for all four weeks! And I have some great stuff lined up. On Facebook I've already announced TWO grand prize sponsors:

• Torani Syrups (check them out on Facebook or @Torani on Twitter)
• Celebrate Bariatric Vitamins (check them out on Facebook or @CelebrateV on Twitter)

Be sure to like or follow them both and write a note of thanks for supporting the Foodie Nation. Showing our appreciation helps me get more companies involved in future giveaways!.More prize announcements to come!

Ok, back to business. So...Malia is a fellow Foodie who claims she doesn't cook much. But after getting pics of how she was playing with her food it became apparent to me that while she might not cook frequently, she does cook well!

Here's her recipe for Peaches & Cream Protein Baked oatmeal. She also sent a recipe for chocolate chip that I will post later this week.

You may notice I've suggested some modifications to Malia's recipe. You are welcome to make the original recipe or use my suggestions. Either way, it's good!

Malia's Peaches & Cream Protein Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1.5 c. quick oats
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. no-calorie sweetener (Malia used Ideal Brown Sugar Substitute)
• 2 scoops protein powder (Any powder, any size scoop, doesn't matter. Malia used this. I would use this.)
• 1.5 c. milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 bag frozen peaches (Or the equivalent of one frozen peach, sliced. But my suggestion would be to instead drain 1-2 no-sugar added cups of diced peaches and use those instead.)
• 1 oz. cream cheese, cubed (Malia didn't specify but I suggest Neufchatel cheese, or 1/3 less fat cream cheese)

Streusel topping:

• 3/4 c. Ideal Brown Sugar substitute
• 3/4 c. flour (see my note below)
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1.5 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1.4 c. butter, softened

Nik Note: Much as I loved me some Streusel back inna day, I'd probably skip the topping. I'm not opposed to indulgence (have you read this blog???) but I am opposed to blood sugar crashes. For those with reactive hypoglycemia (which is becoming increasingly common with post-ops) the topping with the oatmeal and the fruit might be problematic. But, as always, use your best judgment! If anyone is willing to experiment with streusel using Atkins mix, I might be willing to provide said Atkins Mix...leave a comment if you're interested. Just sayin'.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a bowl, mix together oats, salt, sweetener and protein powder.

Add milk, then cubed cream cheese, then the peaches and mix well. 

Pour into a casserole dish (8 x 8 shown here) and bake for 12-15 minutes or until set and edges are browned. 

Cool completely before cutting. When refrigerated, these turn into great breakfast bars or you can pop them into the microwave for 15 seconds or so to warm them up. Malia likes to eat hers on the go!

Other Protein Baked Oatmeal recipes:

• Nutty Apple 
• Fall Harvest
• Cinnamon Raisin

Nik's Cinnamon Raisin Baked Protein Oatmeal

I have to tell on myself.

This post could have been up two hours ago but I am becoming increasingly persnickety about my photography and was trying to get the perfect shot to represent the lusciousness of what was on that plate. Because it was luscious. Ohhhhh...yes it was...

Nik's Cinnamon Raisin Baked Protein Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1.5 c. quick oats
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. no-calorie sweetener (I used Splenda)
• 1/4 c. Torani Brown Sugar Cinnamon syrup (in the absence of that the same amount of sugar-free pancake syrup + 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon will do)
• Up to 1/2 tsp. extra cinnamon if you are really into cinnamon (I am so I used it)
• 1.5 c. milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 scoops protein powder (Any powder, any size scoop, doesn't matter. I used unflavored Any Whey but vanilla or a cinnamon flavored protein would be nice, just omit the extra cinnamon if you use the latter along with the syrup.)
• 1/3 cup natural raisins (Some raisins have a sugar coating. I think Sun-Maid in general does not so they are a good one to go with.)

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, salt and sweetener.

In another bowl combine syrup, cinnamon, milk, eggs and protein powder and mix with a whisk until thoroughly combined (there should be no protein powder lumps).

Pour liquid mixture into the oat mixture and stir well. 

Finally, stir in raisins and mix through.

Spray down a square casserole dish (I used an 8x8) and empty mixture into it. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until oatmeal is set and the edges are slightly brown.

Cool thoroughly before cutting.

Now you may be wondering what that is on top. Well...this tasted very "Cinnabon-ish" to me so I had to make a topping. BONUS RECIPE!

Nik's Cream Cheese Topping (Individual Serving)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tbsp. Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
• 1 tsp no-calorie sweetener
• A "splick" of cinnamon (don't ask me how much a splick is...it's a splick)
• 2 tsp. milk

Directions:

Nuke cream cheese in the microwave about 30 seconds. 

Add remainder of ingredients and stir with a fork until smooth. Enjoy!

So this makes THREE protein baked oatmeal varieties: Fall Harvest, Nutty Apple and this. Which flavor should I take on next?

Nik's "Nutty Apple" Protein Baked Oatmeal (or Bars)

There is a phenomenon that us kitchen experimenters know well. It is called the "happy accident." What you see above is a picture of a happy accident.

See...here's the thing. This recipe started as "apples and peanut butter." Cuz I love peanut butter (this is well documented) and I have an abundance of apples. But I realized something in the making of this batch. I like crunch in my baked oatmeal! BUT...I don't like chopped peanuts in stuff. Don't ask me why, I'm weird that way!

So this became a Nutty Apple creation with the inclusion of walnuts, which made more sense in my mind. But then I cooked them just a tad too long. So they firmed up and at first I thought they were too hard, but I stuck them in the fridge anyway, figuring I'd crumble them or something. Well the next day I took them out and the condensation in the fridge had done it's magic and I had...protein oat bars!

But let's start at the beginning. By the way, there are a few protein baked oatmeal posts here on the blog (click around and discover!) but you'll find a LOT more in the Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book, along with mini-frittatas, omelets, protein muffins and a whole bunch of other breakfasty goodness! Check it out!

Nik's Nutty Apple Protein Baked Oatmeal (or Bars)

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 c. quick oats (Folks have asked about steel cut and regular oats. I do not recommend. Protein cooks FAST. Unless the oats can keep up the texture isn't going to be that great. But I welcome you to prove me wrong!)
• 3 scoops of either vanilla or unflavored protein powder (I used this unflavored kid)
• A generous pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

• 1.5 c. milk (or, I recently started subbing in a full-container of Premier Protein vanilla for extra protein - woop!) 
• 1/4 c. sugar-free pancake syrup
• 2 eggs, beaten or 1/2 c. Egg Beaters
• 1/4 c. PB2 powdered peanut
• 1/4 c. natural peanut butter (I used Naturally More) NOTE: If you don't have access to a good, healthy peanut butter but DO have PB2, use about 3/4 c. of it. If you have peanut butter but no PB2, use 1/2 c. of the peanut butter.

Chunky Stuff

• 1 small apple (I used a honeycrisp) cut into small cubes
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Mix together all wet ingredients in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Add chunky stuff and mix that in well then pour into a casserole dish (mine was 8 x 8) that has been sprayed in non-stick.

For baked oatmeal (soft, but can be cut into squares, just a tad wetter than a cake): Bake for about 15 minutes or until the top is done and edges are set. For oat bars: cook 30 minutes until edges are brown. 

Cool before attempting to slice!

These taste just...lovely. YUM! Now I'm on the fence about which I like better: my Fall Harvest flavor or this one. Hmmm...good thing both are so easy to make so I don't have to decide!

And for more breakfasty goodness than you can shake a shaker bottle at, check out The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book. In it you'll find:

- Many more recipes for baked protein oatmeal
- 11 things you never knew you could do with cottage cheese
- A protein-enhanced soft egg scramble perfect for new post-ops
- A make-your-own low-carb/high-protein baking mix
- Un-Breakfast recipes - just in case eggs/bacon isn't your thing

These recipes were developed with you in mind. The portions are small, the recipes freeze beautifully and they are so delicious your family will want to try them too!

So if you're stuck on what to eat for breakfast after weight-loss surgery, give The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book a try!

Available on Kindle and Hard-Copy on Amazon. 

Nik's Fall Harvest Protein Baked Oatmeal

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the Amish? I do.On a Saturday afternoon I can be found at my local Amish market studying. Yes, studying. My local Amish market has all sorts of stalls (meats, cheeses, veggies) but my favorite is the dry goods section which is something like what a General Store might have been back in the day.

They carry nearly any raw ingredient you want (seriously...the last time we went there my kids were excited to find that they sell the cookies you use to make ice cream sandwiches and the cheesy powder you use to make cheese popcorn. I did not buy either, but it was there!).

One thing I've always loved that the Amish make is baked oatmeal. I do not know if the Amish invented it. I just know they were the ones who introduced me to it!

But for me, oatmeal is a breakfast where adding protein is imperative. I get "very special" blood sugar moments if I don't have a significant amount of protein at every meal, so usually when I want oatmeal I make protein oatmeal. That experience in hand, I decided to give the baked version a try!

Nik's Fall Harvest Protein Baked Oatmeal

Dry Ingredients

1 c. quick oats

2 scoops unflavored or vanilla protein powder

1/8 tsp. salt (a generous pinch)

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 c. whatever chopped nuts you like (I used pecans but walnuts might be nice too)

Wet Ingredients

1 + 1/4 c. milk

1/2 c. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/4 c. sugar-free maple flavored pancake syrup

1/4 c. no-calorie sweetener
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or for this I used hazelnut extract)

1 egg beaten

Optional: I like raisins so I took 1/4 c. rinsed the sugar coating off in a colander and threw those babies in there too!

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl whisk together dry ingredients until well mixed.

In another bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, syrup and Splenda and whisk before adding beaten egg and whisking again.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until everything is mixed.

Spray down a small baking dish (mine is 8 x10) and pour mixture into it. Bake at 350 for 15-20 or until top is done and edges are slightly browned. It should come out looking like this:

And if you have children, five minutes later it will look like this:

Enjoy!

Melissa's Oatmeal, Walnut and Cranberry Protein Cookies



It really warms my heart when one of my Foodies plays with their food and sends me recipes and pics. I ask for it all the time! And sometimes my wishes come true!

Today’s offering is via my good friend, Melissa. I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa when I came to Pittsburgh for the Bariatric Foodie Holiday Food Tasting (also known as the weekend the Ravens kicked the Steelers butts in their own back yard…just sayin’).

Melissa is a busy mom of two boys and she’s been a reader for quite some time. After seeing my posts and others about healthier approaches to cookies this holiday season, she decided to come up with a recipe for a protein cookie. The above was the delicious result!

If you have any questions about Melissa’s recipe, leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to ask her to address them. And if YOU have been playing with your food, share with your fellow Foodies! Send any recipes and pics you'd like to submit to bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com. I am always looking to feature YOU!

Enjoy!

Melissa's Oatmeal, Walnut and Cranberry Protein Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup SPLENDA® Granular

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup vanilla why protein powder
1/2 cup soy flour
1 3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 can pumpkin puree
3 tbsp 0% plain greek yogurt
2 eggs
3 tbsp flax seeds (ground)
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together Splenda®, oats, protein powder, soy flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

3. Stir in pumpkin, yogurt, and eggs and mix well.

4. Stir in flax seeds, cranberries, walnuts, if desired.

5. Roll into 48 large balls, and flatten on a baking sheet (Or use mini muffin tin and make mini muffin. Melissa tried both and reports both turned out well!)

6. Bake for 9-12 minutes in preheated oven. DO NOT OVERBAKE: the cookies will come out really dry if over-baked.

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!